Internal routes first

In most cases, the right first step is to raise your concern inside the organisation. This is not about protecting the organisation's image. Internal routes are usually the fastest way to get a problem fixed, the law makes internal disclosure the easiest route to protection, and most concerns are resolved without ever needing to go further.

The usual options

Your organisation's whistleblowing policy should set out who you can go to. Typical routes include:

• Your line manager, often the natural first port of call for day-to-day concerns
• A designated whistleblowing officer or "speak up" contact, useful when the concern involves your manager or you want a route outside your reporting line
• A confidential reporting hotline or web portal, often run by a third party, which many larger organisations provide
• A senior leader, director, or audit committee contact for serious concerns about senior people

You are never required to raise a concern with the person it is about. If your manager is part of the problem, go around them. A decent policy always provides more than one route for exactly this reason.

Read the policy before you need it

It is worth knowing where your organisation's whistleblowing policy lives and skimming it before you ever have a concern. Five minutes now saves confusion at a moment when you may be stressed and short of time.

When internal is not the answer

There are situations where internal reporting is not appropriate: the wrongdoing implicates the most senior leadership, you have already raised it internally and nothing happened, or you genuinely fear evidence will be destroyed or you will be victimised. The law recognises this, which is why disclosures to prescribed persons, covered later in this section, are also protected. Internal first is the norm, not an absolute rule.