Whistleblowing Policy

BLESSTCIC WHISTLEBLOWING POLICY

(Making a Disclosure in the Public Interest)

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Introduction

1. BLESSTCIC is committed to the highest standards of openness, integrity and accountability.

 

An important aspect of accountability and transparency is a mechanism to enable staff and other members of the BLESSTCIC to voice concerns responsibly and effectively. It is a fundamental term of every employment contract that an employee will faithfully serve his or her employer and not disclose confidential information about the employer’s affairs. Nevertheless, when an individual discovers information that they believe shows serious malpractice or wrongdoing within the organisation, this information should be disclosed internally without fear of reprisal. There should be arrangements to enable this to be done independently of line management (although in relatively minor instances, the line manager would be the appropriate person to be told).

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2. The Public Interest Disclosure Act gives legal protection to employees against being dismissed or penalised by their employers as a result of publicly disclosing particular serious concerns. BLESSTCIC has endorsed the provisions set out below to ensure that no staff members should feel at a disadvantage in raising legitimate concerns.

 

3. It should be emphasised that this policy is intended to assist individuals who believe they have discovered malpractice or impropriety. It is not designed to question financial or business decisions taken by the BLESSTCIC nor should it be used to reconsider any matters which have already been addressed under harassment, complaint, disciplinary or other procedures.

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Scope of Policy

1. This policy is designed to enable employees of the BLESSTCIC to raise concerns internally and at a high level and to disclose information that the individual believes shows malpractice or impropriety. This policy is intended to cover concerns which are in the public interest and may at least initially be investigated separately but might then lead to the invocation of other procedures e.g. disciplinary.

 

These concerns could include:

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• Financial malpractice or impropriety or fraud

• Failure to comply with a legal obligation or Statutes

• Dangers to Health & Safety or the environment

• Criminal activity

• Improper conduct or unethical behaviour 

• Attempts to conceal any of these

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Safeguards

 

Protection - this policy is designed to offer protection to those employees of BLESSTCIC who disclose such concerns provided the disclosure is made:​

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• in good faith

• in the reasonable belief of the individual disclosing, it ends up showing malpractice or impropriety if they disclose to an appropriate person (see below). It is important to note that no protection from internal disciplinary procedures is offered to those who choose not to use the procedure. In an extreme case, malicious or wild allegations could give rise to legal action on the part of the persons complained about.

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Confidentiality – BLESSTCIC will treat all such disclosures confidentially and sensitively. The identity of the individual making the allegation may be kept confidential so long as it does not hinder or frustrate any investigation. However, the investigation process may reveal the source of the information, and the individual making the disclosure may need to provide a statement as part of the evidence required.

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Anonymous Allegations - This policy encourages individuals to put their names on any disclosures they make. Concerns expressed anonymously are much less credible, but they may be considered at the discretion of the BLESSTCIC. In exercising this discretion, the factors to be taken into account will include:

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• The seriousness of the issues raised

• The credibility of the concern

• The likelihood of confirming the allegation from attributable sources

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Untrue Allegations - If an individual makes an allegation in good faith, which is not confirmed by subsequent investigation, no action will be taken against that individual. In making a disclosure, the individual should exercise due care to ensure the accuracy of the information. If an individual makes malicious or vexatious allegations, particularly if he or she persists in making them, disciplinary action may be taken against that individual.

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Protection of the Whistleblower

 

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) grants protection to employees, as well as certain workers, contractors, trainees, and agency staff. However, there are gaps in the law that mean other individuals do not have legal protection. They include, but are not limited to:

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• Interns

• Volunteers

• Priests or ministers of religion

• Foster carers’

• Members of the armed forces

• Self-employed workers

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Section 43 of PIDA provides protection for individuals who raise legitimate concerns, as outlined in section 2.2. PIDA provides protection from detriment, dismissal or redundancy to people disclosing information.

 

However, in order to show our commitment to working ethically and to maintaining high standards of quality, integrity, accountability, and professionalism, we will, in so far as is possible, aim to treat all individuals disclosing the ethos of PIDA.

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Procedures for Making a Disclosure

On receipt of a complaint of malpractice, the member of staff who receives and takes note of the complaint must pass this information as soon as is reasonably possible to the appropriate designated investigating officer as follows:

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• The appropriate Director will investigate complaints of malpractice unless the complaint is against the Director or is in any way related to the actions of the Director. In such cases, the complaint should be referred to the Chief Executive / Business Owner.

• In the case of a complaint that is connected with but not against the Director, the Chief Executive / Business Owner will nominate a Senior Manager or external party to act as the alternative investigating officer.

