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Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council

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Whistleblowing Policy

Information on Welwyn Hatfield Council's employee whistleblowing policy

Introduction

  1. All of us at some time or another may have concerns about what is happening at work.  Usually these concerns are easily resolved.  However, when they are about such things as unlawful conduct, financial irregularities, dangers to the public or the environment and breaches of health and safety issues it can be difficult to know what to do.
  2. You may be worried about raising such issues, perhaps feeling that it is none of your business or that it is only a suspicion.  You may feel that raising the matter would be disloyal to colleagues, managers or the Council.  You may also fear harassment or victimisation and the possibility of speaking to the wrong person.
  3. Welwyn Hatfield Council is committed to the highest possible standards of openness, probity and accountability.  In line with that commitment employees, councillors, contractors and others with serious concerns about any aspect of the Council’s work are encouraged to come forward and voice their concerns.
  4. Welwyn Hatfield Council has introduced this policy to enable you to raise your concerns about any malpractice at an early stage and in the right way without fear of reprisals.  It is better to raise a matter when it is just a concern rather than wait for proof by which time a fraud may have been committed or somebody may have been hurt.  If in doubt – raise it!

Aims and scope of the policy

This policy aims to:

If you are aggrieved about your personal position then please use the Grievance Procedure, details of which may be found in the Employee Handbook.  This Whistleblowing Procedure is primarily for concerns where the interests of others or the organisation itself are at risk.

Malpractice and wrongdoing may include the following which is not intended as a comprehensive list:

There is a duty to disclose any matter of concern even if it has been the subject of, or relates to, a confidential or exempt report which has been considered under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 provided it is raised through the appropriate channels as set out in this policy.

This policy covers any malpractice or wrongdoing by:

Safeguard and assurances

The Council is committed to this policy. If you raise a genuine concern under this policy you will not be at risk of losing your job or suffering any form of retribution as a result.  The Council will treat any such recriminations, victimisation or harassment by an employee as a serious disciplinary matter (the Council’s Harassment Policy in the Manager and Employee Handbooks refers) and in the case of such conduct by councillors, referral to the Standards Board would occur.  Provided you are acting in good faith and in the reasonable belief that the information tends to show the specified wrongdoing it does not matter if you are mistaken.  This assurance would not be extended to someone who makes a malicious or vexatious allegation.  If this is found to be the case disciplinary action may be taken in the case of officers.  In the case of Councillors making a malicious or vexatious allegation this may amount to a breach of the Members Code of Conduct and will be referred to the Standards Board to consider.

Further safeguards are also provided by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, which provides statutory protection to employees who “blow the whistle” on malpractice in the workplace in good faith and with reasonable belief in the wrongdoing.  Further information on the detail contained in the Act can be obtained from the Chief Legal Services Officer.

The Council will not tolerate the harassment or victimisation of anyone raising a genuine concern.  However, it is recognised that you may nonetheless want to raise a concern in confidence under this policy.  If you ask that your identity be kept in confidence it will not be disclosed without your consent.  If the situation arises where your identity might need to be revealed (for instance because your evidence might be needed in court), the investigating officer will discuss with you how best to proceed.

This policy encourages you to put your name to your allegation.  Concerns expressed anonymously are much less powerful; make it more difficult to investigate and to protect your position.  Accordingly while the Council will consider anonymous reports, this policy is not appropriate for concerns raised anonymously.

The Council will apply the policy fairly and equitably to everyone that comes under its scope as set out in section 2.5.

How to raise a concern

If you have a concern you will need to exercise judgement on who to raise it with.

As a first step you should consider raising the matter with your line manager or their manager.

If you feel unable to raise the matter with your manager, for whatever reason, you should consider raising the matter with your Chief Officer.

If as an employee you consider the seriousness or sensitivity of the issue involved is such that you want to report it independently of line management, or if as a Councillor, contractor, supplier, consultant or partner acting for or with the Council you wish to raise a matter you should report it to one of the following:

Under the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules it is already a requirement that officers report any financial irregularity to the Chief Resources Officer in the first instance; this role is in practice delegated to the Internal Audit section.   For consistency it is therefore recommended that all matters under this policy be reported to the Internal Audit section in the first instance if possible. 

