As Alan Bates, the former sub-postmaster and campaigner who exposed the Horizon IT scandal, gives evidence to the Post Office inquiry today, it’s worth remembering that it was a Fujitsu whistleblower who helped bring the truth to light.
The case, involving the prosecution of more than 900 sub-postmasters, has been described as the “most widespread miscarriage of justice ever seen” by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
But it is far from the only case where whistleblowers have been integral. From water industry workers raising the alarm about major sewage leaks to warnings about production standards at aircraft manufacturer Boeing, and women calling out harassment in the city of London, the reasons for speaking up are many.
Whistleblowing is something employers should embrace as a positive thing, says Joanna Lewis, managing director at whistleblowing hotline provider Safecall.
The obvious reason for this is that it’s the right thing to do, she says, but it is also important for employers to protect the organisation’s culture and reputation.
“You want to believe that if somebody you care about was in a difficult situation or something was happening to them that they would have the opportunity to speak up and be safe doing that.”
Protecting whistleblowers goes beyond the individual to encompass the whole organisation, she says, because it helps to create a better culture and safeguards your employer reputation. In turn this supports improved recruitment and retention, she adds.
“Ultimately, it takes a lot of time to build a highly functioning team and build a great business, and it doesn’t take very long to ruin it. So protecting your employees and making sure that they feel valued and that they can trust the organisation they work for will benefit everyone.”
Frontline HR
Safecall’s Lewis says that HR is on the frontline as they have to deal with anything that isn’t working well for employees within an organisation.
“All organisations should want to know what’s happening, and certainly they should want to know before it escalates.”
Whistleblowers need to feel protected throughout the whole process and the first thing an employer can do is to offer anonymity.
“Make sure that your employees or former employees can make reports in a safe environment so that they know their names aren’t [being shared] and there’s no opportunity for anybody to retaliate against them.”
She also advocates for better internal training on how to deal with reports when they come in.
“It’s difficult if you haven’t had training to know exactly what to do when a report comes in, so it’s about having the right people who have had the right training.”
She says that employers should consider whether it would be better to use an independent investigator rather than investigating internally, depending on the type of report that comes in to ensure it’s a fair investigation.
“It’s also important to be able to signpost the whistleblower to where they can access support, for example an employee assistance programme.
A lot of the issues she sees through the hotline tend to be HR matters. Of the tens of thousands of reports Safecall gets every year, only a small proportion would probably be classed as true whistleblowing matters.
“A lot of them tend to be HR grievances, which are things HR should definitely want to know about because they may be able to nip them in the bud.
“Once they’ve investigated they might find that there’s a common theme or training requirements. So improving your internal processes and practices benefits everybody.”
Whistleblowing changes
Lewis says the provider has a lot of global clients, including in the UK, who work to the EU directive on whistleblowing. Currently a new bill, called the protection for whistleblowing bill, is making its way through parliament with backing from Whistleblowers UK and the all party parliamentary group on whistleblowing. It proposes a key shift in how whistleblowers are safeguarded in the public and private sectors.
Lewis says, what this new bill and the EU directive are trying to do is enhance the protection of whistleblowers and ensure that they don’t need to fear retaliation for speaking out.
“It’s also about dispelling the myth that whistleblowing is a bad thing and that it is actually a benefit done in the right way.”
Lewis says that the public interest disclosure act 1988 (PIDA) was pioneering at its inception. However, PIDA has since been criticised for its failure to adequately protect those who come forward with allegations of wrongdoing.
The proposed bill aims to change this by introducing measures that would criminalise retaliation against whistleblowers, mandate action on their disclosures and penalise cover-ups of wrongdoing. Another key element of the change would be to establish an official office of the whistleblower, she says, which would exercise statutory powers to investigate complaints, enforce fines and protect the identities of people speaking up.
This bill is a direct response to the systemic failures highlighted by cases such as the Post Office scandal and negligence in the NHS, as seen in the Lucy Letby case.
Lewis says that for HR professionals, this proposed legislation signals a fundamental shift towards a more transparent, accountable and supportive workplace culture. It aims to protect individuals and encourages an environment where reporting misconduct is not only protected but encouraged.
Employers can proactively align with these proposed changes by establishing clear whistleblowing policies, fostering a culture of ethical conduct and using external support services to ensure confidential and effective reporting. Organisations that do this will demonstrate a commitment to integrity and accountability, she says.
