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Whistleblowing FAQ's

. What is whistleblowing?

. Who can use the Whistleblowing policy?

. What does the Whistleblowing policy apply to?

. What matters fall outside the Whistleblowing policy?

. What is the aim of the Whistleblowing Policy?

. What protection will the Council give to whistleblowers?

. Will the whistleblower’s identity be protected?

. What happens to anonymous allegations of misconduct?

. What happens if allegations turn out to be untrue?

. Can whistleblowers be accompanied?

. How does the whistleblower start the process?

. Who should whistleblowers go to with their allegations?

. How will the council respond to whistleblowing?

. What if the whistleblower wants to take things further?

. What is whistleblowing?

It is a term that derives from the use of whistles by policemen in former times, who would blow their whistles when they noticed a crime in progress. The whistle would alert other law enforcement officers and the general public of danger.

Whistleblowing therefore is the act of reporting misconduct to a responsible person either within an organisation or outside the immediate workplace.

. Who can use the Whistleblowing policy?

The policy is principally for council employees. But members and contractors can also use the procedure.

. What does the Whistleblowing policy apply to?

This policy applies to anything illegal, improper, unethical or wrong that is done by:

 employees  councillors  anyone representing the council  partner organisations  contractors, agency staff, consultants or other suppliers.

The types of wrong doing may include:

 conduct that may be an offence or break the law;  failure to comply with a legal obligation;  miscarriage of justice;  unauthorised use of public funds;  offering, taking or soliciting bribes  possible fraud or corruption;  misreporting performance data;  health and safety risks in the workplace;  dumping damaging material in the environment;  sexual harassment or physical abuse;  unethical conduct; and  deliberate covering up of information relating to any of the above

. What matters fall outside the Whistleblowing policy?

The council has other policies and procedures, for example on recruitment and selection, discipline, grievances and diversity. The whistle blowing policy should only be used when other policies are inappropriate.

For example, you cannot lodge a grievance about your employment under the Whistleblowing Policy. Some of the more common issues that might give rise to a grievance include:

 the application of terms and conditions of employment;  Health and Safety;  relationships at work;  working practices not covered by the job description.

These issues cannot be dealt with under the Whistleblowing Policy.

. What is the aim of the Whistleblowing Policy?

Officers with serious concerns about any of the council's work have a moral responsibility to blow the whistle. This policy:

 encourages officers to blow the whistle within the council rather than say nothing or take their concerns elsewhere;  protects whistleblowers from reprisals as long as they have acted honestly;  provides a procedure for whistleblowing;  ensures whistleblowers get a response; and  gives advice on what to do if the response is not good enough.

. What protection will the Council give to whistleblowers?

The Council will not tolerate bullying, harassment or victimisation, including informal pressure, and will take appropriate action to protect you when you raise a concern in good faith. This could include disciplinary action against the perpetrator, which may lead to dismissal.

. Will the whistleblower’s identity be protected?

The Council will do its best to protect the identity of whistleblowers. But it may have to say where it got its information from during an investigation and the whistleblower may have to act as a witness.

If it does become necessary to reveal your identity, you will be advised before this action is taken. . What happens to anonymous allegations of misconduct?

The policy encourages officers to put their names to allegations but the Council will sometimes investigate allegations made anonymously. In deciding whether to investigate an anonymous allegation, the Council will consider how serious it is, whether it is believable and whether evidence can be obtained from a non-anonymous source.

. What happens if allegations turn out to be untrue?

Officers will not suffer reprisals for making an allegation that turns out to be untrue, as long as they genuinely believed it and did not make it maliciously.

Allegations that are deliberately false or malicious will be treated as a disciplinary offence through the disciplinary procedure.

. Can whistleblowers be accompanied?

Whistleblowers can invite a companion, who may be from a trade union or professional association, or a friend or a legal representative to raise a matter on their behalf. Such a companion can also represent the whistleblower at any meeting that is held relating to their concern.

. How does the whistleblower start the process?

(a) Say that the whistle blowing procedure is being used

The whistle blower should make it clear from the start that they want to use the whistle blowing procedure.

(b) Putting concerns in writing

Whistle blowers should normally put their concerns in writing, giving as much detail as possible and including relevant dates. Whistle blowers are not expected to prove that their allegations are true but they need to show that there are reasons for concern. If a whistle blower does not feel they can put their concerns in writing, they can be interviewed instead.

. Who should whistleblowers go to with their allegations?

Whistle blowers should normally go to their line manager. If the whistleblower does not want to go to their line manager, they can go to the chief executive, a director, the monitoring officer, the head if internal audit or the head of human resources.

If the whistleblower suspects fraud or corruption, they can go to the head of internal audit.

. How will the council respond to whistleblowing?

(a) Initial enquiries

The council will appoint an investigating officer. If the whistle blower has not put their concerns in writing, the investigating officer will interview them. The investigating officer will then make some initial enquiries to decide:

 whether to investigate further and  what form any further investigation should take.

(b) Further action

The council will take further action if the investigating officer decides it would be in the public interest and the allegation cannot be dealt with under other council procedures. The matter raised might:

 be investigated internally by management and/or internal audit  be investigated under another procedure  be reported to the Council’s Standards Committee  be referred to the Police  be referred to the external Auditor  form the subject of an independent inquiry

(c) Fifteen day response

Within 15 working days of a concern being received the Council will write to the whistleblower:

 acknowledging that the concern has been received  indicating how it is proposed to deal with the matter if possible at such an early stage  giving an estimate of how long it will take to provide a final response if possible at such an early stage  advising whether any initial enquiries have been made, and  advising whether further investigations will take place, and if not, why not.

(d) Outcome

If the law allows, the Council will tell the whistleblower the outcome of any investigation. However, this will not include details of any disciplinary action, which will remain confidential to the individual concerned.

What if the whistleblower wants to take things further?

If an officer has sought advice and feels it is right to raise their concerns outside the council, people they could approach include their local councillor, the external auditor, the health and safety executive, a government department, a solicitor, the police or an MP.

If an officer does raise their concerns outside the council, they must do it without passing on confidential information. The monitoring officer can give advice on this. The following are possible contact points:

 the Police 0845 1 25 35 45  the independent charity Public Concern at Work 020 7404 6609; http://www.pcaw.org.uk/  Information Commissioner 01625 545745; http://ico.org.uk/concerns  Health & Safety Executive 01772 836200; www.hse.gov.uk  Local Government Ombudsman 01904 633269; http://www.lgo.org.uk/contactus/  UNISON whistleblowing hotline 0800 597 9750; http://unison.org.uk/get-help/