AFB Practice Roundtable: Regulatory Expectations for a Whistleblowers’ Champion

AFB will partner with law firm Fox Williams for a practice roundtable focused on the role of a Whistleblowers’ Champion. The session would be useful to those who work in this role and are involved in managing whistleblowing frameworks and reports within banks (including INEDs, and those working on speak-up committees such as HR and compliance professionals). The session would also be useful for those who are not required under SYSC 18.4 to appoint a Champion (e.g. branches) but have chosen to do so.

Why attend?

This roundtable will provide members with an opportunity to discuss the role of Whistleblowers’ Champion and its place within a whistleblowing framework.  The discussion will also cover the challenges and practical issues that can arise for the Whistleblowers’ Champion, and how best to manage them. AFB will circulate an agenda and series of questions to attendees in advance which will be used to aid discussions. The roundtable will focus on the key points below:

• The regulators’ expectations of the role
• Firms’ expectations of the role
• Some of the challenges and practical issues that can arise in the role, and how best to manage them
• Horizon scanning – what does the future hold for the role

The Chatham House Rule will apply to this event to encourage open dialogue and discussion.

There will be lunch and networking from 12:30 before the roundtable discussion commences at 13:00.

Please note that capacity for the roundtable is limited to 30 members and one person per member bank.

Who should attend?

This session is aimed at Compliance, HR and Legal teams.

Speakers

Joanna Chatterton, Partner, Fox Williams

Described in Chambers as “An excellent lawyer who is very responsive, practical and helpful” Joanna is an experienced employment partner whose clients value her expertise and experience in dealing with tricky employment issues and conducting and advising on workplace investigations. She has extensive experience successfully supporting clients through complex and high value discrimination and whistleblowing claims. She is an expert in the interaction between employment law and regulatory law and her work for employers, primarily in the FS and legal/professional services sectors, generally involves matters with strategic implications and sensitive reputational and regulatory concerns. She acts as an independent investigator; in which capacity she led the Fox Williams team which investigated the allegations made by the Guardian into the CBI and its former Director General.

Sebastian Sayer, Partner, Fox Williams

Seb is a financial services partner.  He advises corporate and individual clients on contentious and non-contentious financial services regulatory, investigations, and white-collar crime matters. Described in Chambers as a “tough litigator” with “exemplary approachability, articulacy, and responsiveness,” he specialises in advising on regulatory and internal investigations.  He frequently deals with non-contentious financial services matters, such as the SMCR, whistleblowing issues, and governance. Seb often collaborates with Fox Williams’ employment department to provide coordinated regulatory and employment law advice. Prior to joining the firm, he worked in the FCA’s Enforcement division as a senior prosecutor, handling many high-profile cases.

Marian Bloodworth, Partner, Fox Williams

Marian is a directory-ranked employment law partner with over 27 years of experience in helping clients in the financial services sector to manage their HR regulatory risk. Her expertise lies in advising on the employment law implications and challenges of regulatory requirements, internal and external regulatory investigations, grievance and disciplinary processes, and senior-level exits and negotiations. Marian is also experienced in managing complex, high-value litigation having run a number of multi-strand claims for discrimination and whistleblowing and has acted as an independent investigator in cases of alleged employee and director misconduct. She regularly speaks and writes on employment law issues, is the past Chair of the national Employment Lawyers Association and sits on the Advisory Board of Women in Banking and Finance.

Logistics

Cost:        Included in AFB membership (no fee)

Format:    In-person at Fox Williams LLP, 10 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1AF

Date:        Tuesday 4 March 2025

Time:        13:00 – 14:30 (Lunch and registration from 12:30)

If you would like to submit a question or have any specific areas that you would like the session to address, please send them to AFB at secretariat@foreignbanks.org.uk  You will receive details on how to join this session a week before the event.