Whistleblowing Policy

Whistleblowing Policy

 

1. Introduction

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 protects workers who raise legitimate concerns about specified matters from being dismissed by Ashton Fire (the Company) or from being subjected to detrimental treatment or victimised by either the Company or work colleagues as a result, provided certain criteria are met. The Act makes provision about the kinds of disclosure which may be protected, the circumstances in which such disclosures are protected and the persons who may be protected. This policy is intended to comply with the Act by encouraging workers and external stakeholders to make disclosures about fraud, misconduct, bribery, or other wrongdoing to the Company, without fear of reprisal, so that problems can be identified, dealt with and resolved quickly. Making such disclosures is also known as whistleblowing.

Our policy is to support whistleblowers which includes workers and external stakeholders. You must not victimise, subject to detrimental treatment, or retaliate against a worker who has made a protected disclosure.

Workers and external stakeholders are protected provided they reveal information of the right type (known as a ‘qualifying disclosure’) and they reveal that information to the right person and in the right way (known as making a ‘protected disclosure’).

2. Qualifying disclosures

Certain kinds of disclosure qualify for protection. These are disclosures of information which a worker and external stakeholder reasonably believes are made in the public interest and tend to show one or more of the following relevant failures is either happening now, took place in the past, or is likely to happen in the future:
• A criminal offence, including offences such as theft, fraud or acts of bribery.
• The breach of a legal obligation.
• A miscarriage of justice.
• A danger to the health and safety of any individual.
• Damage to the environment.
• Deliberate covering up of information tending to show any of the above five matters.

Only disclosures of information that fall within one or more of these six categories qualify for protection.

The belief held by the worker must be reasonable, but it need not be correct. It might be discovered subsequently that the worker was in fact wrong or mistaken in their belief, but they must show that it was a reasonable belief to hold in the circumstances at the time of disclosure.

The worker must also reasonably believe that their disclosure is made in the public interest. It will therefore not include disclosures which can properly be characterised as being of a personal rather than a wider public interest, for example a disclosure solely about a breach of the terms of an employee’s own contract of employment. However, if the disclosure also concerns breaches of the employee’s colleagues’ contracts then if it is an important matter it is likely to be protected by this protection for whistleblowers.
These acts can be in the past, present or future, so that, for example, a disclosure qualifies if it relates to environmental damage that has happened, is happening, or is likely to happen. We will take any concerns that you may raise relating to the above matters very seriously.

The Employment Rights Act 1996 provides protection for workers who ‘blow the whistle’ where they reasonably believe that some form of illegality, injustice or breach of health and safety has occurred or is likely to occur. The disclosure must be ‘in the public interest’. We encourage you to use the procedure to raise any such concerns.

3. Protected disclosures

For a qualifying disclosure to be a protected disclosure, a worker needs to make it to the right person and in the right way. There are several methods by which workers can make a protected disclosure, but the Company always encourages all workers to raise any disclosure internally in the first instance.

Workers are protected if they make a qualifying disclosure to either:
• The Company, or
• Where they reasonably believe that the relevant failure relates solely or mainly to the conduct of a person other than the Company or any other matter for which a person other than the Company has legal responsibility, to that other person.
Workers are encouraged to raise any qualifying disclosures that they may have by following the disclosure procedure set out below.

If the concern relates only to a breach of the employee’s own contract of employment, they should use the Company’s grievance procedure instead as these types of disclosure are not made in the public interest and are therefore not covered by this policy. However, if it concerns breaches of colleagues’ contracts also then this may be covered by this policy. If in doubt, in the first instance employees are encouraged to discuss their concerns with their Manager, the Managing Director or with the Head of People.

4. The disclosure procedure

This procedure applies to:
• All permanent and temporary employees and workers
• Third parties including agency workers, consultants, contractors, and any other individuals performing functions in relation to the Company

Reporting Procedure

For Employees and Workers:

Report the situation in writing to your Manager as soon as possible. If you do not wish to contact your Manager, or you reasonably believe your Manager is involved in the wrongdoing, you may instead contact an alternative Manager or the Head of People, alternatively you can submit via > Whistleblowing Disclosure Form

For External Stakeholders and Third Parties:
Report the situation in writing to the Managing Director at Adam.taylor@ashtonfire.com and copy your line manager (if applicable). Make your disclosure as soon as possible to enable prompt investigation. Alternatively, you can submit via > Whistleblowing Disclosure Form

