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
What can I blow the whistle about?
21. You are encouraged to ‘blow the whistle’ where you reasonably believe malpractice has taken place or is likely to take place, in one or more of the following six areas:
- Criminal offences.
- Breach of legal obligation.
- Miscarriages of justice.
- Danger to the health and safety of an individual.
- Damage to the environment.
- The deliberate concealing of information about any of the above.
22. You can raise serious concerns about any aspect of service provision or conduct of officers or Members of the Council or others acting on behalf of the Council. The event may already have occurred, or it may be likely to be committed in the future. For example, your concerns might fall into one or more of the six areas of malpractice describe above that:
- is potentially unlawful, fraudulent or corrupt.
- might contravene our Standing Orders, our Financial Procedure Rules, our policies, codes of conduct or other legal obligations.
- could amount to improper conduct by an officer or a member.
- might fall below established standards of practice.
- constitutes sexual, physical, or emotional abuse.
- potentially endangers the health and safety of an individual.
- is causing, or is likely to cause, damage to the environment.
- might involve a miscarriage of justice.
- is an attempt to cover up any of the above examples.
23. In addition, the Council has signed up to Welsh Government’s Code of Practice on Ethical Employment in Supply Chains. The Code covers:
- Modern Slavery;
- Blacklisting;
- False self-employment;
- Unfair use of umbrella schemes and zero hours contracts;
- Paying the national living wage.
You are also encouraged to ‘blow the whistle’ where you reasonably believe malpractice has taken place or is likely to take place and is related to the direct activities or the supply chains of the Council, and this malpractice falls within one or more of the six areas described in Para. 20 above. Further information can be found in the Council’s Ethical Employment & Supply Chains Policy.
24. If your concerns fall outside the six areas illustrated above you will be advised of the correct procedure to follow as described below.