Usually, someone knows of wrong-doing, before it comes to light.
If that someone speaks up to the right people – whether the police, a regulator, or a helpline run by the employer – it can mean a warehouse fraud is thwarted, or a killer like Dr Harold Shipman stopped. But what does it feel like for the person who speaks up – who blows the whistle? How can a fraud and security department learn from someone who has been through the years-long experience of blowing the whistle on a more senior colleague, and faced character assassination? The Fraud Advisory Panel tenth anniversary conference heard one fraud whistle-blower’s story, and what advice he had for employers and fraud investigators.
Gary Brown, a former RAF man who now works for Thomson Local, was at the then Abbey National as a junior marketing manager when he spoke out against a fraudulent director. The case went to the Old Bailey; the accused was found guilty and jailed. Gary Brown, now a trustee of Public Concern at Work (PCaW) appealed to employers to create an environment that looks after the whistle-blower, because there is no reward in UK law for the whistle-blower. On the contrary, Gary Brown admitted: “It’s a really lonely position once you have decided to blow the whistle.” He admitted to feeling left out in the cold, and the fear that things would end badly, and of being on a roller-coaster: ‘Once you’ve decided to do something about it, you can’t get off.” Besides it being morally the right thing, it makes business sense to encourage whistle-blowing, he argued. If a percentage of your staff is honest, and a percentage dishonest, and the majority in between are opportunist, that majority will help themselves if an organisation encourages the wrong culture. What can you do to help? Make sure you have a way to look after a whistle-blower; tell staff about that process; and remember that actions speak louder than words. In other words, if whistle-blowers have a hard time, others will not want to risk the same fate.
From his experience, Gary Brown said that the whistle-blower has to build a case, carefully, and not on hearsay; to be professional – ‘don’t get emotional about it’; and to seek confidential advice, such as PCaW’s; but ultimately he or she has to act. Gary Brown offered some insights into business conflicts of interest that might be a sign of fraud or corruption. “There’s a fine line between lunch, Wimbledon and then fraud,” as he put it, meaning that a manager might gradually take favours from a supplier and shade into giving favours in return. Gary Brown flagged up use of family or friends as business partners, as possibly unhealthy, especially if not declared. As in Gary Brown’s own case, favouritism and nepotism looks bad – and probably is bad.
The whistle-blower, as in Gary Brown’s own case, might wonder before going public: why should I be believed? Generally, the person blowing the whistle is more junior than the suspect. That suspect may be friendly with senior people; may be the company’s ‘fixer’, arranging ‘freebies’ such as tickets to Wimbledon tennis or the FA Cup final. Staff might think the person is a bit dodgy, but no-one wants to believe the worst, or to stick their neck out in case they, as an accuser, were wrong. The accused might try to make the accuser’s life difficult, as happened in Gary Brown’s case. The internal audit department, even, might be reluctant to act because it would show up a shortcoming in their past work. By contrast, once the accused was suspended, managers all said they knew all along. Gary Brown commented: “I was quite sickened by human nature.”
Significantly, Gary Brown did raise the uncertain attitude of business and people to whistle-blowers. As he said, the whistle-blower is seen as a sneak or a grass; even though he or she is raising a concern. He wondered aloud if businesses, even HR and risk and investigation departments, ‘talk a good game’ on whistle-blowing, but in truth are unsure as to whether they should tread on toes. “But ultimately everyone has a moral duty to act; it isn’t right that people take money that isn’t theirs.”
Not only fraud and other crime, but health and safety risks, potential pollution, corruption, deficiencies in the care of vulnerable people or prisoners, cover-ups and many other problems: workers may wish to blow the whistle at wrong-doing. Public Concern at Work offers a helpline (020 7404 6609) and has a contract to provide advice and guidance for staff and bodies in the NHS in England, to 2011.
Every organisation faces the risk that something will go seriously wrong. Whenever such a risk arises, the first people to know about it will usually be those who work in or with the organisation. Yet while employees are the people best placed to raise the concern and so enable the risk to be removed or reduced, they are also the people who have the most to lose if they do. It is vital for effective risk management that employees are confident that they can raise their concerns with their employer without suffering any detriment. Without this confidence, employees may stay silent where there is a threat, even a grave one, to the employer or its stakeholders. Such silence denies organisations a fail-safe opportunity to deal with a serious problem before it causes real damage.
Why have a policy? PCaW makes the point that a whistleblowing policy is a statement of your organisation’s commitment to good governance and a guide for employees on how to raise a concern responsibly. It can help create an environment in which employees understand their responsibilities and management can demonstrate their accountability. Without such a safe alternative to silence, a concerned employee may feel their only other option is to say nothing or to disclose or anonymously leak information outside the organisation.
UK people (not including the armed forces) have proteciton in law – the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 – if they blow the whistle.
About Public Concern at Work: A whistleblowing charity, it was established in 1993. Whistleblowing, PCaW argues, can anticipate and avoid serious risks that arise in and from the workplace. PCaW offers free and confidential advice to people concerned about crime, danger or wrongdoing at work; and can help organisations towards good governance. Visit:
