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Whistle-blowing

Will you be ready when the whistle blows?

A Guide for Public Sector Managers

Promoting Public Sector Accountability

Implementing the Protected Disclosures Act

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Since February 2001 South Africa hashad legislation which protects em-ployees in the public and privatesector from occupational detriment,should they blow the whistle.

As it potentially affects you andeveryone who works with you, I dohope you find the time to read thispublication.

Understood and applied effectivelythis legislation will help you asmanagers to identify and manage riskand protect your reputation and thereputation of the public service. A keypart of the national strategy to fightcorruption in the public sector, is toencourage ethical individuals withinthe service to raise their concerns ina responsible manner.

This brochure has been prepared bythe Institute for Security Studies (withgenerous funding from AUSAID) inassociation with the Open DemocracyAdvice Centre and the Public ServiceCommission. Further informationabout these organisations is set out atthe end of this document.

As the Commission, we are pleasedto co-operate in this venture in orderto promote an ethical organisationalculture premised on openness andaccountability. This is a challengingprocess and we trust that this bro-chure will help prepare public sectormanagers for when the whistle blows.

Yours sincerely

Prof Stan Sangweni

Foreword

Foreword by the Chair of the Public ServiceCommission, Prof Stan Sangweni

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Introduction

Section 1: Whistle-blowing in the South African context

Section 2: Understanding the Act

Section 3: Putting a whistle-blowing policy in place

Section 4: The Protected Disclosures Act

Section 5: Additional resources

Contents

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This public information brochure should be seen as complementary to the official guidelines whichthe Minister of Justice is responsible for compiling in terms of the Protected Disclosures Act.

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Since February 2001 South Africa has had the most far-reaching �state of theart� whistle-blowing legislation in the world. Understood and applied effectively,the new legislation known as the Protected Disclosures Act no 26 of 2000 willhelp to deter and detect wrongdoing in the workplace, acting as an early-warning mechanism to prevent impropriety and corruption within the publicsector. Essentially the law harnesses a common interest between responsibleindividuals who raise concerns they may have in the workplace with account-able organisations and managers prepared to respond to the bona fide con-cerns of their employees.

A copy of the ProtectedDisclosures Act is enclosed (pg18) for easy access as well asinformation for public sectormanagers on further resourcesavailable (pg 23) to assist indeveloping whistle-blowingpolicies for the public sector.

Introduction

This guide is targeted at public sectormanagers in order to prepare them tobe able to respond adequately whenthe whistle blows. As such this guideis divided into three main sections:

1 Whistle-blowing in the South Africancontext - this deals with what iswhistle-blowing as well as how itcan be a key risk management tooland encourage effective communi-cation within organisations.

2 Understanding the Act - the SouthAfrican legislation on whistle-blowing, the Protected DisclosuresAct, is explained in an accessibleway.

3 Implementing a whistle-blowingpolicy - guidelines for developinga comprehensive whistle-blowingpolicy within organisations arediscussed with key pointers andan action plan.

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South Africa�s transition to demo-cratic rule has been characterised byhigh levels of crime, including wide-spread corruption. Several initiativeshave been undertaken to promoteaccountability and fight corruptionwithin the public sector. These effortsinclude legislation such as the Promo-tion of Access to Information Act andthe Protected Disclosures Act, as wellas hosting anti-corruption confer-ences (in November 1998, April 1999and October 1999). Resolutions takenat the National Anti-CorruptionSummit in April 1999 made specificreference to �developing, encouragingand implementing whistle-blowingmechanisms, which include measuresto protect persons from victimisationwhere they expose corruption andunethical practices�. During February2001 the Protected Disclosures Actwhich protects bona fide whistle-blowers came into force.

One of the key obstacles faced in thefight against corruption is the fact thatindividuals are often too intimidated tospeak out or �blow the whistle� oncorrupt and unlawful activities theyobserve occurring in the workplace,although they may be obliged to interms of their conditions of employ-

ment. Under the Public Service Codeof Conduct, public servants in thecourse of their official duties shallreport to the appropriate authorities,fraud, corruption, nepotism,maladministration and any other actwhich constitutes an offence, orwhich is prejudicial to the publicinterest.

