The protection of the whistleblower in public service departments

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study aims to assess the impact of the introduction of the Protection of the Whistleblower Act, 2013. Furthermore, this dissertation aims to analyse the internal policies and procedures being applied in public service departments, and to assess the effectiveness of such procedures, while identifying any room for improvement.

DESIGN: The objectives of this study were achieved through the use of a mixed method approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with whistleblowing reporting officers and permanent secretaries of different ministries, while a Likert-scale questionnaire was addressed to other public officers who work in different ministries.

FINDINGS: From this study, it has transpired that there is still a lacuna in the Act being implemented in public service departments. The introduction of the Act did not improve the situation of whistleblowing as expected, despite the requirements to appoint a whistleblowing reporting officer and internal procedures within each public service department. The current internal procedures are not effective as expected, and the bodies responsible for whistleblowing as well as other public officers lack training on whistleblowing. Moreover, it could be clearly seen that the lack of awareness and communication, fear of retaliation, the Maltese culture and the lack of trust in the whistleblowing programme could affect the utilisation of the Protection of the Whistleblower Act, 2013.

CONCLUSIONS: It is clearly seen that there has not been a holistic approach towards the implementation of the Protection of the Whistleblower Act, 2013. The Act should provide clearer guidelines to enable public service departments to structure more effective internal procedures, while disseminating awareness of these internal whistleblowing procedures across the public sector. Management should promote more the Protection of the Whistleblower Act, 2013 to enhance and instil a whistleblowing culture within public service employees. VALUE: Whistleblowing has been introduced in Malta in the past few years, and therefore, the study aims to contribute to the literature by analysing the impact of the Protection of the Whistleblower Act, 2013, while identifying any potential room for improvement in whistleblowing in the public sector.