Post Office Ltd
Employee Disclosure Policy
POL00423192
POL00423192
Document title: Employee
Disclosure Policy
Version or
draft
number:
v1
Date
issued:
October
2005
Review
date:
Owner:
Policy: Jackie llesley
Document: Amanda
Booker
Location stored:
POL HR Help
POL00423192
POL00423192
1. Employee Disclosure
1.1 Introduction
Royal Mail Group plc attaches great importance to the ethical conduct
of its business and to the protection of its good reputation. This
statement sets out company policy for enabling employees to disclose
information about breaches of its policies and standards of conduct.
This policy will be supported by each of the Royal Mail businesses,
which will maintain arrangements for giving confidential and fair
consideration to such disclosures, and for taking appropriate and
effective remedial action. The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 gives
workers the right not to be subjected to any detriment if they make a
protected disclosure. The dismissal of a worker because they have
made a protected disclosure is automatically unfair.
2.0 Definition
Employee disclosure means an allegation made by an employee that
Royal Mail policy or standards are being broken or disregarded, or that
unethical, unlawful or unprofessional practices are being pursued. This
may concern criminal activity or corruption, financial irregularity, conflict
of interest, malpractice in relation to suppliers or clients, harassment,
bullying, neglect of duty, neglect of health and safety hazards, etc. Such
concerns may be raised where the employee feels that his or her line
manager or head of department is implicated in the behaviour
complained of, or that for some reason they may not be willing or ina
position to provide an impartial hearing or remedy. The employee may
feel threatened or otherwise inhibited by the consequences of raising
their concerns by the normal management channel or via the grievance
procedure.
3.0 Policy
Royal Mail Group plc is committed to trust and openness in its dealings
with all employees, and to listening to their views. It has adopted a
Code of Business Standards, and is determined to see that the
standards in it are effectively observed. It seeks to foster a working
environment where line managers are accessible to their staff and can
be expected to give a fair hearing to any legitimate concern which is
raised with them, and to respond positively.
Document title: Employee Version or I Date Review I Owner: Location stored: 7
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In normal circumstances, employees should feel able to discuss any
problem at work with their line manager or, failing that, to raise the issue
with the next most senior manager or the head of department.
"Employee disclosure" concerns those occasional cases where the
employee feels that these routes cannot be used without compromising
their position, or that the issue is so serious that it needs to be
escalated to a senior level of management. An employee may also use
the disclosure system if an approach by the normal channel has been
tried but has failed to provide an effective remedy of the abuse
complained of.
In an organisation the size of Royal Mail Group plc, situations may
occasionally arise where the interests or standards of the organisation
are put at risk by the misguided, irresponsible or even criminal actions
of a few individuals or a group of people. Reporting such behaviour is
not disloyal: it is protecting the good reputation of the company and of
the honest majority of its employees. It is essential that there should be
a safe and confidential channel by which employees can have concerns
about unethical or unlawful conduct impartially investigated by someone
outside their department. Employees should have a means of
expressing any anxieties inside the organisation, and feel confident that
justice can be obtained by elevating the problem to a senior level. This
is preferable to keeping silent, or feeling that their only recourse is to
pass information to the media or to some outside body, or even to
resign. Each business has a duty to provide such a channel. Concerns
should normally be expressed internally in the first instance, although
the Act prescribes some circumstances in which an employee is
protected if they disclose certain categories of information to specified
third parties. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, employees
should not disclose a complaint to the media before they have raised it
with management and have made a reasonable attempt to resolve the
issue internally by following the procedures described in this guideline.
Whilst the existence of a safe channel for employee disclosure is
important to ensuring the ethical health of the organisation, it needs to
be sensitively managed. It should support morale and promote
employee confidence and loyalty in the organisation. It should not
achieve the reverse effect by creating a culture of informers,
anonymous denunciations and insecurity. Genuine complainants must
be encouraged and protected, but malicious complainants are to be
discouraged. The following section provides some guidelines on how
Ey
Document title: Employee Version or I Date Review I Owner: Location stored:
Disclosure Policy draft issued: I date:
number October Policy: Jackie llesley I POL HR Help
v4 2005 Document: Amanda
Booker
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cases of employee disclosure should be dealt with.
4.0 Guidelines
Each business should nominate a senior manager, and additional
managers if its size and structure make this appropriate, to deal with
cases of employee disclosure. Nominees should preferably be people
with personnel training and skilled in interview techniques.
Arrangements should be publicised internally to all employees, giving
contact details.
On receipt of information about any unethical or unlawful practice, the
nominated manager should approach the complainant discreetly and
sympathetically and invite them to be interviewed confidentially. During
the confidential interview, all relevant information should be gathered
and an initial assessment should be made of whether the complaint is
made in good faith or whether it appears to be malicious, mischievous
or made out of a desire for personal vengeance. In cases of doubt, it
must be assumed that the complaint is made in good faith. A
confidential note of the interview may be made, but the informant should
not be identified in it by name or by inference if they wish their
anonymity to be respected at this stage. (But see further below.)
The nominated manager should then pursue the complaint with the
director of the department concerned (provided he or she is not
implicated in the complaint) and conduct an enquiry to confirm the facts.
If it is apparent that financial irregularity is involved, Internal Audit must
be involved immediately. If there is a suspicion of criminal activity,
Security and Investigation Services must be involved immediately.
Internal Audit and/or Security and Investigation Services will pursue
their investigations independently of management, but may require the
production of, and retain, any documentation relating to the complaint or
initial management enquiry. They may also require the disclosure of the
identity of the employee who has provided information.
Once an enquiry has been completed, the nominated manager should
(after appropriate consultation with other senior managers) recommend
to the line manager whether there is a case to be pursued under the
business conduct code. If it is decided that there is not, the complainant
should be told, and given reasons. If the complaint is found to be wholly
or partly substantiated, appropriate action should be taken according to
the business conduct code. In this case (and particularly if criminal
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prosecution is involved), the complainant should be advised only that
their concern is being dealt with and that they will be notified of the
outcome. They should be given a further report, in writing if requested,
once resulting action has been concluded, and asked to confirm that
their complaint has been dealt with satisfactorily. The need for any
further action should then be reviewed by management.
Employees who have disclosed information about any misconduct or
malpractice must be given every reasonable protection against any form
of recrimination, intimidation or any other form of detriment. This will be
particularly necessary where the complaint involves previous instances
of harassment or bullying. The complainant's identity must be protected
so far as possible, and not disclosed to the person who is the subject of
the complaint. If it becomes absolutely necessary to disclose it in order
to substantiate the complaint, the subject of the complaint should be
warned that any attempt at recrimination will be a serious disciplinary
matter, and firm action must follow if the warning is ignored