Whistleblowing … is it really worth it?

Whistleblowing is a somewhat recent phenomenon and can be perceived quite differently by the public and the whistleblower’s work colleagues. Members of the public are more likely to view the whistleblower as a hero. Members of the organisation in question may be more likely see the employee as being disloyal, and likely to cause harm to other employees.

Whistleblowing involves the exposure of an organisation’s wrongdoing, and has been further defined by an author in 1996 as; ‘the disclosure by organisation members (former or current) of illegal, immoral or illegitimate practices under the control of their employers, to persons or organisations that may be able to effect action.’

The Protected Disclosures Act 2000 came into force on the 1st January 2001 with the sole purpose of protecting employees who, under the Act, reveal information concerning an organisation’s wrongdoing.

The Act sets out the way in which the disclosure should be made and provides the necessary statutory protection for the employee against adverse treatment from the organisation.

To enable protection under the Act the information must relate to serious wrongdoings, including:

• Unlawful, corrupt or irregular use of public funds or public resources;
• Acts or omissions that constitute a serious risk to public health or safety or the environment;
• Acts or omissions that constitute a serious risk to the maintenance of law and the detection of offences and the rights to a fair trial;
• An act or omission or cause of conduct that constitutes an offence; or
• An act or omission by a public official that is oppressive, improperly discriminatory, grossly negligent, or that constitutes gross mismanagement.

The second part to the protection is that the employee disclosing the information must:

• Believe the information is true, or likely to be true;
• Want to disclose the information so that it can be investigated; and
• Want the disclosure to be protected.

In one case, an Accountant disclosed information relating to files that contained various financial discrepancies. He first disclosed the information to another work colleague who presented the information to a group of top managers within the organization. The other work colleague was subsequently fired immediately after the meeting had concluded.

The Accountant then realised it was the Chief Executive who was responsible for the discrepancies in the financial records. The Accountant approached the company’s lawyer who wouldn’t touch the issue. As soon as the Accountant’s boss returned from a trip overseas the Accountant was fired.

One important consideration for an employee in deciding to ‘blow the whistle’ on an organisation is weighing up any repercussions and evaluating, “How is this problem going to affect me?” However, the key issue is that the person ‘blowing the whistle’ is doing it for the greater good and the legislation is designed to protect them in that situation. If you are unsure what your obligations are then call us for advice.