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Whistleblowing Policy

Policy Statement

The Council is committed to providing the highest quality service to residents and visitors to Thurrock. This involves ensuring that the local community can have full trust and confidence in the way the Council manages its services and resources and making sure that all those who are vulnerable such as children, the elderly and people with learning disabilities are provided for safely, effectively and in accordance with best practice.

There are occasions when high standards are not maintained. Normally such problems are dealt with by reporting the matter to the manager responsible for that service who will investigate and rectify the issue. However when employees, volunteers or contractors have concerns about serious malpractice, such as the safety or proper care of clients, or fraudulent or dishonest practice it can be difficult to know what to do.

This policy has been developed so that employees will know how to raise concerns in the right way at an early stage, and managers understand their responsibilities in relation to allegations of misconduct and impropriety.

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Scope of the Policy

The policy applies to all employees, partners and those contractors working for the Council on council premises, for example, agency staff, builders, and drivers. It also covers suppliers and those providing services under a contract with the Council in their own premises, for example, care homes.

This policy should be used when employees have concerns that the interests of others or the Council (and therefore its residents) are at risk for example:

• Criminal activities and any activities, suspected or ongoing, which may break the law (including fraud, any form of child abuse, or the abuse of other vulnerable clients)
• Disregard for legislation, Council rules, policies and procedures
• The mistreatment of a service user which may endanger the health and safety of that service user

This list is not exhaustive

Employees are protected by law (under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998) from any victimisation for having raised any issues where they reasonably believe that:

1. a criminal offence has been committed, is being committed or is likely to be committed,
2. a person has failed, is failing or is likely to fail to comply with any legal obligation to which they are subject,
3. a miscarriage of justice has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur,
4. the health or safety of any individual has been, is being or is likely to be endangered,
5. the environment has been, is being or is likely to be damaged, or
6. information tending to show any matter falling within any one of the preceding paragraphs has been, is being or is likely to be deliberately concealed.

The overriding concern should be that it would be in the public interest for the malpractice to be corrected and, if appropriate sanctions applied.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the Council's Anti Fraud and Corruption Policy.

This policy does not replace the corporate complaints procedure.

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Principles

Employees raising issues, and managers investigating them, will suffer no detriment as a result provided they act in good faith i.e. they genuinely believe that there is, or may be, substance in their allegations.

The Council will not tolerate any harassment or victimisation of a whistleblower (including formal pressures), and will treat this as a serious disciplinary offence, which will be dealt with under the Disciplinary Procedure. .An employee whose concerns are raised under this procedure but referred for investigation under another procedure (e.g. the anti-fraud policy) will receive the same protection from victimisation under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.

• An employee can raise concerns orally or, preferably, in writing.
• Any concerns raised by an employee will be dealt with promptly.
• The concerns will be considered as thoroughly as possible by the most relevant person, whether this be an internal manager or some appropriate external officer or organisation delegated by the Council.
• Employees have the right to seek assistance and advice from a trade union representative or work colleague, and to be accompanied by a trade union representative or work colleague at all meetings held under this procedure.
• If you make an allegation in good faith, but it is not confirmed by the investigation, no action will be taken against you. If, however, you make an allegation frivolously, maliciously or for personal gain, disciplinary action may be taken against you.

This policy does not restrict employees rights to raise their concerns outside of the Council (e.g. the Audit Commission, the Environment Agency, the Health and Safety Executive or the police), but is intended to facilitate an internal investigation in order to resolve employees concerns so that they do not feel the need to refer to external agencies.