Often those who do stick their necksout are victimised and intimidated anduntil recently have had little recourse.A large cause of the problem is that inSouth Africa whistle-blowers can beconfused with �impimpis� - apartheidera informants who informed on theircomrades with often devastatingconsequences. This historical contexthas unfortunately allowed some tostigmatise whistle-blowing as anactivity to be despised rather thanencouraged.

What is whistle-blowing?

Understood correctly, whistle-blowingis not about informing in the negative,anonymous sense but rather about�raising a concern about malpracticewithin an organisation�. The braveryof being prepared to blow the whistleis directly related to the culturalresistance in many organisations to

Section 1:Whistle-blowing in the South

African context

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transparency and accountability.Whistle-blowing is therefore a key toolfor promoting individual responsibilityand organisational accountability.Whistle-blowers act in good faith andin the public interest to raise concernsaround suspected impropriety withintheir place of employment. However,they often risk victimisation, recrimi-nation and sometimes dismissal.

Why is whistle-blowing importantto you?

Whistle-blowing is an early warningsystem to avert possible risks to theorganisation. An effective policy toencourage whistle-blowing enablesemployers to find out when some-thing is going wrong in time to takenecessary corrective action.

A positive whistle-blowing culture is acritical element in the success of anyrisk management system. By promot-ing better risk management, it canalso help you prevent the need formore regulation and intervention byregulators and legislators.

An organisation that positively encour-ages whistle-blowing stands a farbetter chance of demonstrating that itis properly run and managed. Theexistence of a working whistle-blowing policy can be pivotal in legalproceedings. This is because, indetermining liability and in setting thepenalties, the courts may well take

account of whether a whistle wasblown and, if not, why not.

Why don�t people blow thewhistle?

While employees are usually the firstto know of wrongdoing, many will feelthey stand to lose the most byspeaking up. Those who genuinelysuspect that something may be goingseriously wrong in the workplaceusually face an acute dilemma. Theycan stay silent and look the other way,they can raise the matter with theemployer, or they can take theirconcerns outside the organisation.

The fear of being labelled a �sneak� ora troublemaker, the fear of �breakingranks� and appearing disloyal tocolleagues, and the fear of beingrequired to provide irrefutable evi-dence are powerful disincentives tospeaking up. For generations, play-ground culture has dictated that wedo not �tell tales�.

The distinction is not always drawnbetween those who wantonly betraytrust and those who act - oftenirrespective of their own immediateinterests - to protect others and theinterests of their employers. A goodpolicy encourages and protectsresponsible whistle-blowing.

Those individuals who think theyought to resist the social pressure tolook the other way and recognise that

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the matter should be looked into bythose in charge must consider theirown position. Might they be disadvan-taged, disciplined or even dismissedfor speaking up? Press reports, whichfocus on whistle-blowers who findthemselves out of a job or out of acareer, only fuel these fears.

In such circumstances, it is notsurprising that most employees whofind themselves in this position speakonly to friends or family - rather thanto their employer, the person best ableto look into the issue.

The result of this communicationbreakdown is that the employer losesa valuable opportunity to avert whatmight become a damaging crisis or toreassure employees that their con-cerns are mistaken, and also losesaccess to a valuable pool of informa-tion.

Why aren�t grievance proceduresenough?

While employers increasingly recog-nise that it is in the organisation�sinterest to encourage staff to raiseconcerns, many still have provisionsand procedures which actuallycompound the problem. This isbecause rules designed to deal withthe disaffected and disloyal will neverreassure the silent majority of theworkforce that it is safe to raise aconcern about wrongdoing.

The commonplace assumption that aconcern is no different from a griev-ance suggests that the employeeshould pursue the concern through anadversarial procedure. This can givethe impression that it is for theemployee to prove that the depart-ment is being defrauded, or that asafety hazard is present.

The inclusion of all-embracing confi-dentiality clauses in contracts sends astrong message that staff should keepquiet, both in and outside theworkplace.

Rigid line management, without awhistle-blowing system, risks givingmiddle management a monopolisticcontrol over the information thatreaches those in charge. Like anymonopoly, this control can offer realtemptations to the lazy, the incompe-tent and the corrupt.

