Employee voice

The definition of employee voice can vary by context. In our employee voice case studies, we use Dromey’s definition: "the ability of employees to express their views, opinions, concerns and suggestions, and for these to influence decisions at work."

Employees can share their views individually or collectively, directly with management or indirectly through employee representatives and trade unions. Voice may occur formally (for example, consultation groups and surveys) or informally via team meetings or business intranets.

A single initiative is rarely sufficient. Effective voice depends on complementary channels supported by leadership. Senior leaders and line managers play key roles in encouraging employees to speak out. People professionals have a responsibility to embed employee voice into organisational, people policies and working practices.

Genuine two-way communication requires managers to listen to and act on feedback. This is also essential for job quality in the context of changing working practices.

Why is employee voice important?

There are two main purposes of voice:

1. Employee voice is a fundamental right. It allows employees to express matters that are important to them and is integral to good work.
2. Organisational effectiveness. Voice can help improve performance by allowing employees to share ideas and identify solutions.

Employee voice is the way people communicate their views to their employer, and influence matters that affect them at work. Indeed, the CIPD’s Good Work Index identifies employee voice as one of seven dimensions critical to job quality.

For employers, effective voice contributes to building trust with employees, innovation, productivity and organisational improvement. For employees, self-expression in voice often results in feeling valued, increased job satisfaction, greater influence and better opportunities for development. Employee voice is important in creating inclusive working environments too. 

Employee voice is always evolving and it is the role of the people professional to be engaged with channels and provide relevant information to support business and employees. Examples of the evolving nature of employee voice include: 

• The changing role of collective voice via trade unions and in internal collective groups.
• Workplace trends such as remote working, greater diversity and shifting employee relations are creating new challenges for employee voice. Organisations must continually adapt voice mechanisms to new ways of working and communicating.
• Changes in technology mean there evolving ways for people to have a voice at work. Employees are now more familiar with mobile devices, employee apps and digital meeting platforms, meaning voice is not limited to in-person, office-based mechanisms.
• Organisational intranets allow employees to communicate directly and more frequently with senior leaders. These virtual networks allow workers some control over issues discussed, as well as informal networking with colleagues.

Corporate governance

UK Government’s corporate governance reforms require listed companies to ensure employees’ interests are represented at board level. One recommended option is to include an employee representative on the board, a common practice across Europe. CIPD and the High Pay Centre have welcomed efforts to raise awareness of employee interests at board level while acknowledging that there’s no single solution to acheiving meaningful employee voice. See our guide on corporate governance.

Whistleblowing occurs when a worker raises a concern about wrongdoing when they have a reasonable belief that raising this concern is in the public interest. The disclosure may be about the alleged wrongful conduct of the employer, a colleague, client, or any third party. 

In the UK, the Employment Rights Act 1996 (as amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998) is a key law which protects those who ‘blow the whistle’ in the public interest. Examples include sexual harassment (added to whistleblowing disclosures in April 2026), financial malpractice, criminal offences, risks to health and safety, failure to comply with a legal obligation, a miscarriage of justice and environmental damage. Workers who make a ‘protected disclosure’ can make a claim to an employment tribunal if they’re treated badly or dismissed. 

Employers should have a standalone ‘speak up’ policy that’s supported by top managers and promoted effectively to the workforce. It should make clear to all staff what to do if they come across malpractice in the workplace, and encourage individuals to inform someone who is in an appropriate position in the organisation to act on the disclosure. 

The policy should make clear that: 

• The employer attaches great importance to identifying and remedying wrongdoing in the organisation. It should include specific examples of dangers, illegality or unacceptable behaviour. 
• Staff should inform their line manager immediately if they become aware that any of the specified actions are happening, have happened or are likely to happen. 

In more serious cases, or if the allegation is about the actions of their line manager, an individual should feel able to raise it with a more senior manager, bypassing lower levels of management. 

• Individuals can ask for their concerns to be treated in confidence and the employer will respect those wishes. 
• Individuals won’t be penalised for informing managers about any of the specified actions. 

Personal complaints such as harassment or discrimination are not usually treated as whistleblowing and should be handled according to the organisation’s grievance policy. It’s preferable to deal with whistleblowing separately because the level of risk to the organisation and to the worker will generally be significantly greater in whistleblowing cases than in other grievance matters. 

