Read more articles in: Amanda Hyam, Blog, Employment Law

What are the whistleblowing responsibilities of an employer?

As an employer, it is your responsibility to create a working environment where your employees feel comfortable and safe to not only work happily but also have open and honest conversations.

You cannot see each thing that happens within your company and some employees may have concerns about others who could be putting the business at risk.

Whistleblowing is a term used when an employee passes on information to you concerning any wrongdoing. You need to know what you should be doing as an employer to ensure your team feels confident to report their concerns to you.

What whistleblowing practices should I put in place?

There are several things you should be doing to encourage your employees to express their concerns, including creating a positive culture, training your team and implementing a whistleblowing policy.

For your employee to be covered by the whistleblowing laws, they must believe two specific things. The first is that they are acting in the interest of the public rather and not their own interests.

The other is that the employee must believe the concerns are related to any criminal acts, not complying with laws, endangering life, damaging the environment or covering up any wrongdoing.

Your employees should feel confident enough to speak to you and confirm what they have seen. As their manager, you should be approachable and handle their concerns appropriately and fairly.

The fear for many whistleblowers is not feeling they can speak up, so your company culture needs to encourage open and honest conversation. Having this place means employees don’t feel the emotional burden of keeping their concerns quiet.

To encourage this, you can look at putting training and support measures in place so that your employees feel comfortable sharing with different people across your business and embrace whistleblowing as an important practice.

While not a legal obligation, you should also consider implementing a whistleblowing policy so that all employees and senior management understand what they can do if they spot any actions that could affect your company.

What should I do if an employee shares their concerns?

If an employee does come to you and share their concerns, you should acknowledge them and ask for as much information as you can before deciding what course of action to take.

An open and honest conversation with the employee can help alleviate their concerns while also giving them peace of mind that you are taking their concerns seriously.

Throughout this process, you should keep the whistleblower’s identity confidential and handle the complaint fairly and consistently.

What should I include in a whistleblowing policy?

As noted above, a whistleblowing policy isn’t a legal requirement at this stage for employers, but it is wise to include one in your processes.

It should clarify what whistleblowing is, what your procedures are for handling any concerns, what a whistleblower would receive in terms of a response, time frames involved and a commitment to handle all concerns fairly.

In addition to this, it’s important that your policy also protects whistleblowers. Your policy should clarify steps to protect their identity and actions to be taken if anyone is found to be intimidating other employees.

A policy provides clarity and ensures know their responsibilities should a situation arise where an employee report any concerns.

Whistleblowing can be complex, especially for employers and if you do need support, our expert team of employment law specialists can help.

We’ll talk you through what whistleblowing is, how it impacts your business and the measures you can take to ensure your team feels comfortable and confident sharing their concerns with you.

Contact our team for expert advice and support.

Amanda Hyam

Head of Dispute Resolution and Employment

I have specialised in Dispute Resolution, Civil Litigation and Employment law for more than 15 years. I understand how daunting the prospect of litigation can be and because of this I am always available to discuss concerns.