Public-Sector Workers Can Blow the Whistle on Wrongdoers

Did you know that under the Protected Disclosures Act, 2011, all government entities should appoint at least one person as a Designated Officer with responsibility for receiving and investigating disclosures or improper conduct in the workplace?

The Designated Officer would also have the responsibility to give an update of the progress of the investigation and findings to the employee who made the disclosure and take all steps to ensure that the identity of the person who makes a disclosure is kept confidential.

Senior Protected Disclosures Officer, Information and Complaints Division at the Integrity Commission (IC), Tanesha Fagan, told JIS News that the Commission is in the process of sensitising staff members of public bodies to report acts of improper conduct in their entities under the Act.

“In establishing partnerships and relationships with these public bodies, we have engaged about 198 public bodies, and we have also begun sensitising staff on the processes and procedures involved in making reports of improper conduct that they would have identified in their workplaces,” she explained.

Miss Fagan said that one of the objectives of the Act is to encourage and facilitate the reporting of disclosures that employees within their entities would have identified.

“Another is the receiving and investigating of disclosures made by these employees and to protect employees from what we call occupational detriment in the event that they would have made a disclosure,” she added.

Occupational detriment includes being subjected to disciplinary action, dismissed, suspended, or demoted, harassed, intimidated or victimised and refused transfer or promotion, just to name a few.

Another mandate, she said, is “to ensure that employees understand the roles of their organisations, the assigned Designated Officers, the Commission as the Designated Authority and the rights of employees”.

Depending on the circumstances, she noted that disclosures could be made to a Minister with Portfolio for a subject matter or to the Prime Minister. These involve matters of national security, defence or international relations of Jamaica.

Ms. Fagan pointed out that among the benefits of having a Protected Disclosures legislation is “to foster a healthy and happy environment”.

“It promotes openness, it promotes accountability. You will feel safe and secure in your environment, and you will have that autonomy to make reports,” she explained.

On January 25, 2021, by way of the Jamaica Gazette, the Integrity Commission was named the Designated Authority by the Minister of Justice to execute the functions pursuant to the Protected Disclosures Act, 2011.

Disclosure is information given by an employee regarding an improper conduct of that employer or another employee. They could relate to conduct that is likely to result in the breakdown of justice or damage to the environment or threaten the health or safety of a person.

Individuals can also make reports about conduct reflecting gross mismanagement, impropriety, or misconduct in the execution of activities involving the use of public funds.

According to the Act, any person who makes or deals with a protected disclosure will not be liable in any civil or criminal proceeding or disciplinary action by reason of having made, received or investigated the disclosure.

Recently, personnel from 13 Divisions of the Jamaica Fire Brigade were enrolled in a one-week training course offered by the Integrity Commission (IC) through the Management Institute for National Development (MIND).

They are the latest to be trained.

According to the IC, approximately 73 employees have been trained across the public sector.

Assistant Superintendent of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), Dilton Pike, said that he was grateful for the training.

“It is the first time since I have been employed to the Jamaica Fire Brigade that we have had anything of this sort, So, you know, it’s a real huge responsibility with the information that we’re now exposed to and how we operate in our institution,” he said.

He noted that participants were provided with information on how to deal with situations that could lead to disciplinary action and to ensure that a person who makes a Disclosure is protected from occupational detriment, such as dismissal, harassment, victimisation, and other acts of reprisal.

“We are now more equipped to gather the information, which we can refer to the Integrity Commission or other prescribed persons for them to do their assessment and then proceed to take disciplinary actions,” Mr. Pike said.