Public interest disclosure-Protecting myself?

OneFredWonder

Hi,

I’m planning on making an anonymous public interest disclosure about the company I work for, probably to the H&S executive. I don’t want to go into too much detail on here but I was wondering if anyone can advise me how to protect myself, (and my colleagues from being blamed for something I’ve done)? I have created a fake email account in order to do it. At one point I was going to try and hide my IP address, but now that seems like overkill!

This is all new territory for me and I have no idea what (if anything will happen) after I send an email. I have spoken with ACAS, who advised me to get legal advice and I’m waiting to hear back from the CAB. Does anyone know or have any experience of how the CAB can help me with this matter? I.e. will they just tell me to speak to a lawyer?

Thanks

Fred

Gingernutty

Employers don't take too kindly to being public grassed up if their own internal system hasn't been exhausted first.

Is there not a complaints mechanism with your own organisation?

getmore4less

Does it qualify for wistleblower status?

Any obvious link back to people, like have people been using the internal process and got no where

How well know in the organization, ie. how big will the list be.

Would a letter would be more anon and less traceable than email.

agrinnall

Have you read this page?

http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/raising-your-concern.htm

I'm not sure whether they would act on an anonymous report, I would have thought you would need to tell the enforcing authority who you are so that they can verify what you've told them, but that in some circumstances they would not disclose your identity to your employer. Whatever you decide, do not under any circumstances make the report using your employer's email or phone systems (unless it's an emergency, but then you're unlikely to be doing it without telling the employer).

Savvy_Sue

Trade union support?

OneFredWonder

Thanks for the replies. I'm not in a union. I know that it goes right to the top of the organization. All they care about is profit, so using the internal system that they (claim to) have in place first will only alert them to the fact that it is me who then reports them.

There are a few hundred employees. People have raised concerns before which have been ignored (I don’t know if they went down the official internal complaints root).

I have considered a letter but then I would always be wondering if it ever arrived if my concerns weren’t acted on.

Thanks for the link agrinnall, it seems to contradict what ACAS told me. The advice about whistleblowing on Gov UK (I can’t post a link) seems to be that you can in some instances remain anonymous. It also says that my name won’t be given to the company if I request confidentiality. The problem is I’ve been in this job too long and no longer trust anybody!

I guess it’s even more important I protect myself if I’m going to have to give my name. It would be really good to speak to someone who has actually taken the step of making a public interest disclosure!

TonyMMM

If you want your information to be anonymous you shouldn't even be considering using email or any other computer system to submit it.

OneFredWonder

I’m thinking now that the best way might be an anonymous letter, then if nothing comes of that I’ll have to go down a more official route. Hopefully by then I’ll have found a new job anyway.

Mistral001

The news media seem to pile praise upon whistle blowers, but beware, the media like them because they are doing their job for them with no risk to the reporters and all the risk on the whistle blower.

OneFredWonder

Thanks, but I’ve got no intention of whistleblowing to the media. It will be to the relevant authority.

OneFredWonder

[FONT=&quot]Does anyone know what help (if any) citizens advice can be in my situation?[/FONT]