Whistle Blowing

WHISTLEBLOWING?

ARE YOU AFRAID TO DO IT?

Information.

Do you have information about the conduct of other employees which you believe ought to be passed on to your employer in the interests of the Company, but you are afraid of the consequences to yourself and do not know what to do.

Duty to Inform.

As an employee of the Company you may be under a legal obligation to inform your employer, for example, if the information you have relates to other employees’ failure to follow Health and Safety at Work Regulations. An obvious example of this would be carrying matches in a factory or environment where flammable materials are strictly forbidden for safety reasons. In these circumstances you can be dismissed if you fail to pass on the information and your employer subsequently learns that you knew about it.

Company Directors.

Company Directors have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the Company. If you are a Company Director and are aware of misconduct by another Director, which is contrary to the Company’s best interests you are under a fiduciary duty to disclose this misconduct to the Company. An example of such misconduct would be a Company Director who is involved in another Company which is doing work in direct competition with his employer.

Other Employees.

The requirement for you as an ordinary employee of the Company to disclose information may have information about misconduct of other employees may depend on the seriousness of that misconduct and your position with the Company, for example, whether or not you hold a senior position such as that of a Manager.

Does your Employer have a Whistleblowing Policy?

If so then your decision to disclose the information would be simpler because the procedure to follow will hopefully clearly laid down.

If your employer has a hotline for employees who wish to pass on information then you would be able to retain your anonymity by passing on the information via the hotline. However by using the anonymous tip-off method or route you may make it harder for your employer to obtain enough evidence to take steps against the responsible employees.

Do you want to protect your Identity?

If you would prefer not to reveal your name and identity, you can rely on the Whistleblowing Legislation to protect you, provided your ensure that you qualify for this protection by following the rules which relate to it. You must have a reasonable belief that the information you have is true and you must act in good faith. You will not be protected if you simply pass on idle gossip and if you have acted out of malice.

In addition, the information provided by you must be information which relates to the following matters in order for you to be able to claim protection :-

• A criminal offence.

• Risk of danger to Health and Safety.

• Damage to the environment.

• Breach of any legal obligation.

• A miscarriage of justice.

If you act out of malice your identity will not be protected.

If you are now convinced that you should bring the information you have to your employer’s attention you can ask for assurances that your identity will not be revealed.

Employers can discipline employees without revealing your identity. There are guidelines for employers to follow which enable them to bring disciplinary proceedings against employees without revealing your identity, for example, in Witness Statements. Witness Statements can omit crucial facts which would reveal your identity as well as withholding your name.