Fearful employees will not speak out

A further cost to employers is that workers will be less likely to speak out about hidden problems because of fear of reprisal. Two recent examples illustrate this well:

In 2012, NHS Lothian Trust was caught up in a scandal involving allegations of endemic waiting list manipulation. An independent report found that bullying was “common” within the Trust, with a “blame culture” originating from the top and a reluctance to pass bad news too high up the management chain. Staff felt under-valued, with little faith that the organisation would treat them fairly should they need to raise an issue. Following the scandal, Labour MPs called for a national hotline for NHS whistleblowers, because the investigation revealed only one whistleblowing incident in the previous two years.

In 2011, a report by the Rail Safety and Standards Board into under-reporting of safety incidents and “near misses” at Network Rail, uncovered by Unite national officer Bob Rixham, found that pressure and in some cases fear felt by staff and contractors was partly responsible for the under-reporting. Staff feared they would be unfairly blamed for the incident, or they were afraid of the negative publicity that would come from being involved in a reconstruction or video. Commenting on the report, Gerry Doherty, then leader of the Transport Salaried Staff Association, spoke of a “culture of fear and bullying whereby staff are under intense pressure to meet safety targets and league tables which affect everyone’s bonus payments”.