While whistleblowing was increasingly cited in employment tribunals, the number of tribunal cases that involved detriment or dismissal after whistleblowing also grew, the Financial Times reported yesterday (29 July). This contributed to delays in the tribunal system.
“Data shows that too many whistleblowers still face retaliation for speaking up,” Andrew Pepper-Parsons, director of policy and communication at whistleblowing charity Protect, told HR magazine.
In 2023, nearly three quarters (73%) of people who contacted Protect’s advice line reported that they had been victimised for raising concerns with their employer, a February 2023 report showed.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read more: Whistleblowing reports rose by a quarter last year
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
HR should receive training on how to respond to whistleblowing reports to prevent cases escalating to tribunal, suggested Pepper-Parsons.
He added: “Any whistleblowing case which ends in tribunal is a failure of the system, a breakdown in the relationship between the whistleblower and their employer.
“Training HR professionals and managers to respond effectively to whistleblowing concerns is essential.”
Acas advisor, Chrissy Bell, explained that HR should have a policy in place for responding to whistleblowing complaints.
She told HR magazine: “It’s important for employers to handle any whistleblowing complaint fairly and consistently, follow any process your organisation has for whistleblowing and keep the identity of the whistleblower confidential.
“If the employer does not have a whistleblowing policy, they should put one in place as soon as possible.”
Bell pointed to Acas’ advice on whistleblowing policy as a resource that HR professionals could use. Bell recommended that whistleblowing policy is shared and communicated to the whole organisation regularly.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read more: How can HR support whistleblowers?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
She added that taking all whistleblowing disclosures seriously could also prevent concerns from escalating.
Bell continued: “Employers should always take whistleblowing disclosures seriously, listen to any concerns that staff have raised, consider what evidence might be available to support the concern, reassure the whistleblower that they will not suffer any detriment for raising concerns and keep the whistleblower informed about the progress of any investigation, and feedback after the investigation.”
Responding to employees who complain of victimisation following a whistleblowing disclosure is equally as important, commented Pepper-Parsons.
“For organisations it’s vital to ensure that HR functions are well prepared to respond to complaints of victimisation,” he noted.
“This means having clear assurances in the whistleblowing policy that action will be taken on victimisation, and utilising things like a risk assessment to identify where the risk of victimisation exists.”
