Whistleblowing - New Guidance for Charity Employees
Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act, which came into force on 2 July 1999, employees of charities are protected against detrimental treatment or victimisation from their employer if, in the public interest, they report concerns about wrongdoings.
The concerns they report must meet the conditions in the Act for a 'protected disclosure'.
In October 2015, the Charity Commission (the Commission) published new guidance on whistleblowing for employees.
The guidance explains:
- that a charity's employees can report concerns about certain categories of serious wrongdoing at the charity to the Commission
- how the whistleblowing legislation protects a charity's employees
- what type of disclosures are protected
- how the Commission deals with disclosures from whistleblowers
The Commission requests that whistleblowing reports are made in writing via the dedicated whistleblowing email address - whistleblowing@charitycommission.gsi.gov.uk
What action should your charity take in response to the Commission's guidance?
- Ensure your organisation has a clear whistleblowing policy and that this is adequately promoted internally - your policy should help explain the benefits of making a disclosure.
- Promote an open culture within your organisation and encourage people to speak out. This should reduce the risk of serious wrongdoing remaining uncovered.
- Implement training, mentoring, advice and other support systems to ensure employees can easily approach a range of people in your organisation to raise any concerns.
- Ensure employees know who to speak to and that they can speak out without adverse repercussions. This will, in turn, give the organisation a chance to take appropriate action before the concern is reported to an external body, such as the Commission.
- As voluntary workers are not protected under the Act (which includes charity trustees and charity volunteers), charity trustees should report any concerns about the charity via serious incident reporting and it is advisable to ensure your charity's trustees are trained on how and when to do this.
The Department for Business Innovation & Skills has published guidance on implementing and promoting whistleblowing policies.