Properly understood and applied, awhistle-blowing policy will help youbreak this cycle of silence and inac-tion and prevent corruption in thepublic sector.

Whistle-blowing has been promotedby the Public Service Commissionthrough provincial workshops and hasbeen recognised as an importantcorruption prevention tool by anumber of public sector departments.Before February 2001, public serv-ants who raised concerns in the

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workplace would have had limitedprotection in terms of the Labour Actand Public Service regulations. Withthe introduction of the ProtectedDisclosures Act all public serviceemployees who raise their concerns,in line with their duty under the PublicService Code of Conduct to reportimpropriety, will be protected.

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The next section will explain hownew legislation protects whistle-blowers who make disclosures.Organisational policies, whichare in line with the Act, tosupport and encourage employ-ees to raise the whistle, will alsobe discussed.

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In South Africa the Protected Disclo-sures Act (no 26 of 2000) makesprovision for procedures in terms ofwhich employees in both the publicand private sector who discloseinformation of unlawful or corruptconduct by their employers or fellowemployees, are protected fromoccupational detriment.

This law is to encourage honestemployees to raise their concerns andreport wrongdoing within theworkplace without fear. This lawshould be welcomed as a crucialcorporate governance tool to promotesafe, accountable and responsivework environments.

The South African law draws heavilyon the UK�s Public Interest DisclosureAct. This Act was introduced follow-ing a number of high-profile disastersand scandals which claimed hundredsof lives. The public inquiries, whichwere established to uncover the factsbehind these catastrophes, showedtime and again that such incidentscould and should have been pre-vented. People who worked there hadknown about the dangers before anydamage was done, but had:

� been too scared to sound the alarm

� spoken to the wrong people, or

� raised the concern, only to beignored.

The Protected Disclosures Act2000

The Protected Disclosures Act setsout a clear and simple framework topromote responsible whistle-blowingby:

� reassuring workers that silence isnot the only safe option

� providing strong protection forworkers who raise concernsinternally

� reinforcing and protecting the rightto report concerns to publicprotection agencies such as thePublic Protector and Auditor-General, and

� protecting more general disclo-sures provided that there is a validreason for going wider and that theparticular disclosure is a reason-able one.

The conceptual core

At its heart, the Protected DisclosuresAct contains a simple idea: that it is inthe common interest of both the

Section 2:Understanding the Act

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employer and the (responsible,potential whistle-blower) employee to�blow the whistle� internally - withinthe department - rather than exter-nally, to, for example, the media. Oncea disclosure is made externally thestakes are much, much higher - forboth the employer and the employee.For the employer it may result indamaging publicity, whether war-ranted or not. For the employee, it ismuch more likely that the employerwill react negatively to the disclosure,with adverse consequences for theemployee and his or her future workprospects.

Protected disclosures

A disclosure is a �protected disclo-sure� under the Protected DisclosuresAct if:

� the disclosure contains informationabout �impropriety� and

� the disclosure has been made tothe right person, according to thescheme established by the Act (see�The Four Doors to Legal Protec-tion�, pg 9).

Potential cost to employers

If a disclosure is protected it meansthat any �occupational detriment� thatthe employee who made the disclo-sure subsequently suffers as a resultof the disclosure will attract a legal

remedy. �Occupational detriment� isvery widely defined by the ProtectedDisclosures Act and includes harass-ment, dismissal, transfer against thewill of the employee, non-promotion,a denial of appointment, or �otherwiseadversely affected�.

People who are victimised in breach ofthe Act, whether they are dismissedor not, can refer a dispute to theCommission for Conciliation, Media-tion and Arbitration for conciliation andthereafter to the Labour Court. Peoplewho are dismissed for making aprotected disclosure can claim eithercompensation, up to a maximumamount of two years salary, or rein-statement. People who are not dis-missed but who are disadvantaged insome other way as a result of makinga protected disclosure can claimcompensation or ask the court for anyother appropriate order.

�Impropriety�

The Protected Disclosures Act appliesto people at work raising concernsabout crime, failure to comply withany legal duty (including negligence,breach of contract, breach of adminis-trative law), miscarriage of justice,danger to health and safety, damageto the environment, discrimination andthe deliberate cover-up of any ofthese. It applies to concerns aboutpast, present and future malpractice.

