- We are committed to conducting our business with honesty and integrity and we expect all team members to maintain high standards. Any suspected wrongdoing should be reported as soon as possible.
- This policy covers all employees, officers, consultants, contractors, casual workers and agency workers.
- This policy does not form part of any employee's contract of employment and we may amend it at any time.
Whistleblowing is the reporting of suspected wrongdoing or dangers in relation to our activities. This includes bribery, facilitation of tax evasion, fraud or other criminal activity, miscarriages of justice, health and safety risks, damage to the environment, safeguarding issues and any breach of legal or professional obligations.
We hope that in many cases you will be able to raise any concerns with your manager. However, where you prefer not to raise it with your manager for any reason, you can:
- contact the Head of People and/or Head of Operations. Contact details are at the end of this policy.
- email [email protected] (which will be confidentially sent to the same roles named above)
We will arrange a meeting with you as soon as possible to discuss your concern. You may bring a colleague or union representative to any meetings under this policy. Your companion must respect the confidentiality of your disclosure and any subsequent investigation.
We hope that all employees will feel able to voice whistleblowing concerns openly under this policy. Completely anonymous disclosures are difficult to investigate. If you want to raise your concern confidentially, we will make every effort to keep your identity secret and only reveal it where necessary to those involved in investigating your concern.
The aim of this policy is to provide an internal mechanism for reporting, investigating and remedying any wrongdoing in the workplace. In most cases you should not find it necessary to alert anyone externally.
The law recognises that in some circumstances it may be appropriate for you to report your concerns to an external body such as a regulator. We strongly encourage you to seek advice before reporting a concern to anyone external. Protect operates a confidential helpline. Their contact details are at the end of this policy.
- We aim to encourage openness and will always support whistleblowers who raise genuine concerns under this policy, even if they turn out to be mistaken.
- All colleagues are legally protected if they make a qualifying disclosure.
- Whistleblowers must not suffer any detrimental treatment as a result of raising a genuine concern. If you believe that you have suffered any such treatment, you should inform your Line Manager, the Head of People or your People Partner immediately.
- You must not threaten or retaliate against whistleblowers in any way. If you are involved in such conduct you may be subject to disciplinary action.
- However, if we conclude that a whistleblower has made deliberate, false allegations maliciously, the whistleblower may be subject to disciplinary action.
- Protect operates a confidential helpline. Their contact details are at the end of this policy.
| Contact | Details |
|---|---|
| Head of People | Nina-Marie Purcell [email protected] |
| Head of Operations | Sam Paice [email protected] |
| Whistleblowing email | [email protected] |
| Protect (Independent whistleblowing charity) |
Helpline: 0203 117 2520 E-mail: [email protected] Website: https://protect-advice.org.uk |