WHISTLEBLOWING POLICY
________
This Policy
This policy has been created by ________ ('we', 'our', 'us'). It sets out our procedures for the handling of whistleblowing in the workplace.
This policy applies to all of our employees ('you', 'your', 'yours').
This policy does not form part of your contract of employment.
We may amend this policy from time to time.
Whistleblowing
Whistleblowing is the formal term used to describe a situation where a worker discloses information about wrongdoing in the workplace.
In legal terms, whistleblowing is called a protected disclosure.
A disclosure qualifies for protection under whistleblowing laws if the worker who makes the disclosure reasonably believes that:
(a). making the disclosure is in the public interest (i.e it is not a personal grievance); and
(b). making the disclosure tends to show that past, present or any likely future wrongdoing which falls into one or more of any of the following categories:
- criminal offences
- failure to comply with a legal obligation
- a miscarriage of justice
- endangering a person's health and safety
- damage to the environment
- covering up or concealing any wrongdoing which falls in the above categories.
A protected disclosure or blowing the whistle is different to the circumstance where you raise a personal grievance. If you wish to raise a personal grievance you should raise this in accordance with our grievance policy which can be located: ________
We will provide regular training to staff at all levels about whistleblowing. You can find more information about what may be classed as a protected disclosure via the information sources listed at the bottom of this policy.
Whistleblowing Protection
You have legal rights and protections if you have made a protected disclosure. If you make a protected disclosure, you should not as a result of that protected disclosure:
- be dismissed
- be selected for redundancy
- be victimised or subjected to any detriment in the workplace.
It is also important for you to be aware that it is not possible for your right to make a protected disclosure to be restricted through any non-disclosure agreement or contractual provision.
You have the right to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal if you believe that your rights or protections in relation to a protected disclosure have been violated.
We would also like to let you know that we will support you if you make a protected disclosure, even if your disclosure is mistaken or does not result in any further action.
If you believe that you have been subjected to any treatment in violation of your above rights, then you can speak with the person dealing with your disclosure (see further details below). If you remain concerned about this you can raise a grievance by following the usual grievance procedure. You may also wish to seek advice about this from an external source. We provide some useful information at the bottom of this policy to help with this.
Making a Protected Disclosure
Reporting to us
If you need to report a concern about any matter covered by this policy, you should ordinarily raise this with your supervisor.
If you feel that it is not appropriate to speak to this person, then you should raise the issue with: ________.
You can report your concern to us in the manner in which you feel most comfortable in the circumstances. It is helpful to have a written account of your concern, but you may wish to speak in person before you do so. You can arrange for a private meeting to discuss your disclosure before or after submitting a written account.
It is useful for you to include the following key information in any disclosure to us:
- any relevant dates
- the details of your concern, including the factual background
- why you are concerned
- details of any individuals who were witnesses to any key incidents
- any evidence you may have available to you
We can investigate a disclosure even if you do not have any evidence other than your own account of the concerns.
We understand that there may be occasions when you wish to make an anonymous report to us. It is usually more difficult for us to investigate anonymous disclosures, but we will aim to investigate any anonymous report to the best of our ability (see more information about confidentiality in the relevant section below).
Reporting externally
There may be circumstances where you do not feel it is appropriate to raise a concern with us directly and feel it is necessary to report or share your concern externally. This may include reporting the concern to an MP, a legal advisor or a prescribed body. A prescribed body is a body which has been officially designated to receive certain protected disclosures.
You must ensure that you have made your disclosure to the correct prescribed body. We have included contact details in the relevant section below for the regulators that are most likely to be able to deal with malpractice relevant to our organisation.
The full list of appropriate external bodies is available on the government website and this should be consulted in the case where you feel it is necessary to raise your concern externally. It is also very helpful to receive advice using any of the resources listed in the relevant section below.
How We Will Deal With a Disclosure
We are committed to ensuring that any disclosure you make which is covered by this policy is dealt with fairly and consistently.
Inquiries and investigations
Once you have shared a disclosure with us, we will look into your concern. We may need to conduct a formal investigation. The timeframe for this process will vary depending on the nature of your concern. As a rough guide, we would expect that we would deal with your disclosure within approximately ________ weeks. Complicated cases may take longer than this, but we will always keep you informed where this is the case.
We will keep you updated with feedback which will usually cover the progress of our investigation and, once concluded, a summary of our findings. We will usually inform you of any disciplinary action of sanctions which will be taken in the case of a finding of malpractice.
