Today, ethical organisations across both the public and private sectors are keen to promote a culture of openness and transparency. As part of any drive to achieve this type of culture, it's important to put the right procedures and protections in place for genuine whistleblowers.

It's vital to ensure that employees need to understand the legal protection they have in the event they find themselves in the position where they become a whistleblower

Why do organisations benefit from correct whistleblowing procedures?

Failures within an organisation to deal with issues internally can lead to reduced profits, damaged reputations, and in some cases, damage to health or the environment - or even to loss of life.

Where an organisation's internal governance procedures have broken down, a whistleblower can save lives. This is exemplified in recent cases of abuse in several UK care homes brought to light by whistleblowers. Failure to encourage the reporting of serious issues can, as the report into the Deepwater Horizon disaster shows, potentially be fatal, as well as cost billions of dollars in environmental damage.

The EssentialSkillz course aims to achieve three things:

• to explain what constitutes whistleblowing
• to outline how whistleblowers are protected
• to explain why organisations have a whistleblowing policy

Julian Roberts, CEO of EssentialSkillz, said, "Whistleblowing can affect employees across both the public and private sectors, including police officers, NHS employees, office workers, and factory workers. Whether it's fraud or dangerous working practices that undermine health and safety, all organisations should have both a policy and the relevant training in place in case governance breaks down."

The forty-minute online training course from EssentialSkillz is available as part of its Business Protection Pack for Corporate Customers or on pay-as-you-go (PAYG) basis for SME customers from its online training portal.