What Protect does

Protect is a UK registered charity (No. 1025557) operating as a company limited by guarantee, founded in 1993 and headquartered at The Green House, 244-254 Cambridge Heath Road, London. The organisation provides specialist legal advice and support to whistleblowers and is staffed by Solicitors Regulation Authority–regulated lawyers. Its core service is a free, confidential Advice Line that helps individuals understand their rights, select reporting channels, and navigate retaliation risks; the Advice Line is open weekdays with published hours and answered via the phone number 0203 117 2520. Protect also engages in law reform, government briefings, and strategic litigation aimed at strengthening UK whistleblower protections, and is publicly credited with helping shape the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA). Cumulative impact figures disclosed include 50,000+ whistleblowers supported since inception and 3,589 new cases handled in the latest reported year, with more than 240 parliamentary peers backing a Protect-drafted cross-party amendment and a research finding that ignoring whistleblowers in three major UK scandals cost the public purse more than £426 million.

The organisation serves two principal customer segments. The primary segment is individuals worried about wrongdoing at work, who receive free advice on rights, reporting options, and protections against retaliation. The secondary segment is employers, who purchase commercial services including Benchmarking (independent assessment of whistleblowing arrangements with structured scoring and gap analysis), Membership (ongoing expert guidance, member events, and peer learning), Consultancy (tailored advisory on complex speak-up challenges), and Training (practical sessions for staff, managers, and leaders on legal duties and safe handling behaviours). Distribution is conducted entirely within the United Kingdom through the Advice Line, an online Business Support contact form, and a Ticket Tailor-powered training calendar.

Protect's revenue model combines charitable donations (funnelling through a CAF Donate portal and supported by a dedicated Fundraiser role) with fee-based commercial services to employers priced on a quote basis. With 11–50 employees, a Joint Chief Executive leadership structure (Elizabeth Gardiner and Sybille Raphael), and Board oversight under Chair Lucy McLynn, the charity operates with a small specialist team relative to its policy reach and casework volume. Governance and compliance posture includes GDPR compliance, Charity Commission regulation, SRA regulation of lawyers, and adherence to the Fundraising Promise under the Fundraising Regulator.

Name

Protect

Legal name

Protect (Whistleblowing Advice) Limited

Website

https://protect-advice.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Protect is a UK nonprofit law firm founded in 1993 that provides free, confidential legal advice to individual whistleblowers via its Advice Line and offers commercial benchmarking, consultancy, membership, and training services to employers seeking to strengthen speak-up systems.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Whistleblowing Advisory Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Ethics, Integrity & Whistleblowing Program Advisory (BPAHAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Safeguarding, Accountability & Compliance (ESG, Gender/GBV, Do No Harm) (BPADAEAM)

Keywords

• Whistleblowing advice services
• Employment law consultancy
• Speak-up training
• Charity legal advisory
• Public interest disclosure

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Funding: Protect operates as a registered charity (No. 1025557) relying on donations and charitable funding to support its free advice line services for whistleblowers.
2. Business Support Services: Membership, benchmarking, consultancy, and training services provided to employers seeking to strengthen their speak-up arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Protect is a UK charity that delivers free, confidential whistleblowing advice to individuals through its Advice Line, and sells employer-facing support services — including benchmarking of speak-up arrangements, Consultancy, paid Membership, and Training — alongside evidence-based policy advocacy on UK whistleblower protection law.

Product overview

Protect is a single-service charity focused on whistleblowing advice and support, rather than a platform with modular components. The core offering is the Advice Line for individuals seeking confidential guidance on whistleblowing concerns. For employers, Protect provides a suite of services including Benchmarking (independent assessment of speak-up systems), Membership (ongoing expert support and resources), Consultancy (tailored advisory for complex challenges), and Training (practical skills development). The Advice Line serves as the primary entry point for individual whistleblowers, while employer-facing services build upon each other—from one-off assessments through to continuous membership support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advice Line Free, confidential advice line staffed by Protect's specialist advisers and lawyers, providing guidance to individuals (current and former employees, contractors, witnesses) who are considering raising, or have raised, a concern about wrongdoing, danger, or risk at work under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.
• Benchmarking Independent benchmarking service that reviews an employer's whistleblowing and speak-up arrangements, comparing them against the PIDA Code of Practice and peer organisations, and providing assurance and recommendations to senior leadership and boards.
• Membership Paid membership programme for UK employers that provides ongoing access to Protect's specialist expertise, resources, and updates on whistleblowing law and best practice, as part of its employer support network.
• Consultancy Bespoke advisory service for employers on the design, review, and implementation of whistleblowing policies, speak-up arrangements, and handling of concerns or investigations, delivered by Protect's in-house specialists.
• Training Training courses delivered to employers and individuals on whistleblowing law, speak-up culture, and related topics, hosted via Protect's online academy and event platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50,000+ whistleblowers supported since inception
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Transparency International UK: UK anti-corruption charity that investigates wrongdoing and advocates for stronger accountability. Overlap with Protect on anti-corruption advocacy and policy work, though its core mission is broader than whistleblowing.
• Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI): US-based nonprofit that researches workplace ethics and operates the Employee Hotline benchmark report. Overlaps with Protect's benchmarking and research functions.

Direct peers

• NAVEX Global: Global provider of ethics and compliance software, including whistleblowing hotlines, case management, and policy content. Direct competitor to Protect's benchmarking, training, and policy-services offerings on the employer side.
• Government Accountability Project: US-based nonprofit that provides legal counsel to whistleblowers and advocates for stronger protections. Closest international analogue to Protect — same charity/NGO model, legal advice core, and policy advocacy orientation.
• WhistleblowersUK: UK organization providing advice, support, and policy advocacy for whistleblowers. Most direct head-to-head peer in the same UK market with a comparable mission.
• National Whistleblower Center: US nonprofit that supports whistleblowers through legal resources, education, and legislative advocacy. Highly comparable mission and operating model to Protect, though US-focused.
• Whistleblower Aid: US nonprofit that provides legal advice and representation to whistleblowers, combined with media strategy and advocacy. Overlap with Protect's advice line, advocacy, and strategic-litigation work.

Broad incumbents

• EQS Group (Integrity Line): European compliance and whistleblower-software provider with Integrity Line offering. Competes directly with Protect's employer-facing benchmarking, hotline, and policy services.
• OneTrust (Convercent/Whistleblower Software): Large ethics, compliance, and whistleblowing platform (built from Convercent). Competes with Protect on employer-side speak-up tooling, training, and case management at significant scale.

Others

• Access to Justice Foundation: UK charity that funds legal-advice charities and pro-bono work. Indirect peer via overlapping charity/legal-aid ecosystem that funds and complements Protect's advice line.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/company/protect-advice
• Xx.com/WhistleUK

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Protect