Whistleblowing policy

2. Definition of whistleblowing

2.1 Whistleblowing is the term used when a worker passes on information concerning wrongdoing. In this guidance, we call that “making a disclosure” or “blowing the whistle”. The wrongdoing will typically (although not necessarily) be something they have witnessed at work.

2.2 To be covered by whistleblowing law, a worker who makes a disclosure must reasonably believe 2 things.

1. They are acting in the public interest. This means in particular that personal grievances and complaints are not usually covered by whistleblowing law. The Grievance Policy provides more detail about the process for raising grievances and complaints.
2. They must reasonably believe that the disclosure tends to show past, present or likely future wrongdoing falling into one or more of the following categories:
3. 1. criminal offences (this may include, for example, types of financial impropriety such as fraud)
   2. failure to comply with an obligation set out in law
   3. miscarriages of justice
   4. endangering of someone’s health and safety
   5. damage to the environment
   6. covering up wrongdoing in the above categories

2.3 Whistleblowing law is set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996 (as amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA)). All staff, at any time, have a statutory right to express concerns under the PIDA and, if the procedure is followed, the individual will be
protected from any unfair or negative treatment and has the right to take a case to an employment tribunal if they feel they have been victimised at work or they have lost their job because they have ‘blown the whistle’. Whistleblowers remain protected even if they
no longer work for the employer they’re making the disclosure about.

2.4 Complaints relating to your own personal circumstances, such as the way you have been treated at work which do not have a wider public interest, are not eligible under the whistleblowing policy and should be raised under other People policies and procedures such as raising a grievance. However, if you think there are genuine grounds to suggest the treatment about personal circumstances is unlawful for example, relates to protected characteristics or breaches of the Equality Act 2010 or Health & Safety at Work Acts, the Whistleblowing procedure can be validly used.

2.5 The policy should not be used in bad faith or raise malicious, vexatious or knowingly untrue concerns. Those who raise concerns with a reasonable belief that raising the concern is in the public interest, will be given protection under this procedure.

2.6 If you are unsure whether a concern should be raised using the whistleblowing procedure, please speak to your line manager or the Whistleblowing Officer.

3. Responsibility for policy

3.1 The Executive Leadership Team (ELT) are responsible for approving the policy with the Director of Finance & Corporate Services the policy owner and as such responsible for ensuring the overall process is fit for purpose and the policy is reviewed in line with the agreed schedule.

3.2 The Responsible Officer in relation to a disclosure is determined depending on the nature of the disclosure (set out in Appendix A). The initial disclosure would be allocated to the Director of F&CS unless the disclosure relates to the Director of F&CS or other directors in which case it would be allocated to the COO. Directors will not be Responsible Officers leading investigations into their areas of business. If the disclosure relates to the COO, the responsible officer would be the Housing Ombudsman unless the disclosure relates to the Housing Ombudsman in which case it would be allocated to the independent Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.

3.3 The Whistleblowing Officer (Head of Corporate Information & Governance) is an independent person who in the first instance will ensure:

• proper due process is followed (see section 7)
• disclosures are triaged appropriately following the receipt of the whistleblowing disclosure form
• along with the determined Responsible Officer, determine whether the disclosure constitutes a whistle blow as defined by the policy
• ensure the investigation process is complete and documented

3.4 In the event the Whistleblowing Officer has a conflict of interest in dealing with a disclosure, another suitable person will be appointed by the Responsible Officer for that disclosure, but should be a governance or people professional.

4. Policy principles

4.1 The following principles underpin this policy:

• individuals are encouraged to raise any concerns they may have about wrongdoing as soon as they notice it
• information the process provides will be used to help improve our ways of working and to manage risk
• individuals raising a concern which is accepted as a qualifying disclosure, will be afforded protection as required in the PIDA
• all genuine concerns will be handled confidentially (unless you waiver confidentiality), in a professional and positive manner
• concerns may be raised anonymously but it may be more difficult to investigate
• help and support will be available to employees where concerns are raised under the Whistleblowing Procedure and victimisation of anyone for raising a qualified disclosure will be investigated under the Housing Ombudsman’ disciplinary policy
• the Employee Handbook will provide information about the Whistleblowing Policy to new staff as part of their induction programme to the Housing Ombudsman - continued learning and raising awareness of the policy amongst Housing Ombudsman colleagues will be undertaken annually

4.2 If you have any queries about this policy, please contact the Whistleblowing Officer wbofficer@housing-ombudsman.org.uk

5. Confidentiality and anonymity

5.1 Raising concerns openly makes it easier for the Housing Ombudsman to investigate and provide feedback. Whistleblowers are therefore encouraged, where possible to put their names to concerns raised. However, raising a concern anonymously is preferred to silence about potential serious wrongdoing. Housing Ombudsman will respect any request for confidentiality as far as possible, restricting it to a ‘need to know basis’. However, if the situation arises where it is not possible to resolve the concern without revealing the whistleblower’s identity (for example in matters of criminal law), the Housing Ombudsman Service will advise the whistleblower before proceeding. The same considerations of confidentiality will be afforded to the person(s) at the centre of the concern, as far as appropriate.

5.2 The factors that the Responsible Officer will take into account in deciding whether to exercise discretion to investigate disclosures made anonymously are:

• the seriousness of the issue(s) raised
• the credibility of the concern
• the likelihood of being able to validate the allegation

5.3 Where concerns cannot be validated, the Director of Finance & Corporate Services must be informed so that concerns can be recorded for future reference should any similar issues be raised, and to inform possible service improvements. All records relating to disclosures, subsequent investigation and actions taken will be managed in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

6. How to make a disclosure

6.1 Concerns can be raised informally with line managers or any member of staff from management or above who will refer the person making the disclosure to complete the disclosure form on Hoogle. The disclosure can be made confidentially or anonymously and will be automatically forwarded to the Whistleblowing Officer and the appropriate Responsible Officer based on the information provided.

