Who'd be a whistleblower?

摘要

Most whistleblowers on bad practice and abuse are not board members or senior managers they are front line staff reporting concerns about colleagues having failed to get their line manager to take the matter seriously. But what happens when a higher up does listen? From my experience if the whistleblower wants management to take action they have to be prepared to make a signed statement and be a witness at a subsequent disciplinary hearing and thafs when the real intimidation and harassment starts. In my experience as both an investigator and a chair of disciplinary hearings the typical whistleblower is a junior member of staff who feels powerless in the face of bad practice and abuse. They cannot report their concerns to their supervisor because this individual is colluding with or choosing to ignore the bad practice. The initial response of management is not to take the matter seriously or to tell the individuals line manager that accusations are being made and by whom.