The COVID-19 crisis has brought the issue of whistleblowing into the public spotlight again. With employees encouraged to report their employers to HMRC for breaches of the furlough scheme and many staff raising concerns about health and safety as businesses reopen, whistleblowing has become an urgent issue for many businesses. It's never been more important to ensure that you have effective procedures in place for handling concerns that staff raise. But how do you go about it?
1. Put robust procedures in place - and make sure staff know about them
An effective whistleblowing policy is only the first step - but it's an essential one. It should explain how staff should raise concerns, what action will be taken and who is responsible for each aspect of the process. From a legal perspective, it's vital that any investigation of concerns raised by a member of staff isn't subject to interference by other staff or managers - so defining responsibilities is crucial.
A well-drafted policy will also help to manage expectations - for example, policies often emphasise that it may not be possible to report back to the whistleblower on every aspect of the action taken in response to their raising concerns (although employers should feed back as much as possible). Doing this can reduce the risk of frustrated members of staff making wider disclosures.
But the policy shouldn't gather dust in a drawer. It should be drawn to the attention of all staff and kept up to date. For example, EU member states will be implementing the Whistleblowing Directive next year, and this will require larger businesses based in the EU to take steps such as establishing a whistleblower hotline. Many multinationals are already updating their whistleblowing arrangements to ensure that this is fully embedded.
2. Train staff on whistleblowing - including on their role
Once you have the policy in place, you should ensure that staff receive training on what it means, how it works and what role they have to play. Although most organisations train staff on their equality and diversity policies, it's currently much more unusual (outside of regulated sectors) for staff to receive training on the whistleblowing procedure. But failing to train staff on the procedure increases the risks that staff who raise concerns will receive an unhelpful response.
Whatever the policy says, staff are most likely to discuss their concerns first with peers or immediate managers - and if they respond negatively, it can make it more difficult for the business to defend any future whistleblowing claim in the Employment Tribunal. They could even be personally liable if they treat the whistleblower detrimentally - and compensation for whistleblowing claims is uncapped. So it's crucial that all staff understand that an individual who raises concerns shouldn't be dismissed as a result, be ignored or face retaliation.
3. Make sure reality lives up to the theory
A robust written policy won't protect the business from Employment Tribunal claims if it doesn't reflect what happens in practice. Research by Protect, the whistleblowing charity, found that 7 in 10 whistleblowers in financial services who contacted Protect reported that they had been victimised, dismissed or forced out of their jobs - in a sector where whistleblowing procedures are a regulatory requirement. Clearly, in some organisations, reality doesn't reflect the rhetoric. Employers should monitor the effectiveness of their policies to try to close this gap. For example, do whistleblowers stay in the organisation and progress, or do they face career stagnation or leave? Do staff who retaliate against whistleblowers face disciplinary action? If the data suggests that the organisation is falling short, this should be treated as an urgent risk issue and action taken to remedy the situation.
Promoting a culture where staff feel empowered to raise concerns doesn't just help an employer to defend potential claims. It also increases the chances that mistakes and malpractice will come to light - which is ultimately in the interests of the business and its customers.
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