Saturday, January 5, 2013

The Whistleblower Act And Its Effects

By Faye Hunter


The news offer many examples of one or two individuals exposing the malpractices of an entire organization. Given the size of the business, you may wonder why the other workers did not take action to report such activities. Many are worried about the consequences of reporting such activities and prefer not to expose themselves to risk. This is where the whistleblower act can become significant.

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 organization should refrain from firing the worker. There should be no changes in his treatment, such as loss in benefits or refusal to let him work overtime. He should not be taken out of the running for promotion if he is qualified for one. His salary should still be the same. The organization shall not threaten him in any way.

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.

There are several things that workers typically think of when they are weighing the merits of such a decision. They want to make sure that they are not risking their source of income. They may question where there values lie if they continue to be loyal to the company. They will also consider the process of gathering evidence.

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 whistleblower act may be different for every region. The protection it offers may differ according to how the reporting was done and how it was made public. Many countries have already made similar laws in order to protect said employees, and supervise the avenues for reporting and investigation.




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