6.2 It is important the disclosure form is completed to the best of your knowledge so that it can be considered quickly involving the right people at the right time. Proof of wrongdoing is not needed, just a reasonable, honest belief that wrongdoing, has or is likely to occur.

The form will ask you to provide information about:

• the reason for your concern/s and any background context
• whether you have already raised your concern with anyone, and their response
• any relevant dates
• if you have any personal interest in the matter as this must be declared at the time of raising the concern

6.3 The independent Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) is the route to take to make a disclosure against or the disclosure in any way relate to the actions of the Housing Ombudsman. The Chair can be contacted via email aracchair@housing-ombudsman.org.uk

6.4 If a whistleblower feels that due to the circumstances it would be more appropriate to make a disclosure to someone outside of the Housing Ombudsman, they can make disclosures to the 'prescribed person’ without losing their rights under whistleblowing law. For HOS, the prescribed person is The Comptroller and Auditor General of the National Audit Office.

7. Investigation and outcome

7.1 Following receipt of a disclosure, the Whistleblowing Officer with the Responsible Officer, will determine whether the Whistleblowing Policy applies or whether it is a matter to be properly handled using other policies such as the Grievance Policy or Service Complaints Policy, in which case they will bring the disclosure to the attention of the appropriate internal team and notify the whistleblower of this outcome within 5 working days.

If established as whistleblowing, the following provisions will apply:

i. The Responsible Officer will lead an investigation or appoint an investigation manager and/or team including staff with relevant experience of investigations or specialist knowledge of the subject matter. The Whistleblowing Officer will have oversight of the investigation process.
ii. The whistleblower will receive written acknowledgement within 5 working days of their disclosure and, if required, be offered an interview in confidence as soon as possible after the disclosure so that an initial assessment can be carried out. A Trade Union representative or colleague may accompany the whistleblower for
support. Written confirmation of how HOS will proceed with the investigation will be sent as soon as possible.
iii. The Housing Ombudsman will provide progress updates should the investigation take longer than expected. All disclosures will be investigated as quickly as possible without affecting the depth and quality of the investigation. If a formal investigation is required or the involvement of police/security, it may not be possible or appropriate to provide full details.

7.2 The Responsible Officer will be responsible for:

• providing written confirmation of how HOS will proceed with the disclosure
• ensuring the whistleblower is aware of and understands the Whistleblowing Policy
• protecting the whistleblower’s identity, where possible
• informing the person/people against whom the disclosure has been made as soon as possible-but not at a time or in such a way as to impede a thorough and full investigation
• ensuring the disclosure is investigated thoroughly and swiftly
• protecting the effective operation of the organisation to the extent possible in the circumstances of the case
• consider whether internal or external auditors, or the police, need to be involved
• keeping the whistleblower informed in writing of the progress of the investigation and its likely timescale

7.3 Whistleblowers having their disclosures investigated are expected to:

• provide any evidence, where possible, to support their disclosure
• throughout any investigation, the whistleblower, if an employee, will still be expected to continue their duties/role as normal unless deemed inappropriate

7.4 The Housing Ombudsman Service will confirm when the matter is concluded and, if appropriate, the outcome of the investigation, maintaining security and confidentiality for all parties as far as possible.

Recommendations may be made to enable change to minimise the risk of future wrongdoing and improve working practices. Disciplinary action or a wider investigation may also be recommended.

7.5 Whistleblowers can appeal the outcome of an investigation if they can evidence the correct process has not been followed or if the disclosure has been treated materially different to what the whistleblower intended. If the whistleblower would like to challenge the decision, they can do so by contacting the ARAC Chai aracchair@housing-ombudsman.org.uk or externally via ‘prescribed persons’. Details are provided in Annex A.

8. Support for whistleblowers

8.1 Protect is the UK’s whistleblowing charity that aims to stop harm by encouraging safe whistleblowing. They provide a legal advice service offering free expert and confidential advice on how best to raise a concern and protection as whistleblower.

www.protect-advice.org.uk

Protect Advice Line: 020 3117 2520 (*option 1)

8.2 UK government advice on ‘Whistleblowing for employees’ - www.gov.uk/whistleblowing

8.3 ACAS guidance on ‘Whistle-blowing’ - www.acas.org.uk/whistleblowing-at-work

8.4 Support may also be provided by trade unions should you be a member.

Annex A – Responsible Officers

By completing all sections of the automated disclosure submission form to the best of the whistleblower’s knowledge, the disclosure will be directed to the right person to take forward as the Responsible Officer. This role can be undertaken by:

• Director of Finance & Corporate Services – lead on disclosures and investigations into all allegations made about the organisations’ services and staff to Head of Service level
• Chief Operating Officer – lead on disclosures and investigations in relation to allegations made against directors
• The Housing Ombudsman - lead on disclosures and investigations in relation to allegations made against the Chief Operating Officer
• Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) Chair - lead on disclosures and investigations in relation to allegations made against the Housing Ombudsman

Contact list

Alternatively, whistleblowers can report disclosures externally to ‘prescribed persons’.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of the National Audit Office is the relevant external prescribed person to make a disclosure to about the Housing Ombudsman Service. Contact details are provided below:

The Comptroller and Auditor General
National Audit Office
157-197 Buckingham Palace Road
Victoria
London
SW1W 9SP
Tel: 020 7798 7999

Whistleblowing - National Audit Office (NAO)