As part of December’s Hazard of the Month, Fraud, we’re highlighting two key areas: Whistleblowing and Modern Slavery.
Whistleblowing
Whistleblowing is the term used to describe when a worker passes along information concerning a wrongdoing – typically, but not always, something they’ve witnessed while at work. Whistle-blowers are protected by law, meaning they should not be treated unfairly or lose their job, under the condition that they are acting in the public interest, and must reasonably believe is that the disclosure tends to show past, present or likely future wrongdoing.
Complaints that count as whistleblowing include:
- A criminal offence, such as fraud
- Risk/actual damage to the environment
- You believe someone’s health and safety is in danger
- The company is breaking the law, e.g. lacking the correct insurance
- You believe someone is covering up wrongdoing
- Miscarriage of justice
However, personal grievances do not count as whistleblowing, and would not be protected under whistleblowing law – bullying, harassment and discrimination should be reported under your company grievance policy.
Whistleblowing plays an important role in ensuring businesses, and their employees, are obeying the law and acting safely.
Make sure your workers know their rights and responsibilities when raising concerns in the workplace with our Whistleblowing Procedures E-Learning Course! This course is suitable for any employees who need to learn how whistleblowing procedures work. Get 10% off this course with the code ‘fraud10’!
Modern Slavery
Modern slavery is the illegal exploitation of people for commercial or personal gain. It can affect anyone, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity or nationality, and the definition covers many different types of abuse.
Examples of modern slavery may include:
- Forced labour: The victim is forced to work against their will often for long hours with little or even no pay at all. They may be working in very poor conditions, and are often under threats of violence towards themselves or their families. People in any level of UK society may be affected.
- Criminal exploitation: The victim is forced to commit crimes against their will, such as pickpocketing or cannabis cultivation.
- Human trafficking: People, both adults and children, are traded in order to be exploited for commercial gain. Traffickers may use violence, threats or false promises of well-paid jobs and a better life in order to trick victims into working for them.
Modern slavery is a serious issue that unfortunately still exists everywhere – therefore having the ability to recognise and report slavery is vitally important in helping to prevent abuse and save victims. Additionally, victims often suffer more than one type of abuse – recognising the signs of one type of abuse may help to rescue them from multiple forms of exploitation.
Ensure your workers understand what modern slavery looks like and how to report it safely with our Modern Slavery E-Learning Course. This course is suitable for all employees at all levels – we can all do our bit to help stop modern slavery. Get 10% off this course with the code ‘fraud10’!
Whistleblowing and Modern Slavery training are relevant to all workers at any organisation, and gives employees the knowledge and confidence to recognise and report wrongdoings in the workplace. Make sure you don’t miss out on our 10% off deal on these essential courses, available until the end of December. Simply enter the code ‘fraud10’ at checkout to save!
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