A climate of open communication, supported by a clear procedure for dealing with concerns, will help reduce the risk of accusations of misconduct and illegalities, and ensure that concerns are dealt with speedily and effectively. 

CIPD members can find more on the UK legal aspects, including the rules about the uncapped compensation, as well as recent and proposed changes to the law, in our whistleblowing legal resource and can also use our whistleblowing advice helpline. 

Contacts

Involvement and Participation Association 

GOV.UK – Whistleblowing 

Protect (formerly known as Public Concern at Work)

Books and reports

Ajibade Adisa, T., Mordi, C. and Oruh, E. (eds.) (2023) Employee voice in the global north: insights from Europe, North America and Australia. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.

Ajibade Adisa, T., Mordi, C. and Oruh, E. (eds.) (2023) Employee voice in the global south: insights from Asia, Africa and South America. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. 

Prouska, R,, Psychogios, A. and McKearney, A (eds.) (in press). Inclusive leadership and employee voice: fostering an open organisational culture. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Ruck, K. and Flegg, M. (2026) Exploring internal communication: towards dialogue in the workplace. 54th ed. London: Routledge.

Wilkinson, A., Donaghey, J and Dundon, T. (eds) (2020) Handbook of research on employee voice. 2nd ed. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Journal articles

Alang, T., Stanton, P. and Rose, M. (2022) Enhancing employee voice and inclusion through inclusive leadership in public sector organizations. Public Personnel Management. Vol 51, Issue 3, pp309-329. 

Barry, M. and Wilkinson, A. (2022) Employee voice, psychologisation and human resource management (HRM). Human Resource Management Journal. Vol 32, No 3, pp631-646.

Carollo, L., Guerci, M. and Parisi, N. (2019). There’s a price to pay in order not to have a price: whistleblowing and the employment relationship. Work, Employment and Society, pp1-11. Reviewed in Bitesize research.

Isham, R. (2020) Are whistleblowers adequately protected?  People Management (online). 15 January.

Jebsen, S., Rohlfer, S. and Matiaske,W. (2022) Employee voice and the digitalisation of work. Management Revue. Vol 33, Issue 3, pp209-212.

Jirjahn, U., Laible, M.C. and Mohrenweiser, J. (2024). Management practices and productivity: Does employee representation play a moderating role?  Human Resource Management Journal. Vol 34, No 1, pp 236–254.  Reviewed in Bitesize Research.

LI, C., Liang, J. and Farh, J-L. (2020) Speaking up when water is murky: an uncertainty-based model linking perceived organizational politics to employee voice. Journal of Management. Vol 46, No 3, March. Reviewed in Bitesize research.

Mazzei, A. Ravazzani, S., Butera, A. and Fisichella, C. (2025). Do you dare to speak up at work? A study on organizational conditions enabling or discouraging employee voice. Journal of Public Relations Research. Vol 37, Nos 1-2, pp115-134.

Mowbray, P.K., Wilkinson, A. and Tse, H.H.M. (2022) Strategic or silencing? Line managers’ repurposing of employee voice mechanisms for high performance. British Journal of Management. Vol 33, Issue 2, pp1054-1070.

Reitz, M. and Higgins, J. (2019) Helping silenced staff find their voice at work. People Management (online). 30 July.

Shipton, H., Kougiannou, N., Minbashian, A., Do, H., Pautz, N. and King, D. (2023) Organisational voice and employee-focused voice: Two distinct voice forms and their effects on burnout and innovative behavior. Human Resource Management Journal. Vol 34, No 1, pp 177-196. Reviewed in Bitesize Research, 23 November 2023.

Starzyk, A. and Bauer, J.F. (2025). Three dilemmas of disabled employee voice. Journal of Business Ethics. Vol 201, No 4, pp941-967.

Townsend, K., Wilkinson, A., Dundon, T. and Mowbray, P.K. (2022) Tracking employee voice: developing the concept of voice pathways. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. Vol 60, No 2, pp283-304

Wang, H.K. and Yen, Y.F. (2023) How the organizational ethical climate accounts for employee voice behavior: a multilevel analysis. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. Vol 61, No 1, pp124-145.

CIPD members can use our online journals to find articles from over 300 journal titles relevant to HR.

Members and People Management subscribers can see articles on the People Management website.