Confidentiality and record keeping
We will keep a record of all protected disclosures we receive. This record will include the number of disclosures we receive and the nature of the disclosures. It will also include a record of the outcome of our investigations and the feedback we provide to you. All information will be held in accordance with our data protection policy. This can be located: ________
We may, from time to time, conduct surveys to see whether we can improve our whistleblowing procedures.
We will deal with your disclosure in confidence. We will take all reasonable steps to keep your identity confidential from any respondents to your complaint and any witnesses we speak to if you request this. We may view that we need to share a full witness account from you in order to take any relevant action (such as disciplinary action) as a result of your complaint. We will always ask your permission first and we will support you through this process.
We recognise that we may receive an anonymous report via anonymised correspondence. We will still make appropriate inquiries and/or investigations following an anonymous report. However, it is important for you to know that anonymous reports can be difficult for us to investigate. It may also be more difficult for us to provide you with the appropriate support and feedback following an anonymous disclosure. We will always take action as far as is possible upon receipt of an anonymous report.
Disciplinary action
If any internal investigation or inquiry following your disclosure results in a finding of malpractice, we may deal with this in accordance with our usual disciplinary procedure. Our disciplinary procedure can be located: ________
Depending upon the nature and severity of the finding, it may be necessary for the matter to be dealt with by an external body, such as a relevant regulatory body or legal body (including the police).
As we have explained above, it is very important that you are not subjected to victimisation or detriment as a result of your disclosure. Victimisation of a staff member as a result of a protected disclosure will not be tolerated and will be dealt with seriously in accordance with our disciplinary procedure.
We also wish to also make it clear that disclosures should never be made maliciously. If we person makes a disclosure that they do not reasonably believe to be true and which is not made in the public interest, that person may be subjected to disciplinary procedures. This situation will only apply in very serious circumstances where there is evidence to support the fact that the disclosure has been made maliciously.
582258 52225252822
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Sources of independent advice
You can also seek advice about making a protected disclosure from:
- an independent legal advisor
- the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)
- the whistleblowing charity 'Protect'
- any trade union or works council to which you are a member.
Prescribed bodies
We explained above that there are prescribed bodies which are able to deal with protected disclosures. Relevant regulators in respect of our organisation may include:
________
Dated ________
WHISTLEBLOWING POLICY
________
This Policy
This policy has been created by ________ ('we', 'our', 'us'). It sets out our procedures for the handling of whistleblowing in the workplace.
This policy applies to all of our employees ('you', 'your', 'yours').
This policy does not form part of your contract of employment.
We may amend this policy from time to time.
Whistleblowing
Whistleblowing is the formal term used to describe a situation where a worker discloses information about wrongdoing in the workplace.
In legal terms, whistleblowing is called a protected disclosure.
A disclosure qualifies for protection under whistleblowing laws if the worker who makes the disclosure reasonably believes that:
(a). making the disclosure is in the public interest (i.e it is not a personal grievance); and
(b). making the disclosure tends to show that past, present or any likely future wrongdoing which falls into one or more of any of the following categories:
- criminal offences
- failure to comply with a legal obligation
- a miscarriage of justice
- endangering a person's health and safety
- damage to the environment
- covering up or concealing any wrongdoing which falls in the above categories.
A protected disclosure or blowing the whistle is different to the circumstance where you raise a personal grievance. If you wish to raise a personal grievance you should raise this in accordance with our grievance policy which can be located: ________
We will provide regular training to staff at all levels about whistleblowing. You can find more information about what may be classed as a protected disclosure via the information sources listed at the bottom of this policy.
Whistleblowing Protection
You have legal rights and protections if you have made a protected disclosure. If you make a protected disclosure, you should not as a result of that protected disclosure:
- be dismissed
- be selected for redundancy
- be victimised or subjected to any detriment in the workplace.
It is also important for you to be aware that it is not possible for your right to make a protected disclosure to be restricted through any non-disclosure agreement or contractual provision.
You have the right to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal if you believe that your rights or protections in relation to a protected disclosure have been violated.
We would also like to let you know that we will support you if you make a protected disclosure, even if your disclosure is mistaken or does not result in any further action.
If you believe that you have been subjected to any treatment in violation of your above rights, then you can speak with the person dealing with your disclosure (see further details below). If you remain concerned about this you can raise a grievance by following the usual grievance procedure. You may also wish to seek advice about this from an external source. We provide some useful information at the bottom of this policy to help with this.
Making a Protected Disclosure
Reporting to us
If you need to report a concern about any matter covered by this policy, you should ordinarily raise this with your supervisor.
If you feel that it is not appropriate to speak to this person, then you should raise the issue with: ________.
You can report your concern to us in the manner in which you feel most comfortable in the circumstances. It is helpful to have a written account of your concern, but you may wish to speak in person before you do so. You can arrange for a private meeting to discuss your disclosure before or after submitting a written account.
