Thursday 16th February 2012 |
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Whistleblowers are urged to exhaust every other route, and to prepare well for threats to their personal legal protection before taking the step of making a major allegation against an employer.
“Look after number one before blowing the whistle,” is the advice of Victoria University Law School professor of governance Anona Armstrong. “Whistleblowers should take personal protection into their own hands because the law may not be able to help.”
“Legal protection is much more effective in political and semi-political spheres than it is in the corporate sphere,” she said. “Secondly, legal redress is simply beyond the financial power of most individuals.”
She advised any would-be whistleblower to take all the following steps before acting: ensuring the case is genuine and not misconstrued; trying first to solve it internally; seeking advice from an outside organisation; informing family and planning for potential loss of income and savings; photocopy all relevant documents before acting; make colleagues who agree to support you do so, witnessed and in writing; blow the whistle in a courteous and reasonable manner.
“It is important to know exactly what you are doing before getting in too deep as the risks can be high and the consequences severe,” Professor Armstrong said.
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