Currently Certified:
Advance Call Ethics & Fraud Hotline
[30 September 2023 to 31 January 2024]
Deloitte Tip-offs Anonymous
[10 May 2023 to 9 May 2024]
Vuvuzela Hotline (Pty) Ltd
[19 July 2023 to 18 July 2024]
Whistle Blowers (Pty) Ltd
[9 March 2023 to 9 March 2024]
Providers of safe reporting facilities are assessed against our Safe Reporting Service Provider Standard, or “SafeLine”. There are three versions of this certification, as follows:
- for independent service providers who host a hotline for clients (“Safeline-EX“)
- for internal whistle-blowing lines hosted by organisations for use by their own employees and suppliers (“Safeline-IN“)
- one which specifies the requirements for a quality digital safe reporting system (“Safeline-DIGex“), managed by independent safe reporting service providers.
The standards are available in PDF format below:
SafeLine builds on and replaces the prior instrument, the External Whistle-blowing Hotline Service Provider Standard (EO1.1.1), which was developed by The Ethics Institute in 2008 in collaboration with industry players and whistle-blowing experts.
The primary purpose of assessment and certification is to protect the whistle-blower who is doing the right thing by reporting unethical conduct, often at personal risk. This person must be able to trust that their report will be treated in a confidential, safe and timeous manner. We maintain that an official, externally provided certification will give peace of mind to the whistle-blower, knowing that the line they are using has been assessed by an expert and deemed reliable.
A safe reporting line that is successful in fulfilling the criteria holds the certification for 12 months, after which it has to undergo the assessment again to ensure that quality is maintained. The Standard is based on five guiding norms which balance whistle-blower interests, organisational needs and operational requirements. They are:
- Integrity
- Efficiency
- Independence
- Protection
- Availability
