Are Whistleblowers being treated fairly?

Whistleblowers are being victimised when they go back to work.

A recent government report found that whistleblowers were often victimised and bullied after exposing misconduct in companies and public services in the UK.

As the expenditure of public money is often shrouded in a cloud of secrecy, a whistleblower can give us an insider’s perspective – divulging valuable information that lies within the public interest.

Legally protected

The act of whistle blowing is covered, in law, by the 1998 Public Disclosure Act.

For information to be leaked legally, it must be proven to relate to malpractice or criminality.

Atrocities such as the police cover up of the Hillsborough disaster have been revealed because of whistleblowers and it remains an important way to uncover wrong doing.

The second section of the law states that whistleblowers have the “right not to suffer detriment”.

This rule is more difficult to enact because the public body or company, and fellow employees, often suffer as a result of the whistleblowing.

Upon returning to the workplace, whistleblowers are often treated with disdain. They are harassed and bullied and although covered legally, it is difficult to reprimand those who are singling them out.

The report says that: “the whistleblowers fears of reprisal are often justified, and such experiences are likely to deter other employees from raising a concern”.

How is it possible to fairly treat whistleblowers?

If whistleblowers do not feel like they are protected then they are less likely to reveal important evidence.

It is thus important that we push for those who victimise whistleblowers to be given harsher punishments.

Although the law currently protects whistleblowers, punishments for harassment are not nearly heavy enough.

Companies and public services should be forced to do everything in their power to make sure that this consistent problem does not occur.

Conclusion

The report states that: “Where the identity of whistleblowers is known, departments must ensure that they are protected, supported and have their welfare monitored”.

It also offers three suggestions to how companies should work with whistleblowers:
1. “Ownership from the top by assigning a board member who is accountable for the proper treatment of whistleblowers”.
2. “Providing whistleblowers with appropriate support and advice, such as access to legal and counselling services”.
3. “Appropriate and swift sanctions against employees, at all levels in the organisation, if they victimise whistleblowers”.

All of these suggestions, especially the third recommendation, would help to make the life of a whistleblower easier. In turn, this would make it more likely for people to come forward and expose issues which are of great importance to us all.

Comments

6 responses to “Are Whistleblowers being treated fairly?”

  1. KS Anders Avatar
    KS Anders

    The life of a whistleblower is a complicated one. You have to fight for a long time to prove what you know is the truth and sacrifice many things as a result. No support are given to whistleblowers, in fact they are always attacked to undermine their reputation and credibility.

  2. Lammy Avatar
    Lammy

    I’m not sure about this blog – how can you expect to trust your colleagues if you think they might go to the press about you at any moment? Sure, the bullying is going too far, but businesses have to protect their interests as well.

  3. G Garcia Avatar
    G Garcia

    Well Lammy, if you have done nothing wrong then you do not need to worry about people reporting you.

    1. Lammy Avatar
      Lammy

      I see what you’re saying, do you feel the same about surveillance at home as well? Are you happy that people are listening to your every conversation? The fact is that even if you are doing nothing wrong, the possibility of being ridiculed or exposed creates a major trust issue within businesses.

  4. Sam. Kahn Avatar
    Sam. Kahn

    How can you even compare surveillance with whistleblowing? The scales are so different and as mentioned before if you doing nothing wrong, then there won’t be a problem for you. Surveillance is different as there is often an awful intrusion of privacy.

  5. Ali S. Avatar
    Ali S.

    Anyone seen the FIFA whistleblower? She has been publicly exposed and has received death threats. This answers your question perfectly: no, whistleblowers are not treated fairly.

Leave a Reply to Lammy Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *