Friday, January 4, 2013

An Introduction To The Whistleblower Act

By Faye Hunter


If you have been keeping up with news, you probably have encountered an article about an employee exposing some form of malpractice. These may lead you to wonder why only one such employee spoke out if there are several people who may have been privy to these information. The implications of such a move are usually not beneficial, so that governments have created the whistleblower act.

This laws are regulations that pertain to the protection of the worker once he reports such behavior or practices in the workplace. These practices can range from misconduct to the improper handling of funds. Once the worker exposes such a situation, the organization should work to protect the employee from parties who may want to cause him harm.

The agency cannot engage in activities such as firing the employee or blacklisting him. He should still have the same benefits without a reduction in his salary, or refusing him his chance for promotion. There should be no intimidation and he should not be disciplined for reporting the said incident.

Enforcing such a policy will encourage employees to report these kind of activities. They know they will receive support and they know that it will not result in the loss of their benefits. The organization on the other hand will have a chance to fix the matter before it becomes public and results in a lot of bad publicity.

Any business will suffer from such an incident but it also presents a number of advantages. Since the practice has been exposed, then the company can take steps to prevent further occurrence. Any losses on the clients part will also be prevented. Additionally, the violators can be punished.

It can still be difficult to expose such practices since this activity can be thought of as disloyal. However, in some areas the rise in claims has been noted because of the ease with which one can submit the claim and the possible reward that may follow. The specifics of such a disclosure though can differ among organizations and not all will offer a reward for such a disclosure.

The worker who wants to disclose valuable information will typically think about the financial implications of such a move, as this puts his career at risk and his source of income. Depending on his values, he may struggle between his duty to the company or his values as an individual. The process of collecting the evidence will may be difficult.

The worker will typically have to deal with the aftermath which may involve negative reactions from his coworkers. Even if the management is not encouraging him to resign, the uncomfortable environment may push him to do so. The worker will have to consider all the possibilities before he takes on such a task.

The protection offered by a whistleblower act can vary from area to area. This can also be affected by how the information was disclosed to the authorities and how it was made public. Most countries now have such similar regulations which cover the avenues for reporting, investigation, and the legal protection of the worker.




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