FSA Whistleblowing Line goes live

FSA Managing Director Carol Sergeant told a Whistleblowing Conference today:

"This whistleblowing initiative is good news for the firms we regulate, for those working in the industry and for us as regulators."

"It's good news for our firms because whistleblowing procedures and our decision to encourage workers to blow the whistle internally in the first instance means that senior management will be the first, not the last, to know about potential problems."

"It's good news for workers in the industry because they can now find out from the information sheet we are publishing today and from our new whistleblowing website how to blow the whistle safely."

"And it's good news for us because, where a whistleblower does end up talking to us, we may get valuable information to help us protect consumers, reduce financial crime or maintain market confidence and we can target our resources more effectively. And it can also tip us off that a firm may be illegally providing financial services without proper authorisation by the FSA."

"We strongly encourage employees with concerns to blow the whistle within their firm at first. But as a prescribed person under the Public Interest Disclosure Act the FSA is an alternative route for whistleblowers who have raised a concern internally and are concerned by the response or lack of response from their firm or for those who feel unable to talk to anyone internally for whatever reason. The new telephone line and e-mail address are available for this purpose and any information we receive will be treated sensitively."

The FSA information sheet will point workers in the industry to their own firms in the first instance but will also give details on how to contact the FSA on the new whistleblowers telephone line and email address. The information sheet is on the FSA whistleblowing website for use as it stands or as part of a firm's own internal procedures.

The FSA whistleblowing line will be manned during office hours with a restricted access voicemail at other times. We are particularly interested in live concerns or matters of recent history, rather than issues from the past unless they continue to have an impact on the present. Answers to frequently asked questions about the way the line will operate can be found on the website. How we follow up information received will depend upon the risks posed to our objectives, the quality of the evidence and the seriousness of the accusations.

Alan Johnson, Minister of State for Employment at the Department of Trade and Industry, in a message to the conference said:

"The Public Interest Disclosure Act provides an essential framework protecting workers who blow the whistle responsibly. I welcome initiatives which build on that framework. The Financial Services Authority's guidance on internal whistleblowing procedures will help promote the greater openness in the workplace which is the underlying aim of the Act."

Other speakers at the conference held at the FSA were Michael Smyth, Chairman, Public Concern at Work; Michael McKee, Director, British Bankers Association; and Digby Jacks, Sector Secretary - financial services of the trade union MSF. Those attending included representatives of financial firms, trade associations, trades unions and public interest organisations.

Michael Smyth said:

"I am delighted by the FSAs steps to encourage firms to introduce a whistleblowing culture. This is responsible and progressive regulation through a carrot rather than stick approach. I hope firms seize this initiative as contributing to successful business practice."

Michael McKee said:

"The BBA has been actively involved in explaining the whistleblowing legislation to its members and assisting them with implementing suitable arrangements. Our experience is that the financial services companies we have spoken to that have adopted whistleblowing policies have found this to be a positive step in employer/employee relations and one which demonstrates their trust in their greatest asset: their staff."

Digby Jacks said:

"I welcome this initiative by the FSA. It will make finance workers more aware that they can be protected if they have the courage to speak up in the right way in what can be a fraught area."

Notes for editors

1. You can find information about the FSA's Whistleblowing approach here.

2. The dedicated whistleblowing telephone number is 020 7066 9200 and the e-mail address is whistle@fsa.gov.uk. Letters can also be sent to:

   Intelligence Department (ref PIDA)
   Financial Services Authority
   25 The North Colonnade
   Canary Wharf
   London E14 5HS

3. The Public Interest Disclosure Act came into force on 2 July 1999. It amends the Employment Rights Act 1996 and creates a framework for whistleblowers across private and public sectors. It protects workers who meet the tests laid down in PIDA for making disclosures of certain information in the public interest by allowing such individuals to bring a legal claim in respect of victimisation. The Act defines a "qualifying disclosure" as a disclosure, made in good faith, of information which, in the reasonable belief of the worker making the disclosure, tends to show one or more of the following has been committed, is being committed or is likely to be committed:

   • a criminal offence;

   • a failure to comply with any legal obligation;

   • a miscarriage of justice;

   • the putting of the health and safety of any individual in danger;

   • damage to the environment; or

   • deliberate concealment relating to any of the above.

4. The FSA regulates the financial services industry and has four objectives under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000: maintaining market confidence; promoting public understanding of the financial system; securing the appropriate degree of protection of consumers; and fighting financial crime.

5. The FSA aims to maintain efficient, orderly and clean financial markets and help retail consumers achieve a fair deal.