Boris Johnson's ex-wife to become 'whistleblowing tsar' for Labour
Boris Johnson's ex-wife Marina Wheeler KC is set to become Labour's "whistleblowing tsar" for women in the party
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Boris Johnson's ex-wife Marina Wheeler KC is set to become Labour's "whistleblowing tsar" for women in the party.
The barrister, who specialises in employment law, will advise the party on proposed protections for women against workplace harassment.
The reforms are aimed at protecting women from abusive colleagues.
Labour is understood to be planning to give women who have been harassed at work "whistleblower status".
Labour is understood to be planning to give women who have been harassed at work 'whistleblower status'
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This will ensure they feel safe to speak out, without fear of being penalised by their employer.
The party is also eyeing plans to give common-law partners - who have lived together for a significant amount of time - the same rights as married women, should their relationship end.
Speaking to the Independent, Wheeler said the role would be a "privilege".
She said: "[Women in the workplace] too often suffer sexual harassment and assault and they pay a heavy price for speaking out.
"Knowing this, and to keep their jobs, they suffer in silence.”
Current guidance means that victims of harassment are excluded from whistleblower status.
It says: "Personal grievances (for example bullying, harassment, discrimination) are not covered by whistleblowing law, unless your particular case is in the public interest."
Emily Thornberry, Labour's Shadow Attorney General, will set out the plans in a speech to the party conference on Tuesday.
She is expected to say: "For too long, a woman suffering sexual harassment in the workplace has faced a terrible choice: if she speaks out, the individual responsible may be investigated, but even then, she still risks losing her job and her other employment rights, while he gets a slap on the wrist.
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The barrister, who is specialises in employment law, will advise the party on proposed protections for women against workplace harassment
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"It is time we offered the same protections to people reporting sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination in the workplace as we do to other whistleblowers."
She will add: "That is the difference between a Tory government that pretends to care about women’s rights, and a Labour Party that delivers them."