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Reasonableness

In deciding the reasonableness of thedisclosure the adjudicatory forum willprobably consider the identity of theperson it was made to, the serious-ness of the concern, whether the riskor danger remains, and whether thedisclosure breached a duty of confi-dence the employer owed a thirdparty. Where the concern had beenraised with the employer or a pre-scribed regulator, the tribunal will alsoconsider their response. This means itis not enough to have a whistle-blowing policy only - concerns thatare reported must be investigated andaction taken as appropriate. Finallyprotection may be lost if the workerfailed to comply with a whistle-blowing policy the organisation hadmade available.

The four good causes are either:

1 the concern was raised internallyor with a prescribed regulator, buthas not been properly addressed

2 the concern was not raisedinternally or with a prescribedregulator because the whistle-blower reasonably believed he orshe would be victimised

3 the concern was not raisedinternally because the whistle-blower reasonably believed acover-up was likely and there wasno prescribed regulator, or

4 the concern was exceptionallyserious.

The scheme created by the Protected Disclosures Act can be likened to aperson in a room faced by several exit doors. If you choose the rightdoor, you leave the room with the special protections provided by theProtected Disclosures Act. If you do not choose the right door, you donot have any special protections, but must rely on ordinary labour law,criminal law, etc. to protect your rights if anything happens to you as aresult of blowing the whistle.

In the case of door four, there are four good causes recognised in thelaw.

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Door Two:

An Internal disclosure(Section 6)The Protected Disclosures Act signalsthat it is safest if concerns are raisedinternally. A disclosure to the employerwill be protected if the whistle-bloweracts in good faith, and follows theprocess set out for such disclosures bythe employer. They should have areason to believe that there is a prob-lem of some sort, including the lawbeing broken, the health or safety ofpeople being endangered, or discrimi-nation taking place. This is the doorthat the Protected Disclosures Actwants the potential whistle-blower towalk through, in everyone�s interest.But it assumes that the employer willtake the disclosure seriously andrespond appropriately. The ProtectedDisclosures Act encourages employersto have in place a whistle-blowerpolicy. A good policy will operate like abright light on top of the InternalDisclosure door, signalling that this isthe first, and best, route for the whistle-blower to take.

Door One:

Legal Advice(Section 5)The first door is marked �legaladvice�. A disclosure made by awhistle-blower to someone for thepurposes of getting legal adviceabout the disclosure is a protecteddisclosure. This would include theemployee�s attorney or shopsteward.

The Four Doors to Legal Protection

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Door Three:

Regulatory disclosures(Section 8)The Act reinforces and strengthensthe right to make disclosures tospecified regulatory bodies. Thesecurrently include:

� the office of the Public Protector

� the office of the Auditor-General.

Disclosures to these bodies will beprotected where the whistle-blowermakes the disclosure in good faithand the employee reasonablybelieves the Public Protector orAuditor General would usually dealwith the kind of problem that thewhistle-blower wants to talk about.There is no requirement that theconcern should first have beenraised with the employer.

Door Four:

Wider disclosures(Section 7 and 9)Workers can also be protected underthe Act if they make wider disclo-sures (eg, to the police, MPs, andeven the media). This is known as ageneral protected disclosure. Thisprotection applies where the whistle-blower honestly and reasonablybelieves that the information and anyallegation contained in it are sub-stantially true and that the disclosureis not made for personal gain.Crucially, to be protected there mustalso be a good cause for goingoutside and the particular disclosuremust be reasonable. There are fourgood causes recognised in the law(see pg 8).

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Confidentiality clauses

Confidentiality clauses in workers� contracts and severance agreementsare ineffective insofar as they conflict with the Act�s protection.

You can make a protected disclosure to one of the following peopleprovided you meet the requirements as set out in the Act.

(Clause 6)To an employer therequirements are:� In good faith� Substantially in

accordance with anyprescribed procedure

(Clause 7)To a member of cabinet or executivecouncil the requirements are:� Good faith� Your employer must be:

1) an individual or body appointed in termsof legislation by a member of cabinet orexecutive council, (eg. National Directo-rate of Public Prosecutors)

2) an organ of state falling in the area ofresponsibility of the member concerned

Employer

What should I do?Who should I talk to?

