Ethical whistleblowing.

Whistleblowers are people who expose unethical or illegal wrongdoing within companies by reporting it internally to superiors or externally to the media, government authorities, or specialized attorneys.

Whistleblowing, or ‘making a disclosure in the public interest’, is when a worker reveals information about a wrongdoing or illegal activity within an organisation that may affect others such as the general public. This is usually to do with the actions of senior management or other staff, but could also involve customers or suppliers.

As an employer, the best way to encourage workers to raise concerns internally rather than ‘blowing the whistle’ externally is to encourage an open and supportive company culture and create a detailed whistleblowing policy.

Encouraging a culture where concerns are reported internally at an early stage makes it easier for management to address those concerns and avoid more serious regulatory breaches or reprutatio damage.

What is the Whistleblower?

A whistleblower is a person who comes forward and shares his/her knowledge on any wrongdoing which he/she thinks is happening in the whole organisation or in a specific department. A whistleblower could be an employee, contractor, or a supplier who becomes aware of any illegal activities. To protect whistleblowers from losing their job or getting mistreated there are specific laws. Most companies have a separate policy which clearly states how to report such an incident.

A whistleblower can file a lawsuit or register a complaint with higher authorities which will trigger a criminal investigation against the company or any individual department.

There are two types of whistleblowers- internal and external. Internal whistleblowers are those who report the misconduct, fraud, or indiscipline to senior officers of the organisation such as Head Human Resource or CEO.

External whistleblowing is a term used when whistleblowers report the wrongdoings to people outside the organisation such as the media, higher government officials, or police.

The crime or wrongdoing could be in the form of fraud, deceiving employees, corruptions, or any other act which misleads people. The Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011 lays down the complete framework to investigate alleged cases of wrongdoing.

Elements of ethical whistleblowing.

The eyhical whistleblowing include with four major elements.There are,
◾ The whistleblower
◾ The whistleblowing act or complaint
◾ The party to whom the complaint is made
◾ The organization against which the complaint is lodged

Steps of the whistleblowing procedure

1. Hire a powerful Attorneys: Your chances of justice being served are only as good as the Attorneys you have by your side. A skilled lawyer with experience handling whistle blower claims can advise you on ways to legally gather evidence against your employer and protect your professional reputation.
2. Make sure you have evidence: Rumors of misconduct spread in break rooms and around water coolers are not grounds to file a whistleblower claim unless they can be backed up with concrete evidence. The government will not pay you a reward for bringing them questionable gossip of misdeeds, but rather specific proof, such as emails, internal studies, billing records, test results, names, contact information of involved parties, and other forms of documentary evidence. It is imperative you keep this evidence and information confidential. Revealing fraud to a third-party or making your investigation known to your employer could cause you to no longer be covered under most whistleblower provisions and prompt your employer to take action against you. The stronger the evidence you have, the better.
3. File a complaint: Whistleblowers must file a complaint in court and submit it to the federal government with a Disclosure Statement that details the suspected misconduct. Your Attorneys can set up a meeting with the appropriate government agency and help you create a compelling argument to convince the government to conduct an investigation.
4. Play the waiting game: If the government should decide to proceed forward with your case, it is important to be patient and prepare for the long haul. The government’s investigation into your employer’s alleged wrongdoing can take months if not years from start to finish.
5. Prepare to be “outed”: While your anonymity will be somewhat protected during this time as cases are filed under a seal, there is no way to guarantee that your employer will not find out about your filing. While unlikely, it important you prepare yourself to be “outed” and the consequences that it may bring. Do not be surprised if your employer attempts to fight back by alleging that you were privy to the wrongdoing or that you even participated in it. It is generally recommended you search for a new job as soon as possible after filing a whistleblower claim.
6. Be prepared to testify: If the government decides to take action against your employer based on the results of its investigation, you may be asked to testify at a grand jury proceeding or during trial. It is important you be prepared to reveal your identity, since your testimony may have a considerable impact on the outcome of the case. At this point, roughly 90% of whistleblower cases the government chooses to pursue are successful, resulting in the whistleblower receiving a considerable portion of the government’s recovery.

Why is whistleblowing currently so in focus?

The rise of whistleblowing started with the 2007-08 global financial crisis, which re-awakened the world to the need for a crackdown on corporate corruption. Consequently we have seen a sharpened focus on anti-corruption and greater pressure on organisations to give employees a voice. At the same time, more and more governments are putting in place whistleblowing laws that in some cases mandate the implementation of whistleblowing systems, in other cases, enhance whistleblower protection. As a result, organisations are increasingly choosing to set up whistleblowing channels to better manage issues internally and to ensure compliance.