Download public interest disclosure policy (“whistle-blowing”)

PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURE POLICY
(“WHISTLE-BLOWING”)
1
2
INTRODUCTION
1.1
The College is committed to operating in an ethical and principled way and
encourages employees to raise genuine concerns about suspected
wrongdoing at the earliest possible stage.
1.2
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 governs the making of disclosures
concerning workplace activities and is intended to protect employees who
‘blow the whistle’ on bad practice from being subjected to any detriment
(including dismissal and victimisation) as a result.
1.3
The purpose of this policy is to outline the process for dealing with matters
relating to public interest disclosures (or ‘whistle-blowing’).
1.4
This policy is not intended to be used as a substitute for the College’s
grievance procedure; any concern about an employee's personal employment
situation should be raised through the grievance procedure in the normal
manner. This policy should also not be used to challenge business or
financial decisions made by the College.
1.5
At each stage of the process the employee will be given the opportunity to
declare any support needs/reasonable adjustments they require in order to
participate in the process.
DEFINITION OF PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURE
2.1
3
Although there is no legal definition of Public Interest Disclosure (‘whistleblowing’), it is generally taken to describe the situation where an employee or
ex-employee publicly discloses to the employer, or a regulator, wrongdoings
within an organisation. The disclosure may be about the employer, a fellow
employee, client or third party.
PROTECTION FOR THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE
3.1
To qualify for protection under the Public Interest Disclosure Act, you must
make the disclosure with a reasonable belief that it is being made in the
public interest, and have followed the procedure outlined in Section 4 below.
The disclosure must also relate to a specific subject matter (see Appendix 1)
and consist of information regarding the alleged wrongdoing, rather than
merely allegations of suspected malpractice.
3.2
The Public Interest Disclosure (‘Whistle-Blowing) Policy should not be used
by employees who have complaints regarding their own employment. In this
case the College’s Grievance Procedure should be used. If you are unsure
whether it is appropriate to raise your concern under this policy or the
grievance procedure, further advice can be obtained from the Personnel and
Payroll Section.
4
5
6
PROCEDURE IF AN EMPLOYEE SUSPECTS OR DISCOVERS MALPRACTICE
4.1
If you consider that you have reasonable grounds for believing that
malpractice (as outlined in Appendix 1) is happening in the College (or on one
of its outreach sites) you should outline your concerns in writing to the Clerk
to the Corporation. If you are unsure if the practice/concern(s) is deemed
serious malpractice, you may wish to seek advice from Public Concern At
Work, an independent charity who will offer confidential advice on ‘whistleblowing’ issues (telephone 020 7404 6609).
4.2
The Clerk will then arrange for an appropriate investigation to be carried out.
4.3
If you suspect that the Clerk is involved in the malpractice you should outline
your concerns in writing to the Principal. Similarly, if you suspect that both
the Clerk and Principal are involved, you should outline your concerns in
writing to the Chair of the Corporation.
4.4
Any concerns about malpractice should ideally be raised internally in the first
instance. If you decide to disclose your concerns to a prescribed person
rather than the Clerk of the Corporation, or other relevant individual, you
must make sure that you have chosen the correct person or body for your
issue. A list of prescribed people and bodies can be found on the
GOV.UK website: www.gov.uk/whistleblowing
4.5
Reporting the issue to an external body would have serious implications for
the College and should only be taken after very careful consideration.
4.6
Under no circumstances should you talk to the press, radio, TV or anyone
else without the Principal’s express permission.
FEEDBACK TO PERSON DISCLOSING
5.1
The Clerk of the Corporation will acknowledge receipt of your concerns in
writing within 5 working days and advise you of the individual who has been
nominated to carry out an investigation into your concerns. The person
responsible for the investigation will then keep you informed of the progress
of his/her investigation and the eventual outcome, as far as is possible.
5.2
Any correspondence will be sent to your home address and not via the
College internal mail/e-mail.
5.3
The College will try to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
APPEALS PROCEDURE
6.1
If you are not satisfied that your concerns have been appropriately
addressed, you can appeal against the outcome by raising the issue in writing
to the Principal. This should be within 14 days of having received
confirmation of the outcome of the initial investigation. If you are of the view
that a substantive conflict of interest may arise if the Principal hears the
appeal, or if the Principal is the subject of the alleged disclosure, you may
request that the appeal is heard by a panel of three Corporation members
instead. The Principal/panel is responsible for considering the allegations in
light of the evidence from the investigations and for determining the
appropriate course of action. The Principal/panel will notify you in writing of
the outcome of their investigations. The Principal’s/panel’s decision will be
final.
7
CONFIDENTIALITY
7.1
8
9
GENERAL POINTS
8.1
An employee will not suffer dismissal or any detrimental action by the College
for making a disclosure in accordance with this Policy. Malicious accusations
will however be deemed a disciplinary offence which would constitute an act
of gross misconduct and may lead to your dismissal.
8.2
The Staff Disciplinary Policy may also be invoked where it is suspected that
an employee has mistreated an individual who has made a disclosure in line
with this Policy.
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT
9.1
10
Any matter raised under this policy will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Your name will not be disclosed to the person(s) against whom the allegation
has been made without your permission. Furthermore, any investigation will
be carried out discreetly and the nature of the allegations and name(s) of
those implicated will not be made public. You also have a duty to respect this
confidentiality.
This policy has been assessed for its impact on equal opportunities and has
been informed by the aim to eliminate all forms of discrimination in all strands
of the equal opportunities legislation.
REVIEW OF POLICY
10.1
The above policy will be reviewed by the relevant parties after a period of four
years, or as required.
APPENDIX 1
‘WHISTLE-BLOWING’ AND THE LAW
Definition of ‘Qualifying Disclosure’
A “qualifying disclosure” means any disclosure of information which, in the reasonable belief
of the worker making the disclosure, tends to show one or more of the following:
(a) that a criminal offence has been committed, is being committed or is likely to be
committed,
(b) that a person has failed, is failing or is likely to fail to comply with any legal obligation to
which he/she is subject,
(c) that a miscarriage of justice has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur,
(d) that the health or safety of any individual has been, is being or is likely to be endangered,
(e) that the environment has been, is being or is likely to be damaged, or
(f) that information tending to show any matter falling within any one of the above has been,
is being or is likely to be deliberately concealed.