Employees are invariably aware of matters of concern within an organisation. Whether management becomes aware of them depends on the willingness of the employee to pass the information on.         The majority of employees are honest and hardworking. But, faced with incidents of fraud, theft, bullying, discrimination, security breaches, or any number of issues which senior management would like to be made aware of, individuals often feel isolated and fear victimisation or retribution should they mention the matter to line managers or others within their organisation. It is easier to keep quiet than to risk any 'fallout' should they be seen as being disloyal to fellow employees. But at the same time the honest employees would like to see action taken to stamp out the malpractice. Failing to hear these concerns results in the inability of an organisation to take action to prevent financial or collateral loss. This might include direct financial loss from an unrecognised theft or fraud, sickness absence of staff suffering from bullying, legal action stemming from unreported sexual or racial harassment, lack of productivity or intellectual property theft. Created to be complementary to a company's existing internal communication and reporting systems, Staff-Line allows employees to report sensitive issues via an independent and confidential third party. Total anonymity is assured, giving staff the security they need to have these important matters reported to their senior management. A powerful demonstration of support for employees, Staff-Line was developed from tried and tested procedures used in New Scotland Yard for the handling of information via the 'Crimestoppers' system. The management of Staff-Line includes those who were involved in this environment as well as those with military intelligence and security backgrounds. The strengths of various secure, anonymous information systems from such organisations were combined to create Staff-Line. The introduction of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 further increased the importance of the Staff-Line service in both the public and private sectors including any industry where regulatory bodies such as the Health & Safety Executive are now 'Prescribed Persons'. Staff-Line allows most issues to remain 'internal' rather than employees feel they need to report concerns direct to outside regulatory bodies, a third party or the press, as they can now do with the protection of the Public Interest Disclosure Act. Not to have a system such as Staff-Line in place could be seen as ignoring the best source of information an organisation can have - its own staff. Costs The Staff-Line service is priced dependant on the size of the company or organisation into which it is being placed. It is therefore priced on an individual basis but always costs a small fraction of a comparable internal system. Staff-Line : Bullet Points · Secure, confidential, anonymous · Essential Risk Management tool · Demonstrate practical support for staff · Prevent racial and sexual harassment · Combat bullying and discrimination · Prevent and detect theft, fraud and malpractice · Strengthen employee moral · Reduce sick leave · Prevent legal actions . Cost effective safety net