Whistleblowing is one of the most effective ways to uncover corruption, fraud, mismanagement and other wrongdoing that threaten public health and safety, financial integrity, human rights and the environment. Unethical or illegal conduct in business and public institutions can also have disastrous consequences for organisations themselves.
Most whistleblowers first report suspected wrongdoing within their organisations, which are best placed to deal with misconduct within their remit. It is therefore essential that organisations, whether private companies or public institutions, provide safe and effective mechanisms to receive and address these reports, as well as robust protection to whistleblowers. Effective internal whistleblowing systems (IWS) can help achieve that.
IWS provide safe channels for employees and stakeholders of an organisation to receive reports, protect those reporting concerns from retaliation and guide the organisation’s response. These systems are also powerful risk management and prevention tools that help protect organisations from the effects of misconduct – including legal liability, lasting reputational harm and serious financial losses.Transparency International has developed a number of resources to support organisations’ implementation of effective internal whistleblowing systems. You can find them below, along with resources developed by others that we thought you might find useful.
Transparency International resources
- Internal whistleblowing systems: Best practice principles for public and private organisations (2022)
- The Business Case for “Speaking Up”: How Internal Reporting Mechanisms Strengthen Private-Sector Organisations
- Overview of whistleblowing software (2020)
- Gender Sensitivity in Corruption Reporting and Whistleblowing (2020)
- Financial incentives for whistleblowers (2018)
- Internal Whistleblowing Mechanisms – Topic Guide (2017)
- 10 Anti-Corruption Principles for State-Owned Enterprises (2017)
Other Resources
- International Chamber of Commerce – Guideline on Whistleblowing (2022)
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO) – Whistleblowing management systems — Guidelines,, ISO 37002:2021
- UNODC – Speak Up for Health! Guidelines to enable whistle-blower protection in the health-care sector (2021)
- Eurocadres – Guide to Internal Whistleblowing Channels and the Role of Trade Unions (2021)
- Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law
- European Data Protection Supervisor – Guidelines on processing personal information within a whistleblowing procedure (2016)