Protect, a leading whistleblowing charity in the UK, has launched its Whistleblowing Scanner, an online assessment tool for smaller organisations to test their whistleblowing culture, as research shows firms are not doing enough in this area.
Protect’s own research with YouGov in 2021 found that only a third of workers know how to raise whistleblowing concerns. New research found that 17% of firms do not even have a whistleblowing policy, while 74% of HR professionals could not be certain that whistleblowers in their organisation were confident raising a concern. Worse, one in five of organisations have whistleblowing processes that their employees would find to be ‘highly untrustworthy’.
Protect’s Business Development Director, Jon Cunningham, said: “We know that smaller businesses are facing financial pressures and a difficult recruitment climate. But risks are likely to increase as firms are under stress. A robust whistleblowing culture is vital for the early identification of risks, preventing wrongdoing and ensuring staff feel safe in the workplace.”