IPRCCBPF, Brussels
Making whistleblowing work
Guy Dehn
Director, PCaW, UK
© PCaW www.pcaw.co.uk
Why whistleblowing matters
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The human dilemma
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Public Concern at Work
Whistleblowing:
some of the
key issues
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Starters
 Who do you want to blow the whistle? When?
 What’s the main driver - regulation or good business?
 How can you separate public concerns from private
complaints?
 What safeguards against abuse?
 How do you judge success?
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It’s your call…
Do you want your people to raise a concern
 openly,
 confidentially (so, if requested, the person’s identity is not
freely disclosed), or
 anonymously (the person does not identify himself)?
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Whom to tell?
Do you want people to raise a concern…
 with the alleged wrongdoer?
 with their manager?
 with senior management?
 with the regulatory authorities?
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Whistleblowing
Whistleblowing
&
Data Protection
http://www.pcaw.co.uk/policy_pub/data_protection.html
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The UK approach
How the UK
approach meets
US & EU rules and
helps sound business
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The UK approach
UK’s Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA),
praised by Lord Nolan for ‘so skilfully achieving the
essential but delicate balance between the public
interest and the interest of employers’
 signals a change in the culture,
 is not prescriptive, and
 provides strong civil sanctions against
reprisal.
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The UK approach
This approach

promotes & protects public interest whistleblowing,

focuses on wrongdoing that threatens the public
interest,

encourages open rather than anonymous
whistleblowing, and

has a stepped disclosure regime that emphasises
internal accountability, strengthens regulatory
oversight and recognises public accountability
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The stepped disclosure regime
Public
disclosure
protected
The actual
disclosure is
reasonable
Regulatory
disclosure
protected
Internal
disclosure
protected
Valid cause
to go wider
Substance to
the concern
Genuine
suspicion
Internal
disclosure
Regulatory
disclosure
Public
disclosure
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Practical benefits
As to purpose and effect, the UK approach
 reassures workers there is a safe alternative to silence,
 sees the whistleblower as a witness not a complainant,
 encourages all half decent organisations to solicit and
address concerns,
 helps target regulatory activity better,
 promotes the public interest, and
 seems to work in practice.
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Policy & Practice
Effective
whistleblowing
arrangements
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The purpose
The essence of whistleblowing arrangements are
that staff should be able to
a)
by-pass the direct management line,
because that may well be the area about
which their concerns arise, and
b)
go outside the organisation if they feel
the overall management is engaged in an
improper course.
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Key issues
 leadership
 policy is written to give assurance to the ‘silent
majority’
 default is that staff should raise concerns openly
 distinguish whistleblowing concerns from
grievances & bullying
 provide internal and external disclosure options
 promotion
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Whistleblowing
Whistleblowing Best Practice:
www.pcaw.co.uk/services/Best_Practice.htm
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Whistleblowing
Whistleblowing - a. Bringing an activity to a sharp
conclusion as if by the blast of a whistle (OED) b. Raising concerns
about misconduct within an organisation or within an independent
structure associated with it (Nolan Committee) c. Giving information
(usually to the authorities) about illegal or underhand practices
(Chambers) d. Exposing to the press a malpractice or cover-up in a
business or government office (US, Brewers) e. Providing a safe
alternative to silence (Public Concern at Work) f. (origins) Police
constable summoning public help to apprehend a criminal; signal to
stop work in the industrial age; referee stopping play after a foul in
football.
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