Workplace whistleblowing doubles


People are twice as likely to blow the whistle on workplace wrongdoing today as they were five years ago 1, according to a new report from the whistleblowing charity Public Concern at Work, released today (October 14th). The growth is reflected in calls to the national whistleblower’s helpline which the charity launched ten years ago today.

“A decade ago when whistleblowers were branded misfits and traitors, people never found out about the national helpline in the workplace,” says Guy Dehn, director of Public Concern at Work. “Now over a third of callers are coming to us straight from the workplace, as organisations begin to realise - post Enron - that they discourage and ignore whistleblowing at their peril.” 2

What are people blowing the whistle on?
Data from the helpline shows that the top two issues are safety risks and financial misconduct - each making up 30% of calls. The major shift over the past decade has been a threefold increase in concerns about unfair trading and double standards 3 and a similar increase in calls from the care sector 4.

Handling over 3,500 public concerns, the charity has helped people blow the whistle on hundreds of cases of serious wrongdoing. Examples include:

  • The nursing home owner jailed for four years for sexually abusing female residents with dementia 5;
  • The corporate manager secretly giving work to his own private company 6;
  • The dangerous ride at an amusement park 7;
  • The dentist fiddling his share of the fees 8; and
  • A three million pound fraud on a paper mill 9.

Year of the Whistleblower
The report “Two years back, Three years forward, Ten Years Old” is released today by the charity as international experts from the US, Japan and South Africa join politicians, judges and opinion formers this evening to celebrate ‘The Year of the Whistleblower’ as Time magazine has dubbed 2003. The occasion is also the tenth anniversary of Public Concern at Work. The report shows how it pioneered a new approach to whistleblowing which meant that corporate whistleblowers in the UK were protected some five years ahead of US employees.

New rules for business
With new rules 10 next month requiring listed companies to bring in effective whistleblowing schemes, Public Concern at Work says businesses across Britain now have every reason to clean up their acts. “This is great news for consumers, shareholders and pensioners,” says Mr Dehn “as whistleblowing is one of the recent success stories at protecting the public and deterring wrongdoing.”

Legislation that works
Public Concern at Work promoted the whistleblowers’ law, the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, and now monitors and reviews its operation. There are over 400 claims each year. However details of the claims are now kept secret under recent government rules until and unless there is a decision. With two in three whistleblowing claims settling before any decision, these rules undermine the Act.

Compensation payments under the Act are running at £10 million a year. Successful cases include -

  • The finance officer sacked for questioning £300,000 of expense claims made by his chief executive 11;
  • The train driver forced out for warning that longer shifts were increasing the number of signals passed at red 12; and
  • The electrician dismissed after complaining about the cover-up of a fire and then reporting live wires left in a primary school 13.

More must be done
Public Concern at Work says its key targets for the next three years are to

  1. overturn the rules that keep details of claims under the Public Interest Disclosure Act secret;
  2. ensure business implements whistleblowing as part of risk management;
  3. lobby policy makers to use whistleblowing as the best way to clarify lines of accountability across public service; and
  4. campaign for effective whistleblowing law and practice.

If possible, please include the following

  • National whistleblowing helpline - 020 7404 6609

Press contacts
Public Concern at Work - 020 7404 6609

  1. In 1997 and 1998 the numbers of whistleblowing concerns raised on the national helpline were 228 and 230 respectively. In 2001 and 2002 they figures were respectively 530 and 561.
  2. In 1993/4 callers found about the helpline from advice agencies and the media. In 2001/2 the largest two sources of referrals were from the workplace (34%), and from advice agencies (20%).
  3. In 1993/4, concerns about consumer, competition and ethical issues amounted to 6% of calls. In 2001/2 they amounted to 27%.
  4. In 1993/4 the care sector generated 5% of calls. In 2001/2 the figure had increased to 17%.
  5. After the owner of a small private nursing home was spotted behaving oddly, Judith Jones the Deputy Matron, found and cleaned what she thought was semen from the clothes of an elderly resident. Not able to raise it with the owner or his wife, Judith contacted PCaW. As the owner had won a Gold Medal for caring, Judith worried that without proof her word would not be enough. PCaW advised her to keep a vigilant watch and to contact us if it happened again. We also advised Judith to keep any supporting evidence. A few months later Judith found the owner again with his groin apparently in the face of a lady with dementia. This time, while caring for the lady, Judith swabbed her mouth and got back to PCaW who contacted the police. However, they could not do a forensic test without a formal complaint - necessitating the owner being questioned. PCaW pointed out that this put Judith in a catch-22 as the owner would be confronted even if the test proved negative, so jeopardising Judith’s position. PCaW arranged for the test and the sample contained semen. The owner pleaded guilty to three charges of indecent assault and was jailed for 4 years.

