World Whistleblowers Day is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of whistleblowers around the world.
Introduction
At Safecall, we are passionate about empowering voices in the face of misconduct. We believe everyone should have the chance to be heard. Founded in 1999, our organisation was established to provide a safe and confidential space for people to raise concerns about misconduct in the workplace.
Over the past 25 years, our company has grown to be one of the UK’s leading whistleblowing solutions providers. We have also seen progress, on a national and global scale, with regards to whistleblowing. Both in terms of legislation and cultural attitudes, there is an ever-growing appreciation of whistleblowing..
Encouraging employees to raise concerns, and providing secure avenues to challenge wrongdoing, are crucial practices when creating an equitable and safe work environment. This article will examine the current state of corporate whistleblowing, using our own internal data and global trends.
Our Benchmarking
In 2023, we received not only the most reports in the history of Safecall (+33% vs 2022), but the highest frequency of reports per customer employee. As further emphasis is placed upon ethical business practices worldwide, we are seeing increased uptake, appetite for, and awareness of whistleblowing as a positive business practice. There are both legislative and cultural factors that contribute to this.
This shift towards external reporting highlights the importance of creating a culture that encourages and protects whistleblowers, and facilitates true reporting avenue choice. This in turn leads to better employee engagement and the opportunity to mitigate issues within the workplace. Organisations must focus on building trust and ensuring the effectiveness of their reporting mechanisms.
Our data also shows that it is important to continue offering multiple means of raising a concern. In 2023, one in three individuals still chose to report concerns via telephone.
Moreover, our report shows 22.7% more whistleblowers choose to give their name to Safecall when talking directly to one of our call handlers than when reporting via written methods, demonstrating the higher levels of trust engendered by this reporting avenue.
Insights from Managers
The results from the ‘Safecall Management Survey March 2024’, in which we collated responses from senior management figures, have offered insights into whistleblowing practices of UK organisations.
The survey showed that 89% of organisations have a dedicated whistleblowing policy. This indicates a widespread recognition of the importance of providing avenues for reporting concerns or misconduct. Organisations understand the importance of promoting transparency, accountability, and ethical behaviour.
50% of respondents told us they use an external whistleblowing provider. This demonstrates that organisations recognise the value of an independent party in the whistleblowing process. A dedicated external hotline optimises security and employee confidence when making a disclosure.
One-third of managers told us that they believe whistleblowers are most confident when making disclosures by phone. In line with the results of our Benchmark Report, this highlights the importance of direct communication channels in whistleblowing processes. Direct verbal communication is often considered as a more effective and secure way for whistleblowers to come forward with information, possibly due to the ability to convey emotions and nuances that may be lost in written forms of communication.
Whistleblowing in the UK
76% of UK workers want to see all employers have whistleblowing standards in place.*
This statistic indicates a desire among UK workers for consistent and robust whistleblowing standards across all organisations. Employees value transparency, accountability, and ethical behaviour within their workplaces. However, even if whistleblowing standards or policies are in place they must be successfully communicated to employees. Clear guidelines and mechanisms to report concerns or misconduct without fear of retaliation are crucial to achieving this.
52% of workers are unaware of the protections available to them as whistleblowers in the UK.*
The fact that over half of the respondents were unaware of the protections available highlights a significant gap in knowledge regarding whistleblowing rights and safeguards. This lack of awareness could potentially deter individuals from coming forward with concerns or disclosures, as they may not feel confident in the protection offered. It underscores the importance of raising awareness about whistleblowing laws, policies, and support mechanisms to ensure that individuals feel empowered to speak up without fear of negative consequences.
The UK is currently in the midst of reviewing its whistleblowing legislation.
British politicians are responding to a series of high profile misconduct cases, across various sectors, by intensifying calls for immediate action to reform the country’s whistleblower legislation through the proposed Protection for Whistleblowing Bill. The current law, the Public Interest Disclosure Act of 1998 (PIDA), is under scrutiny for its shortcomings in safeguarding whistleblowers and addressing misconduct. In light of growing pressure, the Protection for Whistleblowing Bill was introduced to Parliament on February 2nd and underwent its second reading on March 2nd.
Championed by WhistleblowersUK (WBUK) and the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Whistleblowing, the Whistleblowing Bill aims to transform whistleblower protections in the UK. The proposed legislation will criminalise retaliation against whistleblowers, failure to act on their disclosures, or attempts to conceal wrongdoing. At the core of the bill is the creation of an Office of the Whistleblower, equipped with legal authority to impose fines and sanctions on organisations and individuals found guilty of retaliation or misconduct.
*Statistics from research conducted by Protect Advice UK
Progress in Global Whistleblowing Legislation
World Whistleblowers Day sees progress globally in advancing whistleblowing legislation to protect those who come forward to challenge misconduct.
A catalyst for this in the EU has been the EU Whistleblowing Directive.
The European Union (EU) Whistleblowing Directive is a significant legislative initiative aimed at bolstering transparency, integrity, and accountability in both the public and private sectors across EU Member States.
At its core, this Directive provides a comprehensive framework for safeguarding whistleblowers, recognising their pivotal role in unveiling illegal activities, corruption, and various other forms of wrongdoing.
As of June 2024, all member states have now adopted legislation which is compliant with the standards outlined in the Directive.
Other regions have not been able to achieve a similar level of uniformity with whistleblowing laws.
The landscape of whistleblower protection laws in Asia and Oceania varies across different countries. In China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Malaysia, specific legislation exists to protect whistleblowers from retaliation and encourage reporting of misconduct.
However, in countries like Singapore and Indonesia, there is a lack of dedicated legislation solely focused on whistleblowing, leading to debates over the effectiveness of existing measures. Cambodia’s Anti-Corruption Law even criminalizes whistleblowing in certain situations. Overall, while some countries have robust legal frameworks to safeguard whistleblowers, others may benefit from more comprehensive laws to ensure the protection of whistleblowers’ rights and anonymity.