Whistleblowing: on a need-to-know basis

A parliamentary report decries that organisational whistleblowing policies and procedures often bear no resemblance to actual practice, and calls for significant changes to the UK approach. Barry Faudemer sets out steps for firms to take.

Barry Faudemer is chief executive of Baker Regulatory Services (www.bakerregulatory.com). Contact him on barryfaudemer@bakerregulatory.com.

The term whistleblowing is thought to have originated from the decision in 1884 to issue whistles to officers of the Metropolitan Police with the aim of drawing attention to and stopping wrongdoing. Even to this day, the whistle is widely used by referees overseeing sporting events to bring those behaving badly publicly to account and promptly curtail varying degrees of unacceptable behaviour.