FCA announces new whistleblowing campaign

Mar 30, 2021 12:00:00 AM

What has happened?

In March 2021, the FCA launched a new campaign called ‘In confidence, with confidence’, intended to encourage individuals working in financial services to whistleblow to the FCA on potential wrongdoing. The campaign also reminds firms’ employees of the related confidentiality processes in place.

What do you need to do?

The FCA has published materials for firms to share with their employees and has produced a digital toolkit for industry bodies, consumer groups and whistleblowing groups to encourage individuals to have the confidence to step forward.

Whistleblowers that report to the FCA will have a dedicated case manager and will be able to meet with the FCA to discuss their concerns and receive optional regular updates throughout the investigation. Every report the FCA receives is reviewed and the FCA will protect individual whistleblowers’ identities. The FCA has reported that it has been investing in increased resourcing to support whistleblower interaction, including increasing the headcount on its whistleblowing team. This specialist team is trained to debrief and interact directly with whistleblowers, as well as liaise with various departments across the organisation.

The FCA has introduced a mandatory e-learning module for all its staff, to help identify potential whistleblowers and ensure that any intelligence received by the FCA is dealt with correctly and that whistleblowers’ identities are protected. The FCA’s website has been updated to provide more comprehensive information for potential whistleblowers, including details of Protect, the whistleblowers’ charity, and its team is developing a confidential web form in order to increase the number of ways in which whistleblowers can make disclosures.

In 2016, the FCA introduced a requirement for certain firms to appoint a whistleblowers’ champion to make sure there is senior management oversight over the integrity, independence and effectiveness of the firm’s arrangements, including those arrangements designed to protect whistleblowers from victimisation, as well as overseeing the preparation of an annual report made to the firm’s governing body.

How can we help you?

If you’d like to know more about how we can help you with any aspect of your whistleblowing arrangements, or any other regulatory compliance issues, our expert team is here to help.

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