Something short on Whistleblowing

By Donna Turner

I recently attended a conference in London to discuss Whistleblowing and its impact on company culture. I know that for many of us virtual meetings and conferences are now commonplace, but it was a joy to meet other practitioners in person and to be able to chat over a coffee and lunch. I was very impressed by the audience participation and thought some of the questions raised were too good not to mention here.

Q: Can saying sorry to a whistleblower help to mitigate and diffuse the tensions and possible actions? If you do, is this an admission of guilt and liability? 

This is the sort of question that will make any Lawyer nervous, but I do think there are instances where it may be appropriate to apologise to the whistleblower and admit that a mistake was made and is now being rectified. In many cases all a whistleblower wants is recognition of their concern and the knowledge that something is being done to address it. HOWEVER, each report should be assessed on a case-by-case basis to determine what the best course of action is but I do think this approach should be included in those considerations.

Q: What steps can be taken to provide wellbeing support to the person accused of wrongdoing?

It’s always a primary concern to focus on the wellbeing of the whistleblower, driven by legislation and company policy but this is a great reminder that the wellbeing of the accused is just as important. Imagine being accused of something at work and then being put through an investigation process – that’s a lot of stress and anxiety for any individual who may ultimately be proven innocent and the report unsubstantiated. The accused may also have longer term worries about how this may affect their chances of promotion and career progression if it is known that an allegation against them had been made, even if subsequently unfounded. There are some simple steps that can be taken to help the accused such as a FAQ information sheet to outline the process and what will happen, so they don’t feel like they are on a mystery tour. When the report is made, assess what the potential risk of detriment is for the accused and partner with HR to monitor and intervene if necessary to manage any sick leave and provide other support if needed.

Wrap up

I have picked out 2 of the questions raised that stood out for me but there were so many other great questions including ‘How do you evaluate effectiveness of the process?’, ‘How can you ensure impartiality in small teams?’, ‘How can you promote whistleblowing positively in an organisation?’. 

There is a lot to think about when managing and assessing a whistleblowing framework. If you would like to hear more about what we do to help firms implement effective whistleblowing frameworks get in touch at  info@shapesfirst.com