Investigation Process and Timescales

1. Initial Acknowledgement: All disclosures will be acknowledged in writing within 5 working days of receipt.
2. Witness Statement: You will be interviewed and asked to provide a written statement setting out the nature, details, and basis of your disclosure within 10 working days. In complex cases, this may extend to 20 working days.
3.  Confidentiality: The investigation will be conducted confidentially where practical. However, to investigate effectively, the Company may need to disclose information to determine the scope of investigation and identify relevant individuals to interview. The Company reserves the right to appoint an alternative Manager to conduct the investigation.
4.  Investigation Outcome: Once the investigation is complete, you will be informed in writing of the outcome, conclusions, and any decisions within 5-10 working days. The Company is committed to taking appropriate action on all upheld disclosures.
5.  Protection from Detriment: You will not be penalized for raising a disclosure in good faith, even if it is not upheld. Action will only be taken if a complaint was both untrue and made with malicious intent.

Action Following Investigation

Depending on the findings, the Company may:
• Report the matter to an appropriate external government department or regulatory agency
• Take internal disciplinary action against relevant staff members
• Take no action (with reasons explained to you in writing)

5. Resolution Process

• Facilitating Resolution: Following the investigation, the Company will facilitate resolution through one or more of the following methods:
• Internal corrective action: Implementing policy changes, procedural improvements, or additional training to address identified issues
• Disciplinary measures: Taking appropriate disciplinary action against individuals found to be involved in wrongdoing
• External reporting: Notifying relevant external government departments or regulatory agencies where legally required or appropriate
• Remedial support: Providing support or remedial measures to those affected by the wrongdoing
• Follow-up meetings: Arranging meetings with you to explain the resolution and answer any questions (where appropriate and maintaining necessary confidentiality)
Where no action is to be taken, the reasons will be fully explained to you in writing.

6. Appeal and External Reporting Options

• Right to Appeal: If you reasonably believe appropriate action has not been taken, you may appeal within 5 working days of receiving the decision.
• External Reporting: If you remain dissatisfied after the internal process, you may report the matter to a prescribed external body or regulatory authority. While legislation permits reporting to prescribed external bodies, the Company strongly encourages you to raise concerns internally first to enable prompt resolution.

Alternative Procedures
Employees may choose to raise their concerns through the Company’s grievance procedure instead of this whistleblowing procedure.
Initial Contact for Queries
If you have any questions about this procedure, contact a Director who will treat the matter with complete confidence. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may raise the matter with the appropriate regulatory body.

7. General Principles

• Workers should be aware of the importance of eliminating fraud, misconduct, bribery, or other wrongdoing at work. They should report anything they become aware of, that is illegal or unlawful.
• Workers will not be victimised, subjected to a detriment, or dismissed for making a protected disclosure under this procedure.
• Victimisation of a worker or subjecting them to any form of detrimental treatment or retaliation (including bullying and harassment), for raising a protected disclosure under this procedure will not be tolerated by the Company, is a disciplinary offence and, where appropriate, will be dealt with under the Company’s disciplinary procedure. Depending on the seriousness of the offence, it may amount to potential gross misconduct and could result in the worker’s summary dismissal or termination of engagement.
• Workers should be aware that they can also be held personally liable for any act of victimisation or detrimental treatment of a worker on the grounds that they made a protected disclosure.
• Workers should immediately draw the attention of their Manager to suspected cases of victimisation or detrimental treatment related to either themselves or another worker having made a protected disclosure.
• Covering up someone else’s wrongdoing is also a disciplinary offence. Workers should never agree to remain silent about a wrongdoing, even if told to do so by a person in authority such as a Manager.
• An employee’s right to make a protected disclosure under this procedure overrides any confidentiality provisions in their contract of employment.
• Finally, maliciously making a false allegation is a disciplinary offence.

The Company will process the personal data collected in connection with the operation of this policy in accordance with its data protection policy and any internal Privacy Notices in force at the relevant time. Inappropriate access or disclosure of personal data will constitute a data breach and should be reported immediately to the person responsible for data (the Senior Operations Manager) in accordance with our ‘Data Protection Policy’. Reported data breaches will be investigated and may lead to sanctions under our disciplinary procedure.

8. Treatment by others

Bullying, harassment or any other detrimental treatment afforded to a colleague who has made a qualifying disclosure is unacceptable. Anyone found to have acted in such a manner will be subject to disciplinary action.