In this policy ‘Whistleblowing’ means the reporting by employees of suspected misconduct, illegal acts or failure to act within the Company.
The aim of this Policy is to encourage employees and others who have serious concerns about any aspect of the Company’s work to come forward and voice those concerns.
Employees are often the first to realise that there may be something seriously wrong within the Company. ‘Whistleblowing’ is viewed by the Company as a positive act that can make a valuable contribution to the Company’s efficiency and long-term success. It is not disloyal to colleagues or the Company to speak up. The Company is committed to achieving the highest possible standards of service and the highest possible ethical standards in public life and in all of its practices. To help achieve these standards it encourages freedom of speech.
If you are considering raising a concern you should read this Policy first. It explains:
The Policy is designed to ensure that you can raise your concerns about wrongdoing or malpractice within the Company without fear of victimisation, subsequent discrimination, disadvantage or dismissal.
It is also intended to encourage and enable you to raise serious concerns within the Company rather than ignoring a problem or ‘blowing the whistle’ outside.
This Policy aims to:
This Policy is intended to enable those who become aware of wrongdoing in the Company affecting some other person or service, to report their concerns at the earliest opportunity so that they can be properly investigated.
The Whistle Blowing Policy is not intended to replace existing procedures:
The Policy applies to all:
Any serious concerns that you have about service provision or the conduct of officers or members of the Company or others acting on behalf of the Company that:
These might relate to:
This list is not exhaustive.
This policy has been written to take account of The Protection of the Whistleblower Act (CAP. 527) which protects workers making disclosures about certain matters of concern, when those disclosures are made in accordance with the Act’s provisions.
The Act makes it unlawful for the Company to dismiss anyone or allow them to be victimised on the basis that they have made an appropriate lawful disclosure in accordance with the Act.
Rarely, a case might arise where it is the employee that has participated in the action causing concern. In such a case it is in the employee’s interest to come into the open as soon as possible. The Company cannot promise not to act against such an employee, but the fact that they came forward may be taken into account.
The Company is committed to good practice and high standards and to being supportive of you as an employee.
The Company recognises that the decision to report a concern can be a difficult one to make. If you honestly and reasonably believe what you are saying is true, you should have nothing to fear because you will be doing your duty to your employer, your colleagues and those for whom you are providing a service.
The Company will not tolerate any harassment or victimisation of a whistleblower (including informal pressures) and will take appropriate action to protect you when you raise a concern in good faith and will treat this as a serious disciplinary offence which will be dealt with under the disciplinary rules and procedure.
Throughout this process:
For those who are not Company employees, the Company will endeavour to provide appropriate advice and support wherever possible.
All concerns will be treated in confidence and every effort will be made not to reveal your identity if that is your wish. If disciplinary or other proceedings follow the investigation, it may not be possible to take action as a result of your disclosure without your help, so you may be asked to come forward as a witness. If you agree to this, you will be offered advice and support.
If you make an allegation in good faith and reasonably believing it to be true, but it is not confirmed by the investigation, the Company will recognise your concern and you have nothing to fear. If however, you make an allegation frivolously, maliciously or for personal gain, appropriate action that could include disciplinary action, may be taken.
This will depend on the seriousness and sensitivity of the issues involved and who is suspected of the wrongdoing. You should normally raise concerns with:
You may raise your concern by telephone, in person or in writing. In case of concerns in writing, you can include your name or keep it anonymous. The earlier you express your concern, the easier it is to take action. You will need to provide the following information:
Although you are not expected to prove beyond doubt the truth of your suspicion, you will need to demonstrate to the person contacted that you have a genuine concern relating to suspected wrongdoing or malpractice within the Company and there are reasonable grounds for your concern.
You may wish to consider discussing your concern with a colleague first and you may find it easier to raise the matter if there are two (or more) of you who have had the same experience or concerns.
You may invite your trade union, professional association representative or a friend to be present for support during any meetings or interviews in connection with the concerns you have raised.
The Company will respond to your concerns as quickly as possible. Do not forget that testing your concerns is not the same as either accepting or rejecting them.
The overriding principle for the Company will be the public interest. In order to be fair to all employees, including those who may be wrongly or mistakenly accused, initial enquiries will be made to decide whether an investigation is appropriate and, if so, what form it should take.
The investigation may need to be carried out under terms of strict confidentiality, i.e. by not informing the subject of the complaint until (or if) it becomes necessary to do so. In certain cases however, such as allegations of ill treatment of others, suspension from work may have to be considered immediately. Protection of others is paramount in all cases.
Where appropriate, the matters raised may:
Within ten (10) working days of a concern being raised, the person investigating your concern will write to you:
The amount of contact between you and the officers considering the issues will depend on the nature of the matters raised, the potential difficulties involved and the clarity of your information. It is likely that you will be interviewed to ensure that your disclosure is fully understood.
Any meeting can be arranged away from your workplace, if you wish, and a union or professional association representative or a friend may accompany you in support.
The Company will do what it can to minimise any difficulties that you may experience as a result of raising a concern. For instance, if you are asked to give evidence in criminal or disciplinary proceedings, the Company will arrange for you to receive appropriate advice and support.
You need to be assured that your disclosure has been properly addressed. Unless there are any legal reasons why this cannot be done, you will be kept informed of the progress and outcome of any investigation.
The Compliance Officer has overall responsibility for the maintenance and operation of this Policy.
This Policy is intended to provide you with an avenue within the Company to raise concerns. The Company hopes you will be satisfied with any action taken. If you are not, and you feel it is right to take the matter outside the Company, the following are the Company’s prescribed contacts:
If you raise concerns outside the Company you should ensure that it is to one of these prescribed contacts.
You should not disclose information that is confidential to the Company or to anyone else, such as a client or contractor of the Company, except to those included in the list of prescribed contacts.
This Policy does not prevent you from taking your own legal advice.
The Company’s Policy Committee will review this Policy annually.
The Compliance Officer will maintain a corporate register containing all concerns that are brought to her attention. All officers allocated to look into a concern must ensure the Compliance Officer is provided with sufficient details for the corporate register.
The Compliance Officer will review the corporate register and produce an annual report for Policy Committee. The report will include a summary of the concerns raised, to which department they related, the post to which the concerns related (if not confidential) and any lessons learned. The report will not include any employee names. The aim of this is to ensure that:
The corporate register together with the annual reports will be available for inspection by internal and external audit, after removing any confidential details.