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It is important that your employees have an understanding of the importance of whistleblowing awareness in the workplace and the legislation that exists to protect both employees and employers when people speak up against wrongdoing in the workplace.

Legal Island’s Whistleblowing Awareness in the Workplace eLearning course is tailored specifically to Northern Ireland law and is designed to complement an organisations own policies. The purpose of this course is to raise all your employees’ awareness and protect staff from any abuse or mistreatment during or after they blow the whistle.

What is whistleblowing?

According to Public Concern at Work, whistleblowing is the term used to describe:

"A worker raising a concern about wrongdoing, risk or malpractice with someone in authority either internally and/or externally".

Reporting wrongdoing in the workplace is right. Legislation in Northern Ireland has been enacted to protect those who speak up in respect of certain issues. The Public Interest Disclosure (NI) Order 1998 states a disclosure of wrongdoing must be made by a worker.

Historically and culturally, society actively discouraged employees from speaking up in public about any type of wrongdoing within the workplace.  To do so often resulted in some form of punishment such as sacking, demotion or transfer to a different department or location. The government recognised the need for change and put in place legislation to protect employees and employers when people speak up against wrongdoing in the workplace.  

It is mandatory and highly recommended that every employer ensures all staff are made aware of their rights regarding whistleblowing.

Why is whistleblowing awareness training important?

Whistleblowing is about creating a culture of transparency. Employees making qualified disclosures ultimately protect an organisation, their customers, employees and beneficiaries by identifying harm. Whistleblowing can lead to:

• Lives being saved
• Unethical business practices being stopped
• Damage to the environment being stopped

The business benefits can also include:

• Exposure to risk being reduced
• Raised awareness of illegal practices by employees and employers
• Enhanced corporate social responsibility
• Opportunity to address problems at an early stage before loss of profits, customers or reputation

Who needs whistleblowing awareness training?

Advice from whistleblowing experts is that whistleblowing awareness training is completed on day one of employment and then refreshed regularly to ensure all staff are aware of their rights regarding whistleblowing.

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