Whistleblowing Policy
The aim of this Policy is to encourage employees and others who have serious concerns about any aspect of WHG’s work to come forward and voice those concerns.
WHG requires all staff to uphold the law and place the safety of others at the forefront of their duties. For this reason, we encourage whistleblowing in the following instances:
- someone’s health or safety is in danger
- actions that negatively affect the welfare of children (not only WHG students)
- damage to the environment
- a criminal offence
- not obeying the law
- covering up wrongdoing
If you are considering raising a concern you should read this Policy first
Your legal rights
This policy has been written to take account of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 which protects workers making disclosures about certain matters of concern, when those disclosures are made in accordance with the Act’s provisions and in the public interest.
The Act makes it unlawful for WHG to dismiss anyone or allow them to be victimised on the basis that they have made an appropriate lawful disclosure in accordance with the Act.
WHG is committed to good practice and high standards and to being supportive of you as an employee and recognises that the decision to report a concern can be a difficult one to make but will be supported throughout the process.
WHG will not tolerate any harassment or victimisation of a whistleblower (including informal pressures) and will take appropriate action to protect you when you raise a concern in good faith and will treat this as a serious disciplinary offence.
Who to contact with a concern
Where staff have concerns, they should aim to report it internally first before using an external ‘prescribed person or body’. Making a report to an external person may only be undertaken where the staff member thinks WHG will cover the matter up, would treat them unfairly if they complained or have raised the matter before, but the concern hasn’t been dealt with.
Staff members with concerns should follow these steps:
1. Contact a WHG partner
Peggotty Moore – [email protected]
James Hume – [email protected]
(If the issue involves a WHG partner a, suitable impartial representative will be involved such as AEGIS)
2. Contact AEGIS our accrediting body
AEGIS
The Wheelhouse
Bond's Mill Estate
Bristol Road
Stonehouse
Gloucestershire
GL10 3RF
Tel: +44 (0) 1453 821293
3. Contact the Police
If the concern involves an immediate threat to a child’s safety, the Police should be contacted on 101. If the student is under 16 years old, the Local Authority should be contacted immediately.
How to raise a concern
You may raise your concern by telephone, in person or in writing. The earlier you express your concern, the easier it is to take action. You will need to provide the following information:
the nature of your concern and why you believe it to be true
the background and history of the concern (giving relevant dates)
Although you are not expected to prove beyond doubt the truth of your suspicion, you will need to demonstrate to the person contacted that you have a genuine concern relating to suspected wrongdoing or malpractice and there are reasonable grounds for your concern.
You may wish to consider discussing your concern with a colleague first and you may find it easier to raise the matter if there are two (or more) of you who have had the same experience or concerns.
You may invite a professional association representative or a friend to be present for support during any meetings or interviews in connection with the concerns you have raised.
How WHG will respond
WHG will respond to your concerns as quickly as possible.
In order to be fair to all employees, including those who may be wrongly or mistakenly accused, initial enquiries will be made to decide whether an investigation is appropriate and, if so, what form it should take.
The investigation may need to be carried out under terms of strict confidentiality, i.e. by not informing the subject of the complaint until (or if) it becomes necessary to do so. In certain cases however, such as allegations of ill treatment of others, suspension from work may have to be considered immediately. Protection of others is paramount in all cases.
Where appropriate, the matters raised may:
- be investigated by management
- be referred to the police
- be referred to AEGIS
- form the subject of an independent inquiry
Within 5 working days of a concern being raised, the person investigating your concern will write to you:
- acknowledging that the concern has been received
- indicating how WHG proposes to deal with the matter
- supplying you with information on staff support mechanisms
- telling you whether further investigations will take place and if not, why not.
The amount of contact between you and the investigating person(s) considering the issues will depend on the nature of the matters raised, the potential difficulties involved and the clarity of your information. It is likely that you will be interviewed to ensure that your disclosure is fully understood.
Any meeting can be arranged away from your workplace, if you wish and can be done online.
WHG will do what it can to minimise any difficulties that you may experience as a result of raising a concern.
You need to be assured that your disclosure has been properly addressed. Unless there are any legal reasons why this cannot be done, you will be kept informed of the progress and outcome of any investigation.
For further help you can call the NSPCC helpline or Protect:
0800 028 0285 8am-8pm, Monday to Friday
https://protect-advice.org.uk/
020 3117 2520 Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays: 9:30am – 1pm, 2pm – 5:30pm; Wednesdays and Fridays: 9:30am – 1pm
Policy Updated
8thOctober 2022
Policy Review Date
1stOctober 2023
