Background
Notification concerns the reporting of censurable conditions at the workplace. Through their employment, employees may become aware of matters that are or could be contrary to:
- Legal acts and regulations
- The company’s policies
- The general perception of what is justifiable or ethically acceptable
The Working Environment Act gives permanent and contract workers the right to notify censurable conditions. The notification rules in the Working Environment Act cover cases where an employee notifies censurable conditions in his or her own company. The Act also entitles contracted employees to notify censurable conditions in the contracting company.
In connection with its systematic HSE work, the employer must prepare procedures for internal notifications or implement other measures to facilitate the right to notify censurable conditions. This right shall contribute to strengthening employees’ genuine freedom of expression in the workplace.
Result
We have received a copy of Aker BP’s information about whistleblowing on the company’s intranet “Notification of censurable conditions” and the front page of a form showing how to access the option to notify a third party. The documentation Aker BP has sent does not show the full notification procedure or the procedure for receiving, processing and following up notifications of censurable conditions in the company. The company has not prepared the routines in collaboration with the employees and their representatives.
The audit detected the following non-conformity:
- Deficient participation in the preparation of procedures.
The audit detected the following improvement point:
- Deficient notification procedure
The results of this audit series will be summarised in a report and published at psa.no