"Leave the body there for a while: Difficulties in responding to whistleblower voice through speak-up arrangements in the UK and Ireland

The UK and Ireland have recently introduced whistleblower protection laws. Each country’s approach to whistleblowing while different are similar in their focus on compensating whistleblowers for retaliations experienced,... [ view full abstract ]

The UK and Ireland have recently introduced whistleblower protection laws. Each country’s approach to whistleblowing while different are similar in their focus on compensating whistleblowers for retaliations experienced, post-disclosure, and for encouraging organisations to implement speak-up procedures. Exploring the impact of this ‘on the ground’ in each jurisdiction, this paper researches management responsiveness to voice in the context of internal whistleblowing through speak-up arrangements. While previous voice research has studied management response as an independent variable, we took a different perspective and studied how management organizes responsiveness. Specifically we ask: how is responsiveness designed and implemented in organisations, and what are the difficulties in doing that? We explore this with results from a recent ESRC-ACCA funded project. Drawing on primary interview data from speak-up arrangement operators in three organizations - an engineering multinational (U.S. based), a bank (Ireland), and an NHS Trust (UK) - as well as secondary interview data with whistleblowers, managers, and advisers in health care and the financial services sector, our qualitative study contributes to the voice and whistleblowing literatures with explorative insights into the various ways in which responsiveness is organized, and the difficulties of responding to employee concerns raised through a variety of speak-up arrangements. These issues are discussed against a backdrop of Irish, UK and EU legislative frameworks, to explore the potential impact of Brexit for whistleblowers in these countries.

KEYWORDS

Employee voice, responsiveness, speak-up arrangements, whistleblowing