Ethical whistleblowing

What is whistleblowing

Whistle Blowing is a mechanism to enable all individuals to voice concerns internally in a responsible and effective manner when they discover information which they believe shows serious malpractice.

It is a process in which an individual is able to air their views and report on any misconduct that has happened, to the relevant authorities within the organization.

It is when a worker reports a suspected wrongdoing at work.

Who is a Whistle blower???

A person or group of persons who;

• publicizes internally and/or externally to the organization with which she/he is linked

• perceived (real or at least honestly believed) risks, abuses and legal infractions

• whose disclosure is in the public interest

How to ‘blow the whistle’???

The way a worker can ‘blow the whistle’ on wrongdoing depends on whether they feel they can tell their employer.

The worker should check their employment contract or ask human resources or the personnel if their company has any known whistleblowing procedure.

If they feel they can, they should contact their employer about the issue they want to report.

If they can’t tell their employer, they should contact a prescribed person or body.

Elements of ethical whistleblowing

• Anonymity and confidentiality. => Employees should be able to make whistleblower tips anonymously or, at the very least, confidentially, as research indicates that employees are more comfortable reporting suspected wrongdoing when such options are available. Anonymous and confidential reporting mechanisms help foster a climate whereby company employees are more likely to report or seek guidance regarding potential or actual wrongdoing without fear of retaliation.
• No retaliation. => Companies must emphasize when publicizing hotline reporting procedures that they will not and are prohibited by law from retaliating against employees who make whistleblower reports. The fear of retribution is generally strong among potential whistleblowers and such fear may adversely affect the effectiveness of the internal reporting process.
• Educate, publicize and make hotline available. => Companies should ensure that their compliance and ethics program includes regularly educating employees on and publicizing the who-what-when-where-why-how of reporting suspected unethical or unlawful activity via the company’s whistleblower hotline.
• Multiple uses for hotline, including a helpline. => Companies should expand the reasons an employee may contemplate calling the hotline, such as having the hotline also serve as a helpline, as this may alter the perception or negativity associated with hotlines and facilitate reducing the fear of calling and the associated stigma.
• Record and analyze statistics. => Companies should use their hotlines as a tool for collecting and analyzing information on the company’s overall internal compliance, reporting and ethics program.
• Evaluate, test and audit. => Hotlines, whether managed internally or outsourced to a third party, should be evaluated, tested and audited to ensure that the manner in which hotline calls are received, recorded and managed is consistent, confidential, accurate and timely, and that the hotline is operating as intended by the board and management.

Steps/procedure for a whistleblowing

1. Understand whistleblowing law => Make sure that employee disclosures qualify as whistleblowing under the law. To be counted as whistleblowing, information must be disclosed; it is not sufficient to gather information or threaten to make a disclosure.
2. Introduce a whistleblowing policy and adopt appropriate procedures => Only government bodies, listed companies and US companies are obliged to have a whistleblowing policy, but it is recommended that all employers encourage workers to inform them of concerns in the first instance, rather than going directly to the regulator.
3. Reassure the workforce that whistleblowers will be protected => Remind workers that the law protects them from being subjected to detriment as a result of whistleblowing.
4. Respond to allegations of wrongdoing => Give workers who want to make disclosures the right to be accompanied at meetings and suggest that the details of the disclosure are written down, to avoid any misunderstandings.
5. Be prepared for the possibility of a case going to the employment tribunal => Allegations of whistleblowing are more likely to attract adverse publicity than most other kinds of claim. If the whistleblower is badly managed, this publicity will become negative, damaging any chances of future whistleblowers coming forward.

Advantages of Whistleblowing

● Whistleblowing increases the risk of discovery for those who employ unfair practices in competition, thus promoting fair competition.

● It supplies information to the public and to public authorities that enable them to perceive risks and stop abuses

Disadvantages of Whistleblowing

Whistleblower actions may save lives, money, or the environment. However, instead of praise for the public service of “committing the truth” whistleblowers are often targeted for retaliation, harassment, intimidation, demotion, dismissal and blacklisting.

Consequently we have seen a sharpened focus on anti-corruption and greater pressure on organisations to give employees a voice. At the same time, more and more governments are putting in place whistleblowing laws that in some cases mandate the implementation of whistleblowing systems, in other cases, enhance whistleblower protection. As a result, organisations are increasingly choosing to set up whistleblowing channels to better manage issues internally and to ensure compliance.