A survey of more than 2,000 UK adults by the Business Software Alliance has found that a third of employees would grass on an employer if they were using pirated software.

The research, compiled by YouGov, also revealed that an alarming 49 per cent of employees have come across 'illegal' or 'inappropriate' activities at work, and 64 per cent would report problems to an external body if their internal reports were ignored.

One in three employees are more ready to report illegal or inappropriate activity than they were three years ago, compared to just 10 per cent who feel the opposite.

Disgruntled workers are even more likely to report illegal goings-on. Some 65 per cent would consider reporting the company if they felt their employer treated them unfairly, and more than a quarter said that large salary rises for the board, or poor salary reviews for staff, could spur them to act.

"Employees are often concerned that reporting malpractice in the workplace could impact negatively on their careers," said Siobhan Carroll, regional manager for Northern Europe at the Business Software Alliance.

"While we encourage employees to speak to their managers if possible, we have found that our initiative, which allows informants to disclose details of illegal software use anonymously, encourages people to come forward with information."