AN ETHICS HOTLINE SERVICE PROVIDED BY WHISTLE BLOWERS (PTY) LTD PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE IN YOUR RISK MANAGEMENT AND LEGAL COMPLIANCE PROGRAMME
A trusted multi-channel ethics hotline is a key component of your integrity management strategy. It’s an essential line of defence, providing a flow of information that promotes business sustainability by helping you identify and rectify problems before they become larger, more costly or damage your hard-earned reputation. When employees and other third parties can blow the whistle on unethical conduct using an independent, professional service, your organisation will enjoy greater peace of mind and legal compliance.
DON’T BE THE LAST TO KNOW. YOU NEED
INFORMATION FOR TIMELY ACTION
There will always be people for whom their employer’s hotline is the first, the only or the last avenue that they will use to pass on the information you need to protect your business against wrongdoing.
However supportive your organisation culture, circumstances will arise that deter people from open reporting – they need the certainty of anonymity to do so.
With no way to make an anonymous report that they can be sure will reach top management, someone who wants to do the right thing can instead fall silent, expose the information in public or pass it directly to the authorities.
As a leader, a professionally managed outsourced ethics hotline gives you peace of mind that those who wish to report ethics risks affecting your organisation have a safe way to do so.
MEET THE INCREASINGLY
HIGH DEMANDS FOR
GOVERNANCE AND LEGAL COMPLIANCE
An ever-growing number of laws and guidance documents prioritise the necessity for ethics in the workplace.
Codes of corporate governance (such as King IV), the Company’s Act and similar around the world are putting ethics management at the top of the leadership agenda.
Whistleblowing laws similar to the Protected Disclosures Act are being passed in more and more countries. These laws require that you offer avenues by which people can make disclosures of wrongdoing to you without fear of retaliation.
If you have employees based in other countries, you need to comply with the applicable legislation of your own country and of the country in which they are based.
A HOTLINE IS A KEY REQUIREMENT FOR
COMPLIANCE WITH FOREIGN BRIBERY LAWS
If you do business in or with other countries, even via intermediaries, you should be complying with extraterritorial laws against foreign bribery.
Laws such as the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act and the French Spain II, among others, require that their own companies and any others that do business in their country have comprehensive anti-bribery programmes in place that extend to their suppliers. An ethics hotline is considered a key element of such a programme.
An ethics hotline sends a message to your employees and supply-chain that you want to know about ethical risk and wrongdoing. Without one you may find it hard to defend yourself against a charge of failing to prevent bribery.
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