Whistleblower Protection Programs 

Oftentimes, employees who have come out openly on unethical organisational culture have faced retaliation in the form of laying off, demotion, increased workload, denying promotion, or reduced payout. While blowing the whistle is about disclosing wrongdoings in the public interest, these whistleblowers eventually end up being victimised if not protected.

What are Whistleblower Protection Programs?

Whistleblowers often fear retaliation from their colleagues or stakeholders, which causes them emotional distress, productivity loss, feelings of isolation at the workplace, an impact on career growth, exhausting legal proceedings, and financial consequences. 

Whistleblower management is the strategic framework that organisations incorporate to encourage employees to practice ethical practices and respond to misconduct, safety violations, unethical behaviour or fraud in the workplace. 

Whistleblower protection programs are essential for transparent corporate governance, better accountability and for maintaining legal compliance within the organisations. Moreover, transparency and accountability in an organisation are the core elements of whistleblower protection programs. 

Key components of whistleblower management-

• Anonymous Reporting Channels
• Legal Safeguards
• Investigation and Resolution
• Reporting to Authorities
• Whistleblower Advocates
• Awareness and Training

Significance of Whistleblower Protection Programs in Organisations

Irrespective of the industry-vertical, nature of an organisation, and specific circumstances, external or internal whistleblowing, if employees cannot speak up against the wrongdoings at the workplace or face retaliation, it encourages corruption or other unethical acts. Whistleblower policy must be kept in place within an organisation and should be adhered to discourage misconduct and preserve organisational integrity and a workplace culture within the bounds of the law.

Considering whistleblowers play a vital role in exposing wrongdoings within organisations and creating an environment of a transparent, ethical work culture, their legal protection, including harassment, and job security must be a priority for companies. 

Whistleblower protection programs help organisations comply with the legal regulations as per the demographics. These programs encourage prompt reporting of issues to prevent corruption, financial losses, risk to public safety, environmental damage and sexual harassment. 

How Netrika Consulting Can Help

Whistleblower policy has advanced worldwide in the past few years and now many countries give as much importance to protecting the whistleblower’s identity and integrity as to corruption practices. However, for organisations, it can be challenging to understand who should be protected and when and why should they be included in the protection programs. 

Netrika Consulting, one of the most prominent whistleblower protection service providers, assists organisations in understanding the Who, When, Why and from Whom part of whistleblower protection programs. We, with the help of experts who have decades of industry experience in establishing a culture of accountability, transparency and ethical behaviour help organisations safeguard the company's rights as well as the well-being of whistleblowers. 

Ensure Complete Independence & impartial case management-

• Secure and confidential
• Multiple channels
• 24x7 availability
• Secure Data Analytics
• Trained Analysts
• Provides customised training & awareness programs

Our expertise also helps organisations establish preventive measures to reduce the likelihood of misconduct and unethical behaviour, with transparent reporting without the fear of retaliation. 

Whistleblower protection

A whistleblowing hotline or a whistleblowing service is a service that offers employees of an organisation and third-party suppliers a dedicated and sophisticated system to report malpractice, unlawful or unethical behaviour within the workplace. A whistle blower may be anyone in an organisation including employees, former employees, vendors, director, shareholders, regulatory bodies or any other person who has the willingness to speak up or raise concern over misconduct/malpractices, to facilitate corrective action by the organisation.

We can help organisations set up the whistle blower hotline, monitor the complaint receipts, vet the complaints, investigate further and report. Netrika’s whistle blower service is an anonymous and independent digital and fully integrated whistleblowing service that can help organisations reduce the costs and risks of workplace misconduct.

Through our complete digital whistleblowing solution, we provide businesses with insight into the identification of misconduct. The key features of our services are:

• Ensure Complete independence & impartial case management
• Secure and confidential
• Multiple channels
• 24x7 availability
• Secure Data Analytics
• Trained Analysts
• Provides customised training & awareness programs

Our experienced team has an intimate understanding and elaborate knowledge of current legislation and regulations around Whistle blower and anti-corruption agency programs in India and internationally.