Whistleblowing policy

4.1    Once you have told us of your concern, we will assess it and consider what action may be appropriate. This may involve an informal review and possibly a confidential meeting with you, an internal inquiry or a more formal investigation. If necessary, the concern will then be escalated through the appropriate channels.

4.2    We will tell you who will be handling the matter, how you can contact them, and what further assistance we may need from you. We will write to you summarising your concern and setting out how we propose to handle it within five working days of receipt. If we have misunderstood the concern or there is any information missing, please let us know.

4.3    When you raise the concern, it may be helpful to know how you think the matter might best be resolved. If you have any personal interest in the matter, we do ask that you tell us at the outset. If we think your concern falls more properly within our grievance or other relevant policy, we will let you know at this stage.

4.4    While the purpose of the policy along with the Procedures and Guidance document is to enable us to investigate possible malpractice and take appropriate steps to deal with it, we will give you as much feedback as we properly can. We will confirm our response to you in writing. Please note, however, that we may not be able to tell you the precise action we take where this would infringe a duty of confidence owed by us to someone else.

4.5    Where any meeting is arranged, you have the right to be accompanied by a trade union or professional association representative or a work colleague (who is not implicated in the whistleblowing complaint, nor bringing their own concerns as part of this whistleblowing referral).