A powerful blow against misconduct

The recent news of an ex-employee’s accusation of misconduct at Syngenta brings up a painful (but sometimes painfully important) set of related topics: misconduct and whistleblowing. Now, it has to be said immediately, and in capital letters, that I am Not Licensed to Dispense Legal Advice, so don’t construe this column that way. In fact, the soundest advice that I can give someone who’s in such a situation is to consult someone who is qualified in these matters.

That’s because the laws involved are complex, and that’s a statement that applies to the UK, the US, and almost any other country where the rule of law is supposed to hold. The procedures for reporting violations of the law (and the protections for anyone bringing such accusations) can vary according to whether you’re the employee of a government agency versus working for a company, whether that company is publicly traded or not, what agreements you have signed with them, whether or not you are still an employee there, the time that has elapsed since the violations, and more.

Another big variable is what you might have done about the problem through a company’s own procedures. Every biopharma company I’ve worked at has had a hotline, generally quite well-publicised, for reporting misconduct. I have never had occasion to use any of them (fortunately), but I have definitely heard of cases where they worked as designed. That said, many people will have lingering doubts about how well such internal controls will hold for cases of major misconduct, things involving significant business or regulatory impacts or the behaviour of high-ranking company officers.