Whistleblowing Policy September 2024 - Legal Protection for Workers with Concerns at Work
In this section
- What is this about?
- What legal protection do I have?
- Will I be protected if I make a public disclosure?
- What support can I expect?
- What is the Council’s attitude to malpractice in the workplace?
- Who can blow the whistle?
- What can I blow the whistle about?
- How does the policy fit in with other Council policies?
- What if I am already involved in another HR procedure?
- How does this policy fit with the Members’ Code of Conduct?
- What if I want to make anonymous allegations?
- Is my identity kept confidential?
- How do I raise a concern?
- What happens after I have raised my concerns?
- How will we deal with your concerns?
- What happens if my concerns are not confirmed after an investigation?
- What happens if I am not happy with the Council’s response?
- Who is responsible for this policy?
- What happens to your ‘information’ and ‘personal data’?
- Appendices
How does the policy fit in with other Council policies?
25. The Whistle-blowing Policy is intended to cover major concerns that fall outside the scope of other procedures and are in the public interest, i.e., any serious concerns that you have about any aspect of service provision or the conduct of officers or Members of the Council or others acting on behalf of the Council can be reported under this policy.
26. Concerns you may have about your own employment with the authority, such as, terms and conditions of employment, health & safety, work relations, new working practices, working environment or organisational change should be raised through the Grievance procedure.
27. Concerns you may have about allegations of bullying, harassment, victimisation, or discrimination in work should be raised in line with the Council’s Behavioural Standards guidance.
28. A whistle blowing issue could be entangled within a grievance or concerns about standards of behaviour, in which case the Council will need to consider the facts, assess the risks and decide how to best deal with the issue (See Appendix A Whistleblowing Flowchart).
29. This policy should be read in conjunction with the Council’s Officer Code of Conduct and any corporate and/or departmental procedures for investigating concerns which may be developed from time to time and which will be drawn to the notice of employees and others to whom this policy applies.