Almost three-quarters of public sector workers believe they could blow the whistle on malpractice in their workplace, according to a new survey. 

The findings emerged from a William Fry event, co-hosted with Sigmar Recruitment, called ‘Competition and compliance: the new public sector talent landscape’.

Just over one-fifth of those surveyed, however, would not have confidence in organisational support for whistleblowing. 

Awareness

Two-thirds of employees say their organisations have introduced systems to promote workplace whistle blowing – however awareness of these systems is low. 

Overall awareness of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 stood at 62 per cent. 

At the event, senior managers from public sector organisations, such as the Medical Council of Ireland, ComReg, Beaumont Hospital and the Central Bank of Ireland, weighed up the key features of the legislation and considered what employers must do to comply, or indeed, to protect themselves. 

Catherine O’Flynn (employment and benefits partner at William Fry) said: “While the results indicate that there is relatively strong awareness of protected disclosures at management level within the public sector, the ways and degree to which it is being communicated need to be addressed to ensure employees know that systems exist to both encourage potential disclosures and protect those who make them.

"Also, despite recent negative coverage of whistleblowing, it would seem that the merit of such action is still viewed quite favourably.”

Marina Morrissey (Sigmar Recruitment’s public sector division) agrees: “In our experience, we are often asked questions at interview on the openness of the organisation.

“This is a candidate-driven market and, as such, employers must continue to promote open and honest working environments in order to continue to attract the best talent.”