Whistleblowing policy

About this policy document

We usually come across the term whistleblowing in conjunction with an employee alerting a governing body about the law having been broken by a company or by employees of a company.

However, the term can have a broader meaning of informing another party of malpractice within the workplace. The action being reported doesn't have to be illegal - it could just simply have breached business policy guidelines. Nor does the authority to whom the action is reported have to be an independent third party such as an industry regulatory body. It could be a line manager or working group.

This document sets out the circumstances under which your staff should speak out, helping to ensure that their concerns are heard. It helps you comply with your obligations under the Employment Rights Act and other employment legislation, but also encourages employees to report circumstances where the ethical (rather than legal) position of the business might be compromised.

If implemented in line with the explanatory notes we provide with the document itself, your whistleblowing policy can also prove useful as a way to spot potential problems before they happen.

The law relating to this policy

This policy template helps you comply with legislation under the Employment Rights Act 1996 as amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. These acts govern the making of disclosures concerning workplace activities and are intended to protect employees who profess from being subject to any detrimental or unfair treatment as a result.

Application and features

• Covers a wide range of issues: from criminal offences to the protection of the environment, endangerment of health & safety of any individual and deliberate concealment

• Doubles as a risk management policy that could help to prevent escalations of malpractice

• Provides both you and your employees with an easy reference point as to how to raise concerns in the workplace

• Document and explanatory notes in plain English

Contents

• Company statement
• Explanation of whistleblowing
• Named people responsible for implementing the policy
• When to use the policy
• Reporting procedure
• Investigation of disclosure
• Dissatisfaction with organistaion decision
• Confidentiality
• Untrue disclosures
• Review of policy