In 2024, the number of employees who used a whistleblowing system increased by 16 percent. More than half of all reports were related to HR issues.
Safecall’s annual Whistleblowing Report revealed that online disclosures increased from 63% up to 67%, with the majority preferring to remain anonymous.
One report was made by the nonprofit sector for every 100 employees. Safecall’s median was one report per 370 employees.
The emergency services and food processing and wholesale were also sectors that received high numbers of reports.
Joanna Lewis said that the increase in reports was due to a growing awareness of the importance of speaking out and also to companies responding to legislative changes, such as the Worker Protection Act.
All reports included 55% HR-related concerns, such as bullying, discrimination, and unfair treatment. She added that reports of dishonest behavior – such as bribery and corruption, fraud, and theft – now account for nearly one fifth (19%) of all reports. This is a record-high compared to previous years.
60 % of all reports of dishonest behavior are filed by housing associations.
Phone Reporting
Although there has been an increase in online reporting over the last six years, some individuals prefer to call and report because they believe there is more trust. Safecall discovered that two out of five whistleblowers (43%), who made a report over the phone, were willing to name themselves.
Lewis, a spokesperson for Personnel Today, said: “We view this as a good thing as employers are more confident about the mechanisms in place.”
Companies are discussing whether their processes work and if people are aware of them. The approaches either are driven by legislation or the businesses themselves want to improve their culture and create a better workplace.
Despite this, the majority of whistleblowers prefer to remain anonymous. 86% of reports from the emergency services are unnamed. Support services is the sector in which whistleblowers most often reveal their identities.
Lewis noted that industries with fewer office workers tend to have more phone reports. Employees are more willing to provide details to the call handler for further questions because they have developed trust.
She said: “Any whistleblowing, whether anonymous or named, is a positive thing. It promotes a better work culture, increased health and safety and reduced malpractice.
The increase in anonymous reports shows that more needs to be done to reassure whistleblowers of their protection. It’s understandable that being exposed as a “whistleblower” is a concern, particularly when reporting on an important or serious issue.
Role of trust
Lewis stated that anonymity could hamper company investigations when further details are needed, and even discourage investigations.
She said, “Trust is key here – whistleblowers need to be confident that their identity remains confidential, no matter how serious their reports are. This can only be achieved by using independent, reliable whistleblowing services.”
If the issue is sensitive, people may want to explain and talk about it so that their words aren’t misinterpreted. Call handlers can facilitate investigations with greater levels of substantiation by managing these reports. We believe that a telephone hotline is essential.
She added that “generally, every organization wants to protect their reputation. But we’re seeing a lot of culture-focused discussions around whistleblowing because they want retain staff. Recruitment is expensive.”
We are moving in the right directions. As organisations promote ethical practices, they will continue to increase the reporting of incidents. This will allow companies to investigate properly and ensure that malpractice is not overlooked.
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