Whistleblowing strategies need to be fit for purpose – PwC

WHISTLEBLOWING strategies should be placed under the spotlight following recent changes to UK legislation, business advisors have said.

PwC said firms needed to consider if their policies offered enough protection to those that do speak out.

Ben Thornton, HR consulting director at PwC covering the Midlands region, said devising and implementing a robust whistleblowing strategy has become even more of a top business priority.  

“We have seen a number of high profile whistleblowing cases in recent weeks that are really making companies sit up and take stock of existing policies, and assess if they are adequate under the recent changes brought about by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act,” he said.

PwC’s report, Striking a balance, surveyed organisations across the UK and found that many received fewer than 100 whistleblowing reports a year.

“This is not as many as people may think. This could be down to employees not needing to raise an issue, simply being unaware of company policy, or worse still, being in fear of retribution,” added Thornton.

PwC said it was important to distinguish between confidentiality and anonymity. It said a whistleblower could be known to the organisation but have their identity protected; they could choose not to identify themselves – or they could request that their identity should be ‘open’.

“When we asked companies what format they used to keep employees abreast of whistleblowing arrangements we found that the majority, 85.6%, used a Code of Conduct or policy manual,” added Thornton.

“The reality is that in an ever-evolving digital age there are multiple channels to speak up.  Engaging employees and gaining their trust in the whistleblowing process is critical in order to avoid potentially damaging repercussions if the company’s whistleblowing procedures are not utilised correctly.

“While many companies have already transformed their approach to whistleblowing, there is still much work to be done.”