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LegalAdvisor

Memberof

Cabinet/

MEC

(Clause 5)To a legal practitioner or personwhose occupation involves thegiving of legal advice the require-ments are:� seek advice about concern and

how to raise it� Good faith is not a requirement� All advice is confidential

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(Clause 9)

For General Protected Disclosure therequirements are:

� Good faith� Reasonable belief that the information

disclosed and allegations contained init are substantially true, and

� Allegations are not made for personalgain (excludes rewards payable interms of law, eg. Police, South AfricanRevenue Services)

As public sector managers youwill need to be prepared forwhen the whistle blows

A good whistle-blowing policywill prepare you for when thewhistle blows

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� Reasonable to make the generaldisclosure under the circumstances

� And that one or more of thefollowing conditions are met:1 the impropriety is of an excep-

tionally serious nature

2 the disclosure has been made tothe employer and no action hasbeen taken within a reasonableperiod

3 the employee has reason tobelieve that the evidence will beconcealed or destroyed if thedisclosure is made to theemployer and there is noregulatory body prescribed

4 the employee has reason tobelieve that s/he will be sub-jected to occupational detriment

PublicProtector/

AuditorGeneral

Other

(Clause 8)To regulatory bodies the requirements are:� Good faith� Public Protector or Auditor-General� Reasonable belief that the concern falls within

the mandate of these bodies� Information and allegations are substantially true

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Action plan

You will want:

� Employees to tell you about anysuspected impropriety or corrup-tion

� Your employees to raise concernswith you directly

� Employees and all levels of man-agement to understand and acceptthat it is safe for staff to raiseconcerns internally

� Managers to deal with concernsproperly

You will not want:

� Unnecessary wider, public disclo-sures

� A whistle-blower being victimisedin breach of the Act

� To expose your department to asubstantial claim for damages

� To invite an inappropriate investiga-tion by regulators

� The risk of damaging your depart-ment�s reputation

RememberA whistle-blowing policyought not to be seen asmerely a means of complyingwith yet another piece ofemployment legislation. If it isto help you create an environ-ment where the staff under-stands their responsibilitiesand management demon-strates their accountability, itwill not be enough to intro-duce a good policy only to fileit away. You must take actionand actively implement thepolicy. It is important toensure that workers are left inno doubt about the avenuesopen to them.

Section 3:Putting a whistle-blowing

policy in place

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Ten points to consider when putting a whistle-blowing policy in place

1 Make it clear, through a consulta-tive process, to management andworkers alike that it is both safeand acceptable for workers andmanagement to raise concernsabout wrongdoing. Display thisconsensus-based policy inwriting.

2 Review procedures and rules onreporting concerns. If you havenone, use a consultative processto generate these rules andprocedures. Remember that ifemployees reasonably believethey will be victimised, protectionfor a wider public general disclo-sure is triggered.

3 Where concerns are raised byworkers, respond within agreedtime frames (and be able todemonstrate a response) to themessage. Do not shoot themessenger!

4 Where a protected disclosure hasbeen made, take all reasonablesteps to try to ensure that nocolleague, manager or otherperson under your control victim-ises the whistle-blower. If youneed to keep the identity of thewhistle-blower confidential, thenuse all reasonable means to do so.

5 Check the confidentiality clausesin contracts of employment.

6 Evaluate your organisationalstructure and decide on a seniorperson in the department towhom confidential disclosurescan be made. This person musthave the authority and determina-tion to act if concerns are notraised with - or properly dealt withby - immediate line management.

7 Publicise your success stories.

8 Ensure managers understand howto act if a concern is raised.Ensure that they understand thatemployees have the right to blowthe whistle.

9 Consider whether you need tomake use of an independentadvice centre in understandingand using this legislation.

10 Introduce and promote a whistle-blowing policy.

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Ensure employees see the policyin action

� Employees need to know whatpractices are unacceptable (eg.what is appropriate in terms ofhospitality, gifts). They should beencouraged to ask management ifsomething is appropriate before -not after - the event.

� When you find serious wrongdoing(whether by employees, contrac-tors or the public), deal with itseriously. Remember you cannotexpect your employees to practisehigher standards than those youapply.

