Whistleblowers have few legal protections in Switzerland but companies are increasingly paying heed to them anyway - in their own interest.
Headlines are always guaranteed when whistleblowers go public. A few may remember Christoph Meili, the night security guard who in 1997 prevented documents at the then Union Bank of Switzerland from being shredded during the height of the Holocaust asset crisis that had been enveloping Swiss finance.
A more recent whistleblower goes by the name of Frances Haugen. The Facebook project manager accused her employer of using fake algorithms in a way that enabled hate speech, contributing to extremism and violence. The most prominent whistleblower of all is probably Edward Snowden, who uncovered the worldwide espionage activities of the US intelligence community.
The DWS Case
In finance, a key whistleblower was Desiréé Fixler, the sustainability head of Deutsche Bank's asset manager DWS. She gained international recognition after being fired at the end of her six-month probation when she publicly accused the asset manager of painting an overly positive picture of the implementation of its sustainability strategy.
She now works at a non-profit that advises venture capital companies on environmental, social, governance criteria. She believes that DWS was a turning point for the industry and is convinced that the speculative bubble around it is bursting.
Hapless Government
There have been many attempts to better regulate whistleblowing in Switzerland. The last proposal on the table involved a reporting cascade under which any improprieties would be disclosed internally within companies first. If management did not react appropriately enough, then the regulators could be called in. Going directly to the public would be possible if the responsible supervisor did nothing about the case.
The proposal was put on the backburner after it was criticized as being too complex and not very effective. More liberal-minded politicians were also bothered by the fact that there was no provision to protect the whistleblower from being fired.
Self-Regulation
That leaves the companies to regulate themselves. According to a whistleblowing report by the University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons, 63 percent of companies surveyed have created an internal function that manages the disclosure, prevention, and discovery of illegal and unethical behavior.
In finance, many institutions have clear-cut rules that were developed together with their compliance departments. Having concrete rules to deal with whistleblowers takes the uncertainty out of the picture for staff, engendering confidence and trust in a company's values.
Think Twice
Doing that is also likely a deterrent for staff playing with the thought of doing anything illicit or criminal, particularly if they know it is apt to be reported. Employers get early visibility of any potential infractions, reducing legal and reputational risk.