The officers referred to above will also provide advice and guidance on how matters of concern may be pursued.

If you are unsure whether to use this procedure or you want independent advice at any stage, you may contact:

While the Council hopes this policy will give you the reassurance you need to raise such matters internally it recognises that there may be circumstances where you can properly report matters to outside bodies such as regulators like the Health and Safety Executive or the police.  Public Concern at Work will be able to advise you on such an option and on the circumstances in which you may be able to contact an outside body safely.

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 makes special provision for independent disclosure to prescribed regulators, who will be authorised to receive specified types of information.  A list of the regulators likely to be most applicable to local government is attached at Appendix A and Public Concern at Work will be able to advise on the applicability of such a course of action.

Concerns are better raised in writing setting out the background and history, giving names dates and places where possible and the reason why you are particularly concerned.  If you do not feel able to put your concern in writing you can telephone or arrange to meet the appropriate officer, with a representative of your choice if you wish to do so.

Although you are not expected to prove the truth of an allegation you will need to be able to show reasonable grounds for your concern.

How the council will respond

Once you have reported your concern it will be assessed initially for what action should be taken.  In order to protect individuals and the Council initial enquiries will be made to determine whether an investigation is appropriate.

You will be advised of who is handling the matter and whether your further assistance may be needed.

When you raise the concern you might be asked how you think the matter might best be resolved.  If you have any personal interest in the matter you should tell the investigating officer at the outset.  If your concern falls properly under the Grievance Procedure you will be told.

Some concerns may be resolved by agreed action without the need for investigation.  Others may result in an internal inquiry or a more formal investigation.

While the purpose of this policy is to enable the Council to investigate possible malpractice and take appropriate steps to deal with it you will be given as much feedback as the Council properly can.  The Council will confirm its response to you in writing.  However the Council may not be able to tell you the precise action taken where this would infringe a duty of confidence owed to someone else.

It is hoped that this policy gives you the reassurance you need to raise matters of concern internally.  If however, you are dissatisfied with the Council’s response you may report to a higher level of management or another of the officers shown in paragraph 4.4 above.  Additionally you can seek external independent advice as detailed in this policy.  While the Council cannot guarantee that it will respond to all matters in the way that you might wish, it will try to handle the matter fairly and properly.  By using this policy you can help the Council to achieve this.

List of External Regulators

Section 43g of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 makes provision for the disclosure of certain types of information to prescribed regulators, who are authorised to receive certain types of information.  The list below covers the regulators who are most likely to be relevant to local government officers.  There are other regulators however, and it is recommended that Public Concern at Work are consulted to advise on the most applicable course of action (telephone 020 7404 6609, www.pcaw.co.uk, email helpline@pcaw.co.uk).


Audit Commission for Local Authorities and the National Health Service in England and Wales
1 Vincent Square
London
SW1P 2PN
Tel 0845 052 2646 (fraud/malpractice reporting line)
www.audit-commission.gov.uk
email: enquiries@audit-commission.gov.uk

Office of the Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
mailto:mail@ico.gsi.gov.uk

Caerphilly Business Park
Caerphilly
South Wales
CF83 3GG
Tel: 0845 345 0055
www.hse.gov.uk/workers/whistleblowing.htm

The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
Cross Cutting Policy
Room 1E/04
1 Parliament Street
London
SW1A 2 BQ
0900 595 000
email: customs.confidential@hmrc.gov.uk

The Director of the Serious Fraud Office
Elm House
10-16 Elm Street
London
WC1X 0BJ
Tel: 020   7239 7272
www.sfo.gov.uk

The Environment Agency
Head Office
Rio House
Waterside Drive
Aztec West
Almondsbury
Bristol
BS32 4UD
Tel: 0800 807060 (24hrs)
www.environment-agency.gov.uk

Standards Board for England
1st Floor
Cottons Centre
Cottons Lane
London
Se1 2QL
Tel: 0845 078 8181
www.standardsboard.co.uk

Council & Democracy