If you are a charity trustee, do you know what you should do if an employee comes to you to blow the whistle on an issue or concern?
The trust placed in trustees can be no more evident than when a member of staff shows their faith - and exercises their legal right - by turning to you to blow the whistle on a concern they have about a person or practice in your charity.
Whistleblowing is potentially one of the most challenging situations board members face. Experience shows us that if someone chooses to make an allegation against a senior figure in a third sector organisation it’s a trustee to whom they will turn.
Circumstances can be complicated. An employee does not have to explicitly say “I am a whistleblower”. Sometimes the nature of what’s being disclosed may not immediately strike you as whistleblowing. That’s why it’s important, legally, that no matter the allegation - and who it is against - that you take professional advice and respond appropriately.
At the most human level, you have an obligation to the person who has shown faith in turning to you. They may have done so after agonising over their concerns for some time.
You also have an obligation to your charity. Claims being made can often have a major bearing on an organisation’s future. They need to be treated properly. Doing so will protect not just your organisation but you personally.
Morally, you have an obligation to the entire third sector too. So many people put their faith in charities in so many ways. We need to maintain that trust.
It’s important to remember that whistleblowers are protected by law. Once they make a protected disclosure they cannot be penalised or discriminated against for coming to someone in authority, such as you, to raise concerns or make any kind of allegation, whether they are around financial impropriety, personal behaviour or health and safety policies. The same is true if they go to the police or a regulator such as OSCR.
There are three steps I recommend that a trustee follows:
Acknowledge what’s happened. Thank the person for bringing this to your attention. Assure them you will either investigate the issue yourself or appoint someone to do that.
Check whether you have a whistleblowing policy and the terms of it. That will tell you what you need to do with this information (if your charity does not have a policy, ensure they get one). Consider legal advice.
Follow that policy. The action will depend on the subject of the disclosure. At the most serious level, prompt action may be required and the allegation may require a person’s suspension, pending investigation. Your policy will set out where you should go next so that proper process can be followed. If you are a trustee who is not the Chair, you would also be advised to inform the Chair (provided, of course, that the allegation is not against them).
The nature of the concern and the level at which the person implicated sits within the organisation raised will drive what happens. Regulators may also need to be notified. But, whatever the circumstances, trustees have an obligation to ensure that the investigation which follows is carried out properly, whether that be internally or through bringing someone such as a law firm in.
Trustees need to keep one eye on protecting themselves and future-proofing the process followed, in case that came under scrutiny later, whether from a regulator, police or at an employment tribunal. It’s important to show that allegations have been taken seriously through a fair and independent process.
Underpinning all of this is the fact that the whistleblower cannot suffer a detriment or be dismissed because they have blown the whistle - even if what they claim proves unfounded. That may include keeping their identity anonymous.
Should a whistleblower feel as though they are suffering a detriment in how they are treated because of the steps they took, they could bring a legal action against their employer. It’s important - for them and your charity- that they are properly protected.
Article published 4 July 2022.
