4. Safety reps, safety committees and taking action

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Key changes and developments since last year

• recent case law developments have confirmed that whistleblowers must disclose factual information rather than mere allegations, and that individual co-workers can be held personally liable for future losses arising from blowing the whistle;

• the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has welcomed agreement on new European-wide standards to protect whistleblowers;

• the Ministry of Justice has confirmed it is looking into a replacement employment tribunal fee scheme;

• a plan to modernise the employment tribunal system has been published;

• the Unite general union has announced an “historic” million-pound-plus settlement for compensating blacklisted construction workers and setting up a training fund to help them back into work.