In establishing a policy keep these pointersin mind:

Understanding the issue

� Asking your employees to keeptheir eyes open is a key way topromote, display and ensure goodpractice. If you successfully involveyour employees, it should give aclear message to those who aretempted that they will not get awaywith it and everyone else will soonsee that you are serious abouttackling any form of wrongdoing.

� Listen to the employees and totheir sense of right and wrong.Explain what fraud in the organisa-tion is, its effect on their jobs andthe service they provide. Be asclear about the effects of otherforms of serious wrongdoing. Getany staff bodies or union to backand promote this approach.

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Be open to concerns

� Remember - it is never easy toreport a concern, particularly onewhich may turn out to be fraud orcorruption.

� Try to ensure that management isopen to such concerns before theybecome part of a grievance and donot let management�s lack ofaction itself become a grievance.

� Make it clear that you will supportconcerned employees and protectthem from reprisals. Do everythingyou can to respect their confidenti-ality, if requested.

� Aside from line management, makesure employees have another routeto raise a concern. This should beto a senior official such as adirector-general. Tell employeeshow they can contact that personin confidence.

� Remind employees of relevantexternal routes if they do not haveconfidence to raise the concerninternally. Reassure them that theycan approach other independentorganisations for confidentialadvice (see Additional resouces,pg 23).

Dealing with concerns

� Remember there are two sides toevery story.

� Respect and heed legitimateemployee concerns about theirown safety or career.

� Emphasise to both managementand to staff that victimising em-ployees or deterring them fromraising a concern about wrong-doing is a disciplinary offence.

� Make it clear that abusing thisprocess by raising unfoundedallegations maliciously is a discipli-nary matter.

� Offer to report back to the con-cerned employee about the out-come of the investigation and,where possible, on any action thatis proposed.

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Personal note from the DirectorGeneralA personal note from the Director General (XXXDepartment) (signed by all A/Dir and upward,conveying management commitment) makingit clear that XXX Department is committed tothe fight against fraud and corruption in XXXDepartment whether the perpetrators areinternal or external. That the WhistleblowingPolicy and procedure is part of XXX Depart-ments commitment to working towards aculture of openness and transparency. It couldbe added that confidentiality will be main-tained, and that nobody will be penalised fordisclosing in good faith, information that mightbe in XXX Departments interest.

Purpose of this policyThe purpose of this policy is to provide ameans by which staff are able to raiseconcerns with the appropriate line manage-ment, or specific appointed persons in XXXDepartment, where they have reasonablegrounds for believing that there is fraud andcorruption within XXX Department.

The Protected Disclosures Act, Act 26 of2000, which became effective in February2001, provides protection to employees fordisclosures made without malice and in goodfaith, in defined circumstances.

In terms of the Protected Disclosures Actemployees can blow the whistle on fraud andcorruption in the working environment withoutthe fear of suffering an occupational detrimentas defined by the Act. XXX managementencourages staff to raise matters of concernresponsibly through the procedures laid downin this policy document.

Scope of the policyThe policy is designed to deal with concernsraised in relation issues relating to fraud,corruption, misconduct and malpractice withinXXX Department. The policy will not apply topersonal grievances, which will be dealt withunder existing procedures on grievance,discipline and misconduct. Details of theseprocedures are obtainable from the HumanResources Department.

The policy covers all genuine concerns raisedincluding:

� Financial misconduct� Health and safety risks� Environmental damage� Unfair discrimination� Corruption and misconduct� Attempts to suppress or conceal any

information relating to any of the aboveIf in the course of investigation any concernraised in relation to the above matters appearsto the investigator to relate more appropriatelyto grievance or discipline, those procedureswill be evoked.

Who can raise a concern?Any member of staff who has a reasonablebelief that there is corruption or misconductrelating to any of the protected mattersspecified above may raise a concern under theprocedure detailed.

Concerns must be raised without malice, ingood faith and not for personal gain and theindividual must reasonably believe that theinformation disclosed, and any allegationscontained in it, are substantially true.

