The whistleblowing training gap is putting HR teams at risk

Over the years, many companies have come under the spotlight after employees raised concerns about wrongdoing, fraud, or unsafe practices. 

This is known as whistleblowing, and it plays a key role in keeping the public safe and making sure organisations are held responsible for any illegal or harmful activities.

Yet, it seems that human resources (HR) teams are perplexed on how to handle such cases, as new research from whistleblowing hotline provider Safecall reveals that only a third of HR teams at UK businesses are currently receiving adequate training.

With the number of employment tribunals rising, and new employment protection laws having recently come into force, there’s an urgent need for businesses to provide proper training and guidance for staff.

HR teams are falling behind on whistleblowing training

Human resource teams play a crucial role in handling misconduct and wrongdoing in the workplace. As a result, they’re also responsible for ensuring that employees understand the whistleblowing process and are properly supported through it.

However, the statistics from Safecall tell a very different story. In Safecall’s survey of 500 HR managers based in the UK, it found that only 36% of HR and people teams receive whistleblowing training. Among line managers, this number falls to 31%.

These concerning numbers come despite a sharp rise in whistleblowing claims being brought to employment tribunals in the last decade. 

According to The Financial Times, the number of cases in the tribunal system increased by 92% between 2015 and 2023.

This shows a clear necessity for sufficient training, with companies needing to step up their support for teams dealing with these cases. Without it, employees may feel discouraged from speaking up, leaving misconduct unreported.

Why are whistleblowing policies important?

Businesses should implement a whistleblowing policy as they give employees a safe, structured way to report concerns, while helping organisations catch problems early and maintain a transparent organisational culture.

They also show staff that their employer takes misconduct seriously, protects those who speak up, and is committed to acting on issues rather than hiding them.

This is especially important now that the UK government is looking to further protect employees, including with new laws around Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). Under these proposals, workers who believe they’ve been a victim of a crime can report their concerns — even if they’ve signed an NDA.

Protecting staff from retaliation is also as crucial as ever, as a report by Protect Advice reveals that 68% of employees claimed they faced victimisation or felt forced to resign as a result of whistleblowing.

Joanna Lewis, Managing Director at Safecall, says that “successful reporting and support relies on having a workforce who are adequately trained and comfortable dealing with incidents and knowing the correct course of action.”

How to incorporate whistleblowing policies into your business

Bringing whistleblowing policies into your business starts with creating clear and accessible guidelines that explain how employees can raise concerns and what happens once they do.

Your policy should outline reporting channels (like HR teams or direct managers), set expectations around confidentiality, and ensure staff know they’ll be protected from retaliation. It should also be easy to find and regularly communicated, such as through onboarding, quarterly updates, or just short refreshers through Slack / Teams messages.

However, it’s equally important for businesses to actually follow through on their policies and show employees that speaking up leads to action. After all, Protect Advice’s report also found that 40% of staff said their whistleblowing concerns were ignored.

Indeed, measuring the effectiveness of whistleblowing training is just as crucial as delivering it. Safecall’s findings show that online tests/quizzes and employee surveys are the most popular forms of training assessments, both used by 48% of businesses. This was followed by run scenarios (47%) and verbal check-ins (45%). 

“Training is a vital part of combating wrongdoing and malpractice which should not be overlooked by any business.” Lewis adds.

“Having colleagues who have the right training in place instills a sense of confidence across an organisation, and contributes to a more inclusive, safer working environment where employees feel empowered to speak up.”