Temat: Blowing the whistle on malpractice

Blowing the whistle on malpractice

In this update, we examine the need for such policies, the potential legal obligations on employers operating in the UAE and practical issues in managing employees who highlight wrong doing in the workplace.

Anti-bribery and corruption legislation

Organisations operating in the UAE (including employees and directors) could find themselves subject to legal proceedings under the following …
- Importance of codes of conduct and corporate policy
- Essentially, legislation such as the FCPA and the Bribery Act seek to define the remits and set the agenda for good business practice. Against this background, a corporate Code of Conduct fulfils a number of functions including:
• assisting in preventing regulatory breaches, fraud or other financial scandals;
• setting out clear expectations of employees and parameters for acceptable conduct which can be used as a basis for disciplinary action if necessary;
• providing a framework for employees to raise allegations of corporate wrong doing internally and managing those employees once allegations are raised; and
• providing evidence of the importance the organization places on compliance and the steps it has taken to prevent breach and protect employees raising allegations. Such steps will often be taken into account by regulators when investigating and considering sanctions for a potential breach.

Protection for whistleblowers
In order to enhance anti-bribery and corruption laws, many jurisdictions have provided protection for employees who highlight wrong doing in the workplace. In the US, the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 provides protection for employees of public companies who raise complaints of fraudulent conduct; and the Dodds-Frank Wall Street

Future developments
In June 2013, UAE legislators put forward a bill to create a new anti-corruption authority named “The Federal Authority for Combating Corruption” (the FACC). Under the proposed federal law, which was drafted in accordance with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, the definition of corruption includes the following activities:
• money laundering;
• embezzlement;
• bribery;
• breach of trust;
• abuse of public functions or authorities;
• damage to public property; or
• the concealment of the proceeds of any of these crimes.

The legislation would empower the FACC to issue regulations to protect whistleblowers from being prosecuted criminally, civilly or administratively. This protection will extend to whistleblowers who report information in relation to corruption in good faith. Whistleblowers will be presumed to be acting in good faith if it appears that they revealed information in the public interest and with the belief that enough information exists to justify the complaint. The proposed legislation is under deliberation and is widely expected to be passed by legislators before the end of 2013.

Practical steps when implementing code of conduct and whistleblowing policies
• The policy should be in simple language and encourage employees to raise concerns as a matter of course, ensuring the worker is able to bypass the level of management at which the problem may exist (an email address or hotline to receive concerns may be the best method).

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