The issues raised may relate to a manager,another member of staff, a group of staff, the

DraftWhistleblowing

Policy

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individuals own section or a different section/division of XXX Department. The perpetratorcan be an outsider, an employee, a manager, acustomer or an ex-employee. You may even beaware of a system or procedure in use, whichmay cause XXX to transgress legal obligations.

Culture of opennessXXX commits itself to encouraging a culturethat promotes openness. This will be done by:

� Involving employees, listening to theirconcerns and encouraging the appropriateuse of this policy/process on whistleblowingpromoted by Senior Management. Thispolicy will be issued to all existing employ-ees and to each new employee

� Educating/training/informing/explaining toemployees what constitutes fraud,corruption and malpractice and its effect onXXX. Promoting awareness of standards ofappropriate and accepted employeeconduct and establishing a commonunderstanding of what is acceptable andwhat is unacceptable behavior.

� Encouraging unions to endorse andsupport this approach

� Having a policy to combat fraud� Annual reporting to XXX on the number of

fraud/corruption matters reported and theoutcome

Our assurances to you

Your safetyManagement is committed to this policy. XXXwill ensure that any member of staff whomakes a disclosure in the above mentionedcircumstances will not be penalised or sufferany occupational detriment for doing so.

Occupational detriment as defined by the Actincludes being dismissed, suspended,demoted, transferred against your will,harassed or intimidated, refused a reference orbeing provided with an adverse reference, as aresult of your disclosure.

If you raise a concern in good faith in terms of thispolicy, you will not be at risk of losing your job orsuffering any form of retribution as a result.

This assurance is not extended to employeeswho maliciously raise matters they know to beuntrue. A member of staff who does not act ingood faith or who makes an allegation withouthaving reasonable grounds for believing it tobe substantially true, or who makes itmaliciously or vexatiously, may be subject todisciplinary proceedings.

Your confidenceIn view of the protection offered to a memberof staff raising a bona fide concern, it ispreferable that the individual puts his/her nameto the disclosure. XXX will not tolerate theharassment or victimisation of anyone raisinga genuine concern.

However, we recognise that you may nonethe-less wish to raise a concern in confidenceunder this policy. If you ask us to protect youridentity by keeping your confidence, we willnot disclose it without your consent. However,we do expect the same confidentialityregarding the matter from you.

If the situation arises where we are not able toresolve the concern without revealing youridentity (for example where your evidence isneeded in court), we will discuss with youwhether and how we can proceed.

Accordingly, while we will consider anony-mous reports, this policy is not appropriate forconcerns raised anonymously.

How we will handle the matterOnce you have told us of your concern, wewill look into it to assess initially what actionshould be taken. This may involve an internalinquiry or a more formal investigation.

The issue you raise will be acknowledged within7 working days. If it is requested, an indicationof how the organisation proposes to deal withthe matter and a likely time scale could be

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provided. If the decision is made not toinvestigate the matter reasons will be given. Wewill tell you who would be handling the matter,how you can contact him / her and whetheryour further assistance may or will be needed.

When you raise a concern, you may be askedhow you think the matter might best beresolved. If you do have any personal interest inthe matter, we do ask that you tell us at theoutset. If your concern falls more properlywithin the Grievance Procedure we will tell you.

While the purpose of this policy is to enable usto investigate possible malpractice and takeappropriate steps to deal with it, we will giveyou as much feedback as we properly can. Ifrequested, we will confirm our response toyou in writing. Please note, however, that wemay not be able to tell you the precise actionwe take where this could infringe a duty ofconfidence owed by us to someone else.

How to raise a concern internallyStep one: If you have a concern aboutmalpractice, we hope you will feel able to raiseit first with your manager/ supervisor. Thismay be done verbally or in writing.

Step two: If you feel unable to raise the matterwith your manager, for whatever reason,please raise the matter either with:(For example): Human Resources: AssistantDirector; Contact detailsOR (For example): Internal Audit: AssistantDirector; Contact details

Please say if you wish to raise the matter inconfidence so that they can make appropriatearrangements.