Council's Responsibilities

The Council must:

• deal promptly and fairly with any concerns raised under this policy in accordance with the procedure set on pages 7 and 8 of this document and the accompanying guidance;
• make sure that the employee's concerns are appropriate for consideration under this policy as against another procedure (e.g. Council's Anti-Fraud Policy, Grievance or Disciplinary Procedures). If the concerns are not appropriate to this policy, refer them to the correct procedure;
• immediately refer matters concerning fraud and/or corrupt acts to Internal Audit;
• support and facilitate the employee in pursuing whistleblowing concerns;
• maintain confidentiality throughout any proceedings;
• as far as possible, withhold the identity of the employee who has raised the concerns, if the employee has so requested. (Managers may be obliged in some circumstances to reveal the name of the employee who raised concerns, in which event the situation should be discussed with the employee before proceeding);
• keep the employee appraised of progress in investigating and resolving their concerns;
• advise the employee that they have the right to bring a trade union representative or a work colleague to any meetings under this policy;
• implement any actions/recommendations arising from the investigation into the employee's concerns;
• not allow the employee to suffer any detriment as a result of raising their concerns; and
• investigate anonymous complaints as far as practicable to do so.

Employees' Responsibilities

Employees must:

• raise concerns (orally or in writing) in confidence using the procedures which are set out in this document;
• never carry out their own investigation;
• assist with any investigation into their concerns, including attendance at meetings, replying to requests for information, and providing signed statements as appropriate;
• immediately pass any evidence to the investigating manager/official;
• always act honestly and in good faith when raising and pursuing concerns through this policy; and
• inform the investigating manager/official if they have a personal interest in the matters under investigation.

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Procedure

How to raise a concern

As a first step, an employee should normally raise concerns with their immediate manager or supervisor. This depends, however, on the seriousness of the issues involved and who is thought to be involved in the malpractice. If in doubt, contact the Head of Legal & Democratic Services (the Council's Monitoring Officer) or where the issue involves the Monitoring Officer please contact the Chief Executive.

Alternatively, an employee can either send an email to whistleblowing@thurrock.gov.uk or leave a message on the 24 hour Whistleblowing answer service (telephone number 01375 366110. The phone is located in a secure area. This service is strictly confidential.

Concerns are better raised in writing. Employees are invited to set out the background and history of their concern, giving names, dates and places where possible, and the reason why they are particularly concerned about the situation. If they do not feel able to put their concern in writing, they can telephone or meet the appropriate officer. The earlier they express the concern, the easier it is to take action.

Although an employee would not be expected to prove the truth of an allegation, they will need to demonstrate that there are sufficient grounds for concern.

An employee may invite a trade union representative or work colleague to raise a matter on their behalf.

How the Council will respond

The action taken by the Council will depend on the nature of the concern and may:

• Be resolved by agreed action without the need for investigation
• Be investigated internally
• Be referred to the external auditor
• Form the subject of an independent inquiry

In order to protect individuals and the Council, initial enquiries will be forwarded to the Monitoring Officer who will consult with the Head of Internal Audit and decide whether an investigation is appropriate and, if so, what form it should take. The Monitoring Officer can decide to take no further action if a complaint appears to be frivolous or malicious, in which case the matter will be referred back to the manager and formal disciplinary action may be taken against the employee (if applicable) who made the frivolous or malicious complaint.

If an investigation is required, the Monitoring Officer will consult with the Internal Audit and designate an appropriate officer to investigate the concern. Following this that officer will, within ten working days, write to the member of staff:

• Acknowledging that an investigation will be carried out;
• Indicating how they propose to deal with the matter;
• Giving an estimate of how long it will take to provide a final response;
• Telling them whether any initial enquiries have been made;
• Telling them whether further investigations will take place, and if no, why not;
• Advising them that any investigation will be carried out in the strictest confidence; and
• Keeping them informed of the progress of the investigation.

The amount of contact between the officers considering the issues and the employee will depend on the nature of the matters raised, the potential difficulties involved and the clarity of the information provided. If necessary, further information will be sought from the employee who raised the whistleblowing request.

When any meeting is arranged, the employee has the right, if they so wish, to be accompanied by a union representative or work colleague who is not involved in the area of work to which the concern relates.

The Council will take steps to minimise any difficulties that employees may experience as a result of raising a concern. For instance, if they are required to give evidence in criminal or disciplinary proceedings, the Council will advise them about the procedure.

The Monitoring Officer will report on the outcome of any investigation to the Council's Standards & Audit Committee who will monitor the implementation of the recommendation of the investigation.

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