  6. Mark worked for a large construction company where his line manager, Eric, was contracting out work to a company whose quality Mark thought was substandard. When Mark mentioned it, Eric said he owned the company and that most of the employees were family members. Eric was a popular man and had worked many years in the industry; Mark felt trapped and called PCaW. PCaW advised him to make a detailed statement of his concerns. Mark asked PCaW to write to his MD enclosing his statement and requesting his identity be kept confidential. The MD agreed and Mark’s concerns were investigated. Eric resigned, Mark stayed on and the company thanked him and PCaW for their assistance.

  7. As a safety inspector at an amusement park, Ian notified management that one of the rides was unstable and posed a serious risk. After a quick look, his manager cleared the ride as safe. The following day, when nothing had been done, Ian failed the ride again and was again over-ruled by management. Ian thought further confrontation would lead to his dismissal and with a busy weekend approaching, he feared the worst. Ian asked PCaW to contact the HSE without identifying him. We pointed out that ,it was likely the HSE would want to speak to him as the situation seemed potentially serious but said we would explain Ian’s anxieties to the HSE. Agreeing that the situation was potentially serious, the HSE said they would need to speak to Ian but asked us to assure him they could do a routine inspection without Ian’s role being apparent. Ian agreed to speak to the HSE directly. Their inspection resulted in the ride being suspended until repairs made it safe.

  8. Wilma, a dental nurse in a small rural practice, discovered that her boss was defrauding his partners of their share of the fees he earned. She raised her concerns with the partners who took them seriously, investigated and dismissed the dentist. Wilma was thanked for raising it and helping in the investigation but was but told she no longer had a job as it had gone with her boss and that it might be a long time before the practice could hire a new dentist. Wilma lived in a rural area and as it was unlikely she would find equivalent work close to home, she rang PCaW for advice. PCaW offered to liaise with the Health Authority on her behalf and explain why such an outcome gave the wrong message. With the already Authority involved, the practice partners changed their mind saying they would be mad to lose Wilma after the favour she had done them.

  9. Adrian worked at a local site of a major waste disposal firm and was concerned his colleagues were party to a scam removing as waste top grade paper from a local mill. Adrian feared that if he spoke out, he would lose his job so he rang PCaW. With Adrian’s agreement we contacted the victim of the local paper mill which initially thought we were a security company seeking new business. Within a couple of weeks the company caught two of its staff in the scam red-handed. Having obtained assurances on his behalf, Adrian was able to show how the fraud had worked. The fraud had cost the paper mill £3 million. The ringleaders were arrested and jailed. The mill recovered £1 million from its insurers toward the loss and so averted plans to close down with the loss of over one hundred jobs.

  10. The New Combined Code on Corporate Governance applies to all listed companies and applies to all financial years commencing after November 2003. It stipulates that “The audit committee should review arrangements by which staff of the company may, in confidence, raise concerns about possible improprieties in matters of financial reporting or other matters. The audit committee’s objective should be to ensure that arrangements are in place for the proportionate and independent investigation of such matters and for appropriate follow-up action.”

  11. Fernandes was the finance officer for a subsidiary of a US telecoms company. When he reported large and suspect expense claims by his CEO to his US counterpart, he was told to turn a blind eye. When 18 months later his CEO’s expenses had exceeded £300,000, Fernandes told the US and European Board. He was disciplined and then dismissed for settling the expenses, while the CEO kept his post. Fernandes won under PIDA both for interim relief (covering his full salary costs to full hearing) and at full hearing. With 6 years to retirement and no reason to think he would have been dismissed otherwise, Fernandes was fully compensated for his financial losses and awarded £293,000.

  12. Holden was a train driver for Connex. After being denied sight of the assessment of risks posed by new drivers’ rotas, Holden reported to the HSE his concern that more signals would be passed at red. Following the Ladbroke Grove crash, the media got hold of the reports and Holden received a final written warning, before resigning. He won his PIDA claim after the Employment Tribunal found that Connex had paid lip service to his concerns and had embarked on a campaign to deter Holden from speaking out. Holden was awarded £55,000 compensation.

  13. Scott oversaw electrical work for a small firm, Building Management Services. He attended a site where BMS had fitted the electricity supply and the Fire Brigade had just put out a fire. When Scott discovered that BMS was at fault, his managers removed the evidence and told him to say the Fire Brigade had taken it. Scott wrote to BMS about this but was ignored. Two months later, he discovered live wires at a primary school and again reported it to his managers who became very angry. After he wrote another letter, he was told there was no work for him and then dismissed. The Employment Tribunal found this to be in breach of PIDA and ordered that he be compensated for his all losses.