What is Whistleblowing?
Whistleblowing is the term used to describe an employee who reports unlawful acts committed by the organisation that they work for. Some examples of this include; fraud within the organisation, staff that appear to be covering up wrongdoings e.g., breaking the law, risk to health and safety, risk/harm to the working environment and miscarriage of justice. However, this does not include situations that involve one’s self, for example; harassment or bullying.
The importance of whistleblowing
It is important to help protect your company and create a safe space where employees feel comfortable to blow the whistle. It helps employees to feel reassurance and that they are working for an ethical, well-routed company. It takes a very brave person to out their company, but it is better for the company’s benefit in the long run.
How does it affect an organisation?
Whistleblowing can have both a positive and negative impact on your company. It’s an ethical way of practice, therefore it allows for wrongdoings to be exposed and shows your employees are dedicated to the job and care about the practices of the organisation.
However, it can be damaging to the whistle blower as they are at risk of facing poor or unfair treatment. Some staff may see them as a ‘snitch’ and believe it’s wrong to go against your organisation. This may also result in loss of employees as some whistle blowers are forced to leave or feel entitled to due to the way they are treated or due to the unlawful acts of the organisation.
Minimising the risks
It is paramount that your organisation shows that you truly care for your employees. You can achieve this by encouraging employees to actually blow the whistle if need be. The public interest disclosure act 1998 prevents injurious treatment of whistle blowers by their employers, so enforcing company policy and relying employee rights and risks creates culture in the workforce, and shows that your company actually cares about misconduct and that you will support the employee if they were ever to become a whistle blower. In turn this actually deters employees from actually wanting to blow the whistle.
For more information on whistle blowing visit Gov.uk
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