In August, staff from the Internal Control Department of NABU went through a two-day training on whistleblowing. The training was conducted by expert hired by the EUACI Dr. Ashley Savage, an independent subject-matter expert. He provided a detailed overview of international best practices on whistleblowing and legislation including the new EU Directive on Protection of Persons Reporting on Breaches of Union Law.
The participants were advised on how to develop a speak up culture which encourages employees to report wrongdoing or malpractice in a safe and supportive environment. They were given a detailed guidance on how to draft procedures and work orders for whistle-blowers, recipients of the concerns and the organisation as a whole. Attendees also learned about different ways people can report on violations, including the use of technological solutions.
The facilitator highlighted particular types of retaliation that whistle-blowers might face and identified possible ways of protecting them. Over the course of two days, participants have been performing group exercises aimed at considering of implementation of international practice while utilising skills based on their own professional experience. They were asked to review a situation from the perspective of a whistleblower, an external advisor, and an internal control department employee. The task illustrated that cases involving informants can be complex and require the internal control department to be aware of a variety of potential consequences.
The EUACI experts Elena Konceviciute, Senior Anti-Corruption Adviser, and Serhiy Derkach, Anti-Corruption Investigation and Prosecution Expert took part in the event.
EUACI’s experts noted the importance of a consistent approach to handling the concerns in order to build trust in the system. Participants were provided with instructions for generalizing the special terminology, training staff and developing a matrix of questions to help identify the substance of a problem of disclosure of the identity of whistle-blower and potential risks a whistle-blower can face.