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Effective Whistleblowing

Effective Whistleblowing arrangements can deliver a range of positive effects on your business by helping you identify and resolve issues as they emerge. These benefits include; improved employee morale and decreased attrition, lower financial risk and reduced insurance premiums, increased customer satisfaction and an improved reputation with suppliers, regulators, shareholders, investors and other 3rd parties. In fact, it’s such a powerful tool that it really could save your business by preventing serious issues materialising.

Here’s everything you need to know about protecting your business with effective whistleblowing arrangements. Safecall are offering a discount code for all BDaily readers: BDAILY200

What is whistleblowing?

Whistleblowing is the process whereby an employees report wrongdoing within their organisation to the appropriate people. There are three primary forms of whistleblowing, internal, external and public.

Internal whistleblowing

Concerns are raised to the company’s management team or whistleblowing function in order to carry out an investigation and resolve the situation. Independent services like Safecall increase the likelihood of employees reporting issues as we are better placed to protect the whistleblower from retaliation and raise the concern to the appropriate senior people in the organisation. We employ specialist case handlers, the quality of the information gathered is more likely to result in a prompt and effective investigation and resolution preventing any escalation of the issue.

Note; internal whistleblowers in the UK are protected from retaliation by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.

External whistleblowing

Concerns are raised to a third party, such as a regulator, law enforcement agency or other body outside of the organisation with a form of jurisdiction over the industry. The European Union has adopted a Directive focusing on better protecting Whistleblowers. In the future each member state is obliged to appoint a competent authority to handle whistleblowing complaints. In the UK obligation is being met with the Office of the Whistleblower Bill currently making its way through the House of Lords. There are also a raft of protections for employees who choose to raise their complaints externally.

Note; under new EU rules whistleblowers may report externally if they do not believe the internal channels will be effective.

Public

The most well-known category of whistleblowing, and also the least common and arguably the most effective. Rarely out of the news, a whistleblower goes to the press to expose wrongdoing. #MeToo is an excellent example of public whistleblowing.

The new EU Directive also offers protection for those who take this course of action.

Note; NDAs and similar arrangements are void under new EU rules.

What are the most common whistleblowing complaints?

Whistleblowers can bring attention to a huge range of misdeeds. Sometimes these actions stem from negligence, other times they are well intentioned but morally wrong, and in some cases they are simply malicious.

Some of the most commonly raised issues are:

• Racism, Discrimination, Bullying and Harrassment
• Theft, Bribery, Fraud and Corruption
• Substance Abuse
• Malpractice / Abuse of authority
• Health and Safety breaches
• Environmental Harm

It is in the interest of organisations to proactively root out and resolve these behaviours to safeguard the continued health and prosperity of any organisation. Effective whistleblowing management systems are an invaluable tool in discovery and remedy of serious workplace issues.

What are the benefits of whistleblowing?

It’s uncomfortable for any business owner or senior manager to contemplate such behaviour taking place in their organisation, but unfortunately recruitment processes are not perfect and even trusted employees can become jaded over time. If you have a solid whistleblowing process in place, then decisive action can be taken to resolve an issue should it occur.

There are also less immediate, but equally important, benefits to having a healthy regard for the whistleblowing process within your business. For example a company that encourages whistleblowers to step forward is one that has placed its trust in its employees. It follows then, that employees making these disclosures are invested in the company and its activities enough to care when they see wrongdoing take place. Such buy-in and loyalty to a business, its values, and its stakeholders should never be underestimated. Having a whistleblowing hotline of the type that Safecall can provide shows that your company is serious about promoting a culture that is not only open and transparent, but supportive of those who act in the best interests of the organisation.

Implementing a whistleblowing hotline with Safecall

Implementing a whistleblowing hotline with Safecall An independent whistleblowing service can be a vital step in establishing a robust, usable and successful whistleblowing setup.

Safecall can get your service up and running almost instantaneously and offer advice on how to get the most value from your service. Safecall has been making workplaces safer for over 20 years.

Take a look at our plans at www.safecall.co.uk and use the coupon code BDAILY200 to receive a £200 discount on a whistleblowing service.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Safecall .