Step three: If these channels have beenfollowed and you still have concerns, or if youfeel that the matter is so serious that you cannotdiscuss it with any of the above, please contact:(For example): Director General; Contact details

Should you have exhausted these internalmechanisms or where you have substantial

reason to believe that there would be a cover-up or that evidence will be destroyed or that thematter might not he handled properly, you mayraise the matter in good faith with a member ofthe Cabinet or Executive Council in thisprovince: Name; Contact details

Independent adviceIf you are unsure whether to use this procedureor you want independent advice at any stage,you may contact your personal legal adviser, oryour labour organisation, or the independentlegal advice centre ODAC on it�s toll freehelpline on 0800 525 352. Their legally trainedstaff can give you free confidential advice at anystage about how to raise a concern aboutserious malpractice at work.

External contactsOption 1: While we hope this policy gives you thereassurance you need to raise such mattersinternally, we recognise that there may becircumstances where you can properly reportmatters to outside bodies, such as regulators or thepolice. ODAC will be able to advise you on such anoption and on the circumstances in which you maybe able to contact an outside body safely.

Option 2: While we hope this policy gives youthe reassurance you need to raise such mattersinternally, we would rather you raised a matterwith the appropriate regulator than not at all.Provided you are acting in good faith, you canalso contact:The Public Protector; (Contact details)The Auditor-General; (Contact details)

If you are dissatisfiedIf you are unhappy with our response, rememberyou can go to the other levels and bodiesdetailed in this policy. While we cannot guaranteethat we will respond to all matters in the way thatyou might wish, we commit ourselves to handlethe matter fairly and properly.

By using this policy, you will help us to achievethis.

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Section 4:The Protected

Disclosures Act

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The Institute for Security Studies(ISS)

The Institute for Security Studies is anapplied policy research institute with amission to conceptualise, inform andenhance the security debate in Africa.

Since 1996 ISS has conducted researchon whistle-blowing as a corruptionprevention tool under the Organised Crimeand Corruption Programme. AUSAIDfunding has enabled the Institute to play arole in the development of and awarenessaround the Protected Disclosures Act.

Contact details:Lala Camerer,Institute for Security Studies67 Roeland Square, Cape Town8001Tel: (021) 461 7211Fax: (021) 461 7213e-mail: lala@iss.co.zahttp://www.iss.co.za

The Open Democracy AdviceCentre (ODAC)

The Open Democracy Advice Centre�spurpose is to promote open and transpar-ent democracy; foster a culture ofcorporate and government accountability;and assist people to realise their humanrights through supporting the effectiveimplementation of laws which enableaccess to and disclosure of information.

� We advise individuals who are unsurewhether or how to blow the whistle.

� We help organisations to comply withthe new law.

� We provide guidance materials on lawand practice, and training andconsultancy services.

� We work closely with all relevantplayers to promote responsiblewhistle-blowing in South Africanorganisations.

Contact details:Alison Tilley, Project Director of ODAC6 Spin StreetCape TownTel: (021) 461 2559Fax: (021) 461 2814e-mail: alisont@idasact.org.zahttp://www.opendemocracy.org.za

Section 5:Additional resources

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The office of the Public Protector

The office of the Public Protector iscommitted to assisting Parliament instrengthening constitutional democracy inSouth Africa. It strives to achieve this byenhancing fairness and efficiency in theprovision of governmental services, bycombating injustice and unfairness inpublic administration, making governmen-tal agencies accountable for their actionsand recommending corrective action.

Contact details:Office of the Public ProtectorPrivate Bag X677, Pretoria 0001Tel: (012) 322 2916Fax: (012) 322 5093

The office of the Auditor General

The office of the Auditor General is anindependent and impartial body createdby the Constitution to provide independentand quality audit and related value addingservices in the management of resources,thereby enhancing good governance inthe public sector.

Contact details:Office of the Auditor GeneralPO Box 446, Pretoria 0001Tel: (012) 426 8000Fax: (012) 426 8240

Contact details:Public Service CommissionThe SecretariatProfessional Ethics and RiskManagementPrivate Bag X121, Pretoria 0001Tel: (012) 352 1031Fax: (012) 325 8323

The Public Service Commission

The Public Service Commission is anindependent and impartial body createdby the Constitution to enhance excellencein governance within the public service bypromoting a professional and ethicalenvironment and adding value to a publicadministration that is accountable,equitable, efficient, effective, corrupt-freeand responsive to the needs of the peopleof South Africa.

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