Whistleblowing

[ellamoromou]

I work in a profession that promotes whistle blowing. I've 'whistleblowed' on a colleague. I have no proof that what I whistleblowed on is fact but would have colleagues backing me up that they had heard/seen the same thing.

I've been called in for an investigation. Can I be disciplined?

thanks in advance and I know it's not an AIBU but this is the busiest

In theory no you can't. Though I have heard of places doing that too try to get the whistleblower out. Do you have a union rep who can attend meetings with you?

AFAIK you cannot be disciplined for whistleblowing. that's the whole point.

But why did you whistleblow about something that may not be true?

You reported something which concerned you and you have other people who can back you up you should be ok. I would however get any professional advice or support you can in place such as a union asap as they are best placed to advice you.

Which sector are you in? Whistle-blowing laws definitely in place in financial services

Because I knew it was true but I didn't have the 'facts' on paper that it was Motherfuckers.

I would never do something like this unless I was 100% sure of my reasons

Yes I've got the union involved and an advocate

NHS maddening

Nhs whistleblowing does not go down well! Well not if its about senior management ...........

Well if in the uppermost highly of highly unlikely chances you are disciplined for whistle blowing.
You take it all the way and name and shame them. I'm sure the papers would love a story like that . Staff member disciplined for following safety procedures.
please do not worry a disciplinary isn't going to happen.

Whistle blowing doesn't go down well especially in the NHS.
And neither does abuse and medical negliagence ect.
Its small bloody wonder though with comments like yours that people often turn a blind eye

did you expect it not to be investigated? Did you expect that your part in this wouldn't be examined? How did you think whistle blowing worked? That you could make an unfounded accusation and walk away without any of the fallout touching you? That is not what happens. You have drawn attention to an area that needs investigating, an area you are involved in, that area will be investigated, and you will be involved in the investigation.

I blew the whistle on a senior Consultant. He had so much power I was sure I'd be out of a job. Nope. He was though. And likely to be struck off by the GMC when they conclude their investigation.

AFAIK you can't be disciplined, unless if during the investigation they discover you doing something against protocol.
If they look at one individual, it's likely they'll look at the whole department to see how things are run, to see if the person(s) were negligent in anyway.
But it's good you had the confidence to do so. Even if unfounded, you did what you could, which is better than nothing.

Something like the NHS would follow protocol to the letter so you can better prepare yourself by reading up a bit.

Private companies though, I'd put your head down because nobody likes a troublemaker no matter how much a bad employee is costing them. I've seen a lot of theft in my job but I'm not getting involved because they'll get fed up of seeing me in the manager's office giving them more work to do.

I thought that nhs whistle blowers were covered by the public interests and disclosure act 1998 which provides protection for whistle blowing.

I thought that nhs whistle blowers were covered by the public interests and disclosure act 1998 which provides protection for whistle blowing

So did I, but according to the media, there is a culture in the NHS of covering up errors and forcing out whistle-blowers. I can't understand it. Surely you'd want to put processes in place to avoid errors in future?

And no you don't always have cast iron proof of wrongdoing, but it is ok to raise concerns. Then management can investigate and find that evidence (or not).

If it's found that what you whilstblowed about didn't happen, but you reported in good faith, you won't be disciplined.

If it's found that you maliciously whistleblowed for something that didn't happen, then you can be disciplined. You should have the whistleblowing policy available to you

Your NHS trust will have a whistleblowing policy which should be available for all staff to access, have a good read of it and check all steps have been followed.
It is scary to whistleblow but sometimes it has to be done, try not to worry too much.

Good for you on speaking up, I hope your organisation is shown to have the integrity it claimed when it told you that honesty would be appreciated.

I have worked in retail when the whistle was blown on a manager stealing, and the senior team blamed the WB for creating extra work!

I'm NHS, went to HR for advice about my manager who was bullying me.....

I was asked to clear my desk and leave the next day, I refused, am now under disciplinary investigation for the most stupid of things, they clearly want me out and are really unhappy that I've come forward with bullying concerns

I've done that and it did not end well. I hope it works out for you. IMO its better to have a clear conscience than be involved in anything dodgy or turn a blind eye.

It isn't true today that you can't be disciplined for whistleblowing. Of course you can be. You might have a claim as a result but the law doesn't act to actually prevent it from happening.

You will of course be part of the investigation into the allegations you have made. It is highly unlikely to be confidential. The person accused has the right to know what they are being accused of and in all but the rarest of cases will also have the right to know who has made the accusations since this could be very relevant.

You could legitimately be disciplined if you have made the accusations maliciously or without foundation.

I'm an employment lawyer.

I whistle blew in the NHS. My manager found out a few weeks later (it wasn't about him). He came into my office and said "I don't know what you hoped to achieve by this" and it got worse from there. I'm a doctor. After..... over a year the other doctor got struck off as my concerns were found to be correct. I was treated like absolute dirt the entire time. I did everything absolutely by the book and would do it all again to protect patients but it was hideous.
for you

There should be no action against you, however in practice employers do find ways to get rid of whistleblowers. I work in financial services and the culture of whistleblowing is embedded in regulation but there are a lot of instances of whistleblowers being ousted and finding it impossible to find other roles in the industry. I think we should move towards what the SEC has done in the US, it financially rewards whistleblowers, at least then they have some financial security.