Whistleblowing refers to the confidential disclosure by someone of any concern that has been encountered at the workplace. The concern normally relates to a perceived wrongdoing. Therefore, whistleblowing policy is extremely fundamental to an organization’s professional integrity. It reinforces the value that the organization places on its staff to be respected and honest members of their professions. This policy offers a method of appropriately addressing genuine concerns, which individuals within the organization might have. It also offers the whistleblower protection from harassment, disciplining proceedings or victimization. Without a doubt, whistleblowing is an imperative aspect of transparency and accountability since it enables all the individuals of an organization to voice their concerns internally in an effective and responsible manner whenever they discover anything that they believe shows a critical malpractice. It is imperative to emphasize that whistleblowing is intended to offer assistance to individuals who believe that they have discovered impropriety or malpractice. There are a number of essential contents for a whistleblowing policy in a nonprofit setting (Lewis).
The policy contains date of policy issue, issue number and date of policy review. It has an introduction that contains whistleblowing’s definition, why it is a fundamental issue to the organization and background to the matter of whistleblowing. The introduction should also possibly quote any applicable legislation. The policy should specify the authority for whistleblowing. The authority refers to who has its overall influence, as well as its implementation. It should also include its scope, which specifies the volunteers and staff whom it will cover. The scope of the policy also specifies the constitution of a disclosure and how it differs from an ordinary grievance for instance; legal obligations breaches, miscarriages of justice, safety and health, environmental damage, criminal offences, as well as the cover-up of any of the issues. The scope of the policy also specifies when the issue that causes concern occurred (People in Aid).
Whistleblowing policy contains the procedure to be followed to raise a concern. The procedure involves why the organization prefers the issue to be raised inside the organization. The procedure specifies that the staff should raise concerns in good faith, without personal gain and with reasonable grounds. The procedure also stipulates how to raise the matter. Raising the matter could be through telephone hotline, email, writing or grievance procedure. The procedure also specifies who should raise the issue. The person could include senior level staff or any external body that an organization may contact. The organization can also name a given person for a given issue. The procedure also lays down how to proceed in case the whistleblower is not impressed by how the organization is handling the issue. This part explains how the whistleblower can approach those at the more senior levels for instance; an external agency or Board members (Lewis).
Another important content of a whistleblowing policy is confidentiality. This element includes the degree to which the organization will protect the staff’s identity should they request for this. This element also takes account of the degree to which the organization maintains confidentiality. This element also specifies how the organization should handle a case whereby the identity of the whistleblower should be made public for instance; during legal proceedings or for the continuity of the investigation. This element also specifies the view of the organization on anonymous disclosures (People in Aid).
Another essential content of a whistleblowing policy is support for whistleblowers. This content specifies that the organization will not tolerate any harassment or victimization by other members of the organization. It also specifies the actions that will be taken against whoever is involved in harassment or victimization. It also specifies that raising a concern will not affect the employment status of the whistleblower if they raised a concern in good faith, should a concern be proved baseless later (Lewis).
The steps involved in handling the disclosure are also important contents of the whistleblowing policy. This part specifies the steps that the organization will take to carry out an investigation when someone raises a concern. It also specifies the feedback that the whistleblower will get during the process. It includes the timescales involved when handling the disclosure. It also specifies the confidentiality owed to the staff members involved in the issue being investigated. A whistleblowing policy has a part that specifies how the organization will handle false complaints. This part also specifies the disciplinary procedures that will be taken against whoever raises a false concern deliberately (People in Aid).
In conclusion, all members of the organization should be protected from disciplinary action, harassment or victimization due to any disclosure. Protection is usually offered in a situation where the disclosure in good faith. A whistleblowing policy provides statutory protection to any staff that makes disclosures in the interest of the public. This policy requires an investigation to be done in case of any disclosures.
Works Cited
Lewis, David. "The content of whistleblowing procedures: A critical review of recent official guidelines." Journal of Business Ethics (2011): 1-30.
People in Aid. "Policy Guide and Template Whistleblowing." Promoting good practice in the management and support of aid personnel (2010): 1-17.
