The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has pledged to improve its whistleblower policies after in-house research showed that less than 20% of whistleblowers were satisfied with how their complaints were handled.
In response to the survey, the regulator plans to provide whistleblowers with more information on how their tips are used, upgrade its online portal for submitting whistleblowing complaints, and improve internal systems for sharing whistleblower intelligence. "We need the intelligence whistleblowers provide to identify and act on problems in the firms we regulate," said Therese Chambers, FCA executive director of enforcement and market oversight.
The regulator promised to make a "full contribution" to the government's planned review of the UK's whistleblower framework, and to increase training for its whistleblowing teams to "get to the heart of" concerns and recognize when whistleblowers are reporting in stressful circumstances.
Starling recently published "The Era of Accountability," a Deeper Dive supplement to our 2022 Compendium. The report discusses a global trend of employees holding their employer accountable for conduct that does not align with their own values. When a firm's culture does not make employees feel safe to 'speak-up' about concerns internally, or when they feel retaliated against for having done so, they are increasingly prepared to speak out externally. This Deeper Dive is only available here on Starling Insights.
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