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| Moments after the whistle is blown???? |
Some tips and useful links for potential whistleblowers and whistleblowees!
This link ( The Independent: Friday 21 October 2011 ) is to an article that should be read by any potential whistleblower before they act.
If you accept the facts and the timeline as reported as accurate, (N.B. There are always two sides to any story and we are not at the end yet of this saga) then the point I would like to make is don't expect the recipient of "the bad news" to be grateful.
The whistleblower’s firm might indeed adopt the policy of shooting the messenger and attempting to explain away the incident as a cultural or personality clash.
What is worse, in my experience, is the fact that the regulators and or law enforcement won’t “ride to your rescue” and they may well make your position utterly untenable.
In all too many cases, as in this current affair, it is not until the whistleblower has ”kicked” the authorities in different countries that they will act.
As I’ve been involved in a number of whistleblowing events, before you act, please remember that:
1. You should seek legal / specialist advice ASAP.
2. Your professional circumstances may well change very fast.
3. Your family and friends might be the ones who bear the brunt of any comeback.
4. In extreme circumstances, your personal safety might be at risk.
5. Where possible, keep written evidence of what you believe has been going on.
6. Anything you do may well end up taking far longer to resolve, sometimes in terms of years, for the situation to be resolved.
Instead of the usual links to other related stories, you will find below some links to websites that
Now some quick tips for firms (or the whistleblowees) :
1. Make sure that your staff have access to effective, simple and (in the beginning) anonomised whistleblowing systems and procedures
2. Don’t shoot the messengers, who bring you an inconvenient truth, they may be the people who are actually trying to help save the long term future of the company.
3. Resist the siren calls of the advisors who recommend that you target the informer rather than fixing the issue.
4. In my view, serious incidents of any kind are almost inevitable in the current tough business environment. But just like politicians, it is not the issue itself that kills you but any attempt to cover it up!
Your comments are, as always welcome.
Public Concern At Work: Contact Details
The Financial Services Authority Whistleblowing Section of the website
Direct Gov Website on whistleblowing
US SEC Adopts Rules to Establish Whistleblower Program
US SEC Office of the Whistleblower Website
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