20.11.24
Date of approval 1 July 2024
The College is committed to conducting its affairs and business with honesty and integrity and welcomes honest communication and encourages parties to report any suspected wrongdoing as soon as possible.
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance on what constitutes whistleblowing, the protections afforded to whistleblowers, how to raise concerns and how the College expects to address matters. The College expects that staff will feel able to voice whistleblowing concerns under this policy.
This policy has been created taking into account the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) 1998, legislation that affords protection for whistleblowers from negative treatment or unfair dismissal, and with reference to the University of Cambridge Whistleblowing Policy.
This policy applies to all employees (academic and non-employees), volunteers, interns, casual and agency workers.
What is whistleblowing?
Whistleblowing is the reporting of suspected wrongdoing or dangers in relation to our activities. The wrongdoing disclosed must be considered to be in the public interest, which means it has to affect others, e.g. criminal offences or health and safety concerns.
Specific issues covered by the whistleblowing policy include those that fall, or have fallen, into one or more of the following categories:
• A criminal offence including theft, fraud or bribery, or misuse of charitable funds
• A breach of a legal obligation
• A miscarriage of justice
• Danger to the health and safety of any individual
• Damage to the environment
• Attempts to suppress/conceal information about any of the above issues
Only disclosures that fall within one or more of these categories qualify for protection under the PIDA, and the College undertakes that no employee who makes a genuine report under the PIDA will be subjected to any detriment as a result, in accordance with section 47B of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
In the event an employee believes they are subjected to a detriment by any person within the College as a result of their decision to raise a complaint, they should inform the Master or HR Manager immediately in order that appropriate action can be taken to protect them from reprisals.
This policy should only be used to raise concerns that may be in the public interest as outlined above and not for personal employment related concerns, which should be raised using the College’s Grievance Policy.
External disclosures
The law recognises that in some circumstances it may be appropriate for staff to report their concerns to an external body, such as a regulator. It will very rarely, if ever, be appropriate to alert the media.
The College strongly encourages staff to see advice internally before reporting a concern to any external bodies.
Protection and support for whistleblowers
The College aims to encourage openness and will support whistleblowers who raise genuine concerns under this policy, even if they turn out to be mistaken.
Whistleblowers will not be subjected to any detrimental treatment for raising a disclosure – this includes dismissal, disciplinary action, victimisation, harassment or bullying. We take this protection very seriously and any suspected detrimental treatment should be reported immediately to the Master or HR Manager. No member of staff can threaten or retaliate against whistleblowers in any way. If a staff member is suspected of such behaviour, their conduct may be subject to disciplinary action.
‘Protect’ offers free expert advice to whistleblowers on how best to raise concerns, what protection the whistleblower is entitled to and what to do if things go wrong.
Confidential helpline: 020 3117 2520
Website: https://protect-advice.org.uk
Whistleblowing concerns usually relate to the conduct of our staff or an internal matter, but they may sometimes relate to the actions of a third party, such as a customer, supplier or service provider. In some circumstances the law will protect whistleblowers if they raise the matter with the third party directly. However, we encourage individuals to report such concerns internally first, in line with this policy.
How to raise a concern
The College expects that in many cases employees, workers (including casual and agency), volunteers or interns will be able to raise any concerns with their Head of Department (HoD), line manager or responsible person, in the first instance. Where the individual would prefer not to raise it with that postholder (e.g. in the event the matter involves them), they may instead report the concerns to a Senior College Officer (SCO) (Senior Tutor, Bursar, Operations Director, Development Director) or the HR Manager.
If a Fellow who is not an employee of the College wishes to raise a concern, they may do so with any of the SCOs, the President or the Master.
Contact details:
Master
Email address: master@caths.cam.ac.uk
Telephone: (0)1223 760835
HR Manager
Email address: hr.manager@caths.cam.ac.uk
Telephone: (0)1223 768715
The following advice should be considered if a member of staff wishes to make a disclosure:
- Raise concerns promptly, preferably in writing, to avoid any misinterpretation of the motives for doing so.
- Focus on the issues and avoid unnecessary personal antagonism.
- Be accurate observations and claims and keep formal records documenting relevant events.
How the College will address concerns
The person who will consider the matter (the ‘commissioning manager’) will, where possible, arrange a meeting with the person raising the concern(s) as soon as possible, and may decide whether there is a prima facie case to answer. They will decide whether an investigation should be conducted and what form it may take.
The commissioning manager may be required to appoint an independent investigating officer to look into the matter and provide the outcome of their investigations.
In the event of an anonymous complaint, it will still be investigated and acted upon as the commissioning manager sees fit, having regard to the seriousness of the issue raised, the credibility of the complaint, the prospects of being able to investigate the matter, and fairness to any individual mentioned in the complaint.
If the matter is likely to require SCOs, HoDs and/or the HR Manager to provide witness statements as part of an investigation, those individuals will not participate in either undertaking or supporting an investigation (apart from providing statements), in order for the process to be impartial and not compromised.
In the event the matter may involve SCOs and/or pose a significant reputational risk, the Master will be consulted at the earliest stage possible and reserves the right to request an independent, external investigation, if deemed appropriate.
Employees may bring a workplace colleague or trade union representative to any meetings held as under this policy and it is expected that companions must also respect the confidentiality of any disclosure and any subsequent investigation and/or outcome.
The investigating officer may also need to speak with other relevant individuals (e.g. witnesses, relevant parties) who may be able to provide information in connection with the disclosure.
In the event an investigation is required, the investigating officer will make best efforts to outline how long the investigation may take in order that the expectations of the whistleblower can be managed.
Once the investigation is complete a report will be provided to the commissioning manager to review and decide next steps. The commissioning manager will normally feedback to the whistleblower in confidence, providing a high-level summary of what has been identified and outline what action they may deem appropriate to take (Note: due to GDPR, no confidential employment matters can be shared with the whistleblower regarding individuals who may be involved in the issue).
Reports will normally be retained for at least five years and in all cases a report of the outcome will be made to the HR Committee for their information (excluding members who may have been the subject of such an investigation).
If following investigation, the College concludes that a whistleblower has deliberately made false allegations maliciously, the whistleblower may be subject to a disciplinary investigation that will be managed in accordance with the College’s Disciplinary Procedure.
Confidentiality
The College will ensure the disclosure remains confidential and is only discussed with those that are involved with the case.
Completely anonymous disclosures are difficult to investigate. If staff do want to raise a concern confidentially, the College will make every effort to keep the individual’s identity confidential and only reveal it where necessary and only to those involved in investigating the concern.
If the whistleblower is dissatisfied with the outcome
While we cannot pre-determine that the outcome of an investigation may be satisfactory to the whistleblower, the College is committed to dealing with concerns fairly and appropriately.
If a whistleblower is dissatisfied with the time frame or conduct of the investigation or the way in which the matter has been resolved, they may consider referring the matter to the Master for review, provided they have had no prior involvement in the process or conclusion. There is no further internal recourse once a review has been addressed. The Master reserves the right to commission an external, independent outcome review if the matter cannot be addressed satisfactorily through internal processes.
Implementation, monitoring and review of this policy and procedure
The HR Manager has overall responsibility for implementing and monitoring this policy.
This policy takes effect from 1 July 2024 and will be reviewed every three years unless changes in legislation require that to take place sooner.
Any queries or comments about this policy should be addressed to the HR Manager in the first instance.
