Whistleblowing

It makes business sense to have pro-active measures in place to deal with any wrongdoing - one of the most effective ways in dealing with unethical, illegal or fraudulent activity is to have an independent telephone service so employees can report any misdoing. Our trusted team have a solid understanding of what can go wrong, and, supported by our whistleblowing hotline, we have in-depth knowledge and experience to help you deal with any incidences. 

We help businesses, government bodies, public sector organisations and charities on all aspects of preventing and responding to fraud and corruption - the hotline is part of our wider fraud and investigations offering. We help assess your business risk, develop and implement policies and procedures and work with your Board to ensure you have done everything you can to protect your business. Further, we provide training within your organisation to support implementation of any such policies and procedures.

Our 24/7 whistleblowing hotline is an independent service, tailored to ensure it fits your business needs. By calling the hotline, your employees can make disclosures whilst being afforded protection by the Public Interest Disclosure Act.

If an incident is reported, the whistleblower will answer a set list of questions (agreed with you in advance) when they telephone the hotline. Our team will then produce a report to enable you to make an internal decision about whether further investigation is required. If further investigation is required, our Fraud and Investigations team act quickly and decisively to support you.

Some of the benefits of having an independent whistleblowing hotline:

Cost-effective - a 24/7 service means that you won't need to think about staffing issues, saving you time and money, as the benefits far outweigh the cost to you.

Demonstrates a fair and open culture - fosters a greater culture of transparency, demonstrates that you place importance on identifying and remedying wrongdoing, and reinforces the standards, ethics and behaviour that staff are expected to adhere to.

Acts as a defence - in the UK, having this service in place could also act as a defence for an organisation by evidencing, for example, policies and procedures that an organisation has put in place to prevent bribery under the Bribery Act 2010 and the steps you have taken to minimise the risk of fraud.

Shows you value your employees - who feel less vulnerable if this type of service is provided by an external supplier

Gives you immediate support and trust – should an incident occur. By having a hotline in place, our trusted team will already know and understand your business and teams, so we can act immediately. If misappropriated assets are suspected following completion of an investigation, we react efficiently and decisively, which can mean the difference between recovery and loss, so minimise the impact of a fraud incident – in terms of time, money and reputation loss.

Full service legal support – this is not an isolated service as we have in-house expertise to deal with any aspect of the issue such as employment, commercial and tax expertise to support the full investigation, as necessary. Experts from Trowers can also help with reputation management. When incidents like this occur, you can place your full trust in us.

As well as our offices, as members of Interlaw, we are able to quickly draw on the legal expertise and knowledge of this “Elite Global Law Firm network” with lawyers in more than 150 cities worldwide.

In brief

• The 24/7 whistleblowing hotline is an independent service

• Cost-effective measure
• Demonstrates a fair and open culture
• Immediate support and knowledge of your business should an incident occur
• Trusted relationships already built within your organisation
• In-house expertise to deal with any aspect of the issue such as employment, commercial and tax expertise to support the full investigation, as necessary
• As well as our offices, we have lawyers in more than 150 cities worldwide through our Interlaw membership