The Security Industry Authority is now formally a prescribed person for whistleblowing purposes after the Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) (Amendment) Order 2026 came into force on 2 June 2026. The statutory change was made by SI 2026 No. 478, laid before Parliament on 1 May, and it gives workers in the private security sector a protected route to raise qualifying concerns directly with the regulator. (gov.uk) For Policy Wire readers, the point is practical rather than symbolic. A disclosure to the SIA can now attract the protections attached to reports made to a prescribed person, which matters where a worker says they were bullied, denied work or dismissed after speaking up. The Order itself extends to England and Wales and Scotland. (legislation.gov.uk)
According to the SIA’s guidance, the protection applies only where the individual is a worker making a disclosure in the public interest and in good faith, rather than pursuing a personal grievance about pay, shifts or another private employment dispute. The guidance also says the worker must reasonably believe the matter falls within the SIA’s remit and have some basis for what is being reported. (gov.uk) That boundary matters for employers, advisers and compliance teams. Not every workplace complaint becomes protected whistleblowing, but where the issue concerns illegality, licensing abuse, criminal conduct or risks to public safety, the route to the regulator is now much clearer than it was before June 2026. (gov.uk)
The 2026 Order gives the SIA prescribed-person coverage for matters tied to its regulatory functions: offences under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, whether an individual or business is fit and proper for licensing or approval, and conduct that may undermine the regulation of security operatives and approved providers. The same amending Order added several other bodies to the prescribed list, but the SIA entry is the one with direct effect for private security firms and workers. (legislation.gov.uk) The SIA’s own examples show how wide that can be in practice. Its guidance points to unlicensed guarding, false claims about approved-contractor status, theft by security staff, sexual misconduct by a door supervisor, underpayment below the National Minimum Wage, and cheating around licence-linked qualifications. The regulator’s press notice also refers to suspected fraud, wider non-compliance and risks to public safety. (gov.uk)
The new route is not limited to named complaints. SIA guidance says disclosures may be made openly, confidentially or anonymously, and the online reporting form asks users to identify that they are making a whistleblowing disclosure so the regulator can apply its whistleblowing procedure. (gov.uk) Confidential and anonymous reporting remain available, but the guidance is unusually direct about the trade-offs. Anonymous reporting can make follow-up harder and may weaken a later tribunal case if an employer argues it did not know who made the disclosure. Even with confidential reporting, the SIA warns that the substance of allegations may need to be shared during an investigation and that identity can sometimes be inferred. (gov.uk)
The SIA says it will assess every report and prioritise those carrying the greatest risk to public safety or the biggest effect on confidence in the private security industry. Available responses include referral to police or other enforcement bodies, licence suspension or revocation, action against Approved Contractor Scheme status, inspection activity and, where appropriate, prosecution. The regulator also says it will publish annual reporting on the disclosures it receives and the action taken. (gov.uk) For employers, that moves whistleblowing beyond an internal HR process and into live regulatory territory. Firms that rely on licensed operatives or SIA approval now have a stronger reason to test speak-up procedures, record how concerns are handled and make sure frontline staff understand when an issue belongs with the regulator. In its 2 June press release, the SIA said Protect supported the change, and City Security Council said it closed a longstanding gap in protected reporting to the regulator. (gov.uk)
The current prescribed-person status is limited to the SIA’s existing role as regulator of the private security industry. The SIA said whistleblowing linked to Martyn’s Law will be added when the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 is brought into force for the regulator’s new duties. (gov.uk) On timing, the SIA’s press release referred to Spring 2027, while Home Office guidance says the implementation period for the 2025 Act will be at least 24 months from Royal Assent on 3 April 2025 so that those in scope can prepare and the SIA can be fully established as regulator. The policy direction is clear: regulator-facing whistleblowing is becoming a larger part of the compliance framework around both private security licensing and future protective security duties. (gov.uk)