It is useful for you to include the following key information in any disclosure to us:
- any relevant dates
- the details of your concern, including the factual background
- why you are concerned
- details of any individuals who were witnesses to any key incidents
- any evidence you may have available to you
We can investigate a disclosure even if you do not have any evidence other than your own account of the concerns.
We understand that there may be occasions when you wish to make an anonymous report to us. It is usually more difficult for us to investigate anonymous disclosures, but we will aim to investigate any anonymous report to the best of our ability (see more information about confidentiality in the relevant section below).
Reporting externally
There may be circumstances where you do not feel it is appropriate to raise a concern with us directly and feel it is necessary to report or share your concern externally. This may include reporting the concern to an MP, a legal advisor or a prescribed body. A prescribed body is a body which has been officially designated to receive certain protected disclosures.
You must ensure that you have made your disclosure to the correct prescribed body. We have included contact details in the relevant section below for the regulators that are most likely to be able to deal with malpractice relevant to our organisation.
The full list of appropriate external bodies is available on the government website and this should be consulted in the case where you feel it is necessary to raise your concern externally. It is also very helpful to receive advice using any of the resources listed in the relevant section below.
How We Will Deal With a Disclosure
We are committed to ensuring that any disclosure you make which is covered by this policy is dealt with fairly and consistently.
Inquiries and investigations
Once you have shared a disclosure with us, we will look into your concern. We may need to conduct a formal investigation. The timeframe for this process will vary depending on the nature of your concern. As a rough guide, we would expect that we would deal with your disclosure within approximately ________ weeks. Complicated cases may take longer than this, but we will always keep you informed where this is the case.
We will keep you updated with feedback which will usually cover the progress of our investigation and, once concluded, a summary of our findings. We will usually inform you of any disciplinary action of sanctions which will be taken in the case of a finding of malpractice.
Confidentiality and record keeping
We will keep a record of all protected disclosures we receive. This record will include the number of disclosures we receive and the nature of the disclosures. It will also include a record of the outcome of our investigations and the feedback we provide to you. All information will be held in accordance with our data protection policy. This can be located: ________
We may, from time to time, conduct surveys to see whether we can improve our whistleblowing procedures.
We will deal with your disclosure in confidence. We will take all reasonable steps to keep your identity confidential from any respondents to your complaint and any witnesses we speak to if you request this. We may view that we need to share a full witness account from you in order to take any relevant action (such as disciplinary action) as a result of your complaint. We will always ask your permission first and we will support you through this process.
We recognise that we may receive an anonymous report via anonymised correspondence. We will still make appropriate inquiries and/or investigations following an anonymous report. However, it is important for you to know that anonymous reports can be difficult for us to investigate. It may also be more difficult for us to provide you with the appropriate support and feedback following an anonymous disclosure. We will always take action as far as is possible upon receipt of an anonymous report.
Disciplinary action
If any internal investigation or inquiry following your disclosure results in a finding of malpractice, we may deal with this in accordance with our usual disciplinary procedure. Our disciplinary procedure can be located: ________
Depending upon the nature and severity of the finding, it may be necessary for the matter to be dealt with by an external body, such as a relevant regulatory body or legal body (including the police).
As we have explained above, it is very important that you are not subjected to victimisation or detriment as a result of your disclosure. Victimisation of a staff member as a result of a protected disclosure will not be tolerated and will be dealt with seriously in accordance with our disciplinary procedure.
We also wish to also make it clear that disclosures should never be made maliciously. If we person makes a disclosure that they do not reasonably believe to be true and which is not made in the public interest, that person may be subjected to disciplinary procedures. This situation will only apply in very serious circumstances where there is evidence to support the fact that the disclosure has been made maliciously.
582258 52225252822
52 88 822252522 2552 225 2522 2255 5888828552 82 252 8255282 852 525 22 252 8255282 225822 25 8252. 22 252522252 228255522 225 22 8222 558882 822252 225 2522 522 5888828552, 22 228552 2552 225 5282882 252 52828522 82258 2522282822.
825 852 82252 22 252 82588855588 25225 82 2588 228882 52 522 2822 852585 225 8885 22 5888588 252 52288852822 22 2588 228882 222255882.
Sources of independent advice
You can also seek advice about making a protected disclosure from:
- an independent legal advisor
- the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)
- the whistleblowing charity 'Protect'
- any trade union or works council to which you are a member.
Prescribed bodies
We explained above that there are prescribed bodies which are able to deal with protected disclosures. Relevant regulators in respect of our organisation may include:
________
Dated ________
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