Whistleblowing policy and procedure

1.1. The earlier a concern is raised, the easier it is to take action. You should be able to demonstrate that you have reasonable grounds for your concern, but you are not expected to prove your concerns.

2. Concerns can be raised verbally (face to face or on the telephone), or in writing/via email. You can also use the dedicated online Whistleblowing form (internal staff); access to completed forms is restricted to the Head of Audit and Assurance and their nominated deputy. When raising your concern please give as much detail as you can, including

• The background and history of the concern, including any relevant names, dates and locations where possible
• The reason why you are concerned
• Any other information that you think may help us to investigate.

3. As a first step, you should normally raise concerns with your immediate line manager.  This depends, however, on the seriousness and sensitivity of the issues involved and who is suspected of the malpractice. We recognise that individuals will not feel able to approach their line manager in all instances. 

4. If you feel unable to raise the matter with your manager, for whatever reason, please raise the matter with either of the following:

5. If these channels have been followed and you still have concerns, or if you feel that the matter is so serious that you cannot discuss it with any of the above, please contact:

Recording concerns

6. The Head of Audit and Assurance maintains a log of all concerns raised under this policy and their outcomes. The person receiving the concern must therefore notify the Head of Audit and Assurance of the concern as soon as practical.  

How the council will respond

7. We will take every concern raised seriously and will assess each one to ascertain the best course of action, including whether any urgent action is required before investigation. 

8. The manager or person receiving the concern will undertake this initial assessment, in discussion with Human Resources, Internal Audit and other specialist advice (such as safeguarding professionals) as necessary. Depending on the information received, we may undertake preliminary enquiries before determining how the matter should be investigated and the scope of any investigation. (No action / investigation should be commenced on any fraud concern without prior discussion with Internal Audit.) 

9. As part of this initial assessment we will also consider any risks to the individual raising the concern, how these can best be managed and any safeguards that need to be put into place. This will kept under review during the investigation and at the conclusion or outcome.

10. Dependent on the concern we may, for example:

• Undertake an internal investigation - the investigating officer will depend on the nature of the concern
• Refer the matter to the police
• Refer the matter to External Audit
• Refer the matter to another external agency.

11. Concerns that fall under specific procedures will normally be referred for consideration under these procedures.

Keeping you informed

12. Within ten working days of raising your concern the investigating officer will write to you:

• Acknowledging receipt of the concern
• Providing an indication of how we propose to deal with the concern, and the estimated timeframe for a final response (although this will be subject to the nature and complexity of the concern)
• Advising you how to report any disadvantage or detrimental treatment as a result of making the disclosure
• Signposting you to support mechanisms, such as the council’s employee assistance programme
• Advising you that you are entitled to independent advice.

13. If we need to speak to you further, you have the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or workplace colleague who is not involved in the area of work subject to the concern.

14. Subject to any legal or other constraints, such as data protection, our duty of confidentiality to all individuals, and links to other ongoing investigations, we will provide you with information about the outcome of any investigation if you tell us that you would like to be kept updated. We will not usually be able to provide updates if you raise your concerns anonymously, even where anonymous concerns are raised via email, as we need to be certain that any information shared is done so appropriately.

15. If at any stage you experience reprisal, harassment or victimisation for raising a genuine concern please contact Human Resources or the individuals named in Section 4. You can also seek support at any stage from the council’s Employee Assistance Programme; contact details are available on Transform.

How the matter can be taken further - External disclosures

16. While we hope this policy gives you the reassurance you need to raise such matters internally, we recognise that there may be circumstances where you feel unable to do so or you feel the council has not properly responded to your concerns.

17. The Public Interest Disclosure Act extends whistleblower protections to disclosures made externally, to ‘prescribed people or bodies’. The ‘prescribed person’ will depend on the nature of your concern. A full list can be found here: Whistleblowing: list of prescribed people and bodies - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), and those likely to be most relevant to the council are provided below. You may also speak to a legal professional or your Member of Parliament. You do not need to have raised your concerns internally first, before you disclose to a ‘prescribed person’.  

18. If you make an external disclosure to a non-prescribed body, such as the media, you will only have whistleblower protections in certain circumstances. Therefore, you should seek independent advice before making any such disclosure.