Self-assurance supporting outcome 11.12

Whistleblowing

Things to Think About

1. Do you have a whistleblowing policy in place and has it been approved by your board?
2. Does your policy clearly explain what whistleblowing is? (The official name for whistleblowing is ‘making a disclosure in the public interest’; however it is much more commonly called ‘blowing the whistle’ or ‘whistleblowing’.)
3. Are areas covered by your whistleblowing policy set out? For example, these might include:
   • Commitment, or likely commitment, of a criminal offence
   • Suspected fraud, financial malpractice or impropriety
   • Disregard for legislation, particularly in relation to health and safety at work
   • Serious misuse or misappropriation of your organisation’s resources
   • Showing undue favour over a contractual matter or to a job applicant
   • Serious avoidable damage to the working or political environment
   • Breach of your code of conduct and/or code of ethics
   • Information regarding any of the above examples being, or likely to be, concealed.
4. Does your policy include guidance on confidentiality and support for whistleblowers
5. Does your policy set out how staff should whistleblow? For example, who they should report to and how, whether and in what circumstances anonymity will be preserved etc.
6. Is the procedure for carrying out investigations as a result of whistleblowing clearly set out including who leads, timescales etc
7. Are incidents of whistleblowing monitored and reported to management teams and audit committee (if applicable) and/or board?

Useful links

• Directgov – whistleblowing in the workplace explained
• Public Concern at Work - FAQ - employer and employee FAQs in relation to whistleblowing