• Complaints against the Chief Executive / Business Owner should be passed to the Chairman, who will nominate an appropriate internal /external investigating officer.

• The complainant has the right to bypass the line management structure and take their complaint directly to the Chairman (or Business Owner). The Chairman (or Business Owner) has the right to refer the complaint back to management if he/she feels that the management, without any conflict of interest, can more appropriately investigate the complaint.

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Should none of the above routes be suitable or acceptable to the complainant, then the complainant may approach one of the following individuals who have been designated and trained as independent points of contact under this procedure. They can advise the complainant on the implications of the legislation and the possible internal and external avenues of complaint open to them:

 

If there is evidence of criminal activity then the investigating officer should inform the police. BLESSTCIC will ensure that any internal investigation does not hinder a formal police investigation.

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External Reporting

We encourage all reports to be made internally in the first instance. Subsequently all avenues of escalation should be exhausted. However, in circumstances where that is not possible, or where having made a disclosure you are unhappy with the outcome, you have a legal right to make a disclosure to an external body. This is called a ‘Public Disclosure’.

 

An external body may be non-regulatory; such as an MP, legal advisor or the police. Alternatively it may be regulated, in which case, the disclosure can be made to ‘prescribed’ persons should the malpractice fall within that body’s regulatory remit.

 

These prescribed bodies include but are not limited to:

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• Your Local Authority

• The Children’s Commissioner

• The Charity Commission

• HM Revenue & Customs

• The Health and Safety Executive

• The Financial Services Authority

• The Office of Fair Trading

• The Environment Agency

• The Information Commissioner

• The Serious Fraud Office

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The relevant regulatory or non-regulatory body will carry out investigations as necessary and in line with the procedures and processes outlined by them. A full list of prescribed persons and bodies can be found in the schedule to the Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 1999 (SI 1999/1549) or through the government website.

 

The disclosure will be protected under legislation in the same way as a disclosure made internally as long as it meets the same conditions.

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Timescales

 

Due to the varied nature of these sorts of complaints, which may involve internal / external investigators and / or the police, it is not possible to lay down precise timescales for such investigations. The investigating officer should ensure that the investigations are undertaken as quickly as possible without affecting the quality and depth of those investigations.

 

The investigating officer, should as soon as practically possible, send a written acknowledgement of the concern to the complainant and
thereafter report back to them in writing the outcome of the investigation and on the action that is proposed. If the investigation is a prolonged one, the investigating officer should keep the complainant informed, in writing, as to the progress of the investigation and as to when it is likely to be concluded.

All responses to the complainant should be in writing and sent to their home address marked “confidential”.

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Investigating Procedure

 

The investigating officer should follow these steps:

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• Full details and clarifications of the complaint should be obtained.

• The investigating officer should inform the member of staff against whom the complaint is made as soon as is practically possible. The staff member will be notified of their right to be accompanied by a trade union or work colleague at any future interview or hearing held under the provision of these procedures. At the discretion of the investigating officer and depending on the circumstances of the complaint, an alternative representative may be allowed, e.g. the individual’s legal representative.

• The investigating officer should consider the involvement of the BLESSTCIC auditors and the Police at this stage and should consult with the Chairman / Chief Executive / Business Owner if appropriate.

• The investigating officer should thoroughly investigate the allegations with the assistance, where appropriate, of other individuals/bodies.

• The investigating officer will make a judgement concerning the complaint and its validity. This judgement will be detailed in a written report containing the findings of the investigations and reasons for the judgement. The report will be passed to the Chief Executive, Chairman or Business Owner as appropriate.

• The Chief Executive / Chairman / Business Owner will decide what action to take. If the complaint is shown to be justified, then they will invoke the disciplinary or other appropriate Company procedures.

• The complainant should be kept informed of the progress of the investigations and, if appropriate, of the final outcome.

• If appropriate, a copy of the outcomes will be used to enable a review of BLESSTCIC procedures.

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If the complainant is not satisfied that the investigating officer is properly dealing with their concern, they have the right to raise it in confidence with the Chief Executive / Business Owner / Chairman, or one of the designated persons described above.
 

Suppose the investigation finds the allegations unsubstantiated and all internal procedures have been exhausted, but the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation. In that case, BLESSTCIC recognises the lawful rights of employees and ex-employees to make disclosures to prescribed persons or body (e.g. the Health and Safety Executive). A full list of prescribed people and bodies can be found on the Government Website (www.gov.uk).

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Agreed on behalf of the Management Committee.

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​Date: 31/03/2024​

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​Signed: ……………

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