Navigating Modern Challenges of Whistleblowing and Incident Management
New pressures, enforcement and regulation make incident management even more crucial to sound business practice.
- New regulations such as the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive, which goes into effect in December 2021. Firms operating in Europe will need to provide internal reporting systems that assure the confidentiality of whistleblowers. For retaliation against whistleblowers that does happen, businesses will need a system to receive, investigate, and respond to retaliation complaints within 90 days.
- Enhanced workplace safety rules from the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration, imposing more stringent measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. One provision in the guidance specifically calls for creating a hotline to let employees report safety concerns anonymously, and for businesses then to follow up on those reports. The practical result: more incidents that might come to the compliance department’s attention.
- A more forceful enforcement posture from the Biden Administration and regulators overseas on anti-corruption, tax avoidance, privacy breaches, and many other subjects; as well as a more unforgiving public that might roast your corporate reputation on social media for issues or incidents your business handles poorly.
- The lingering disruption of the pandemic, which created a host of new risks for organizations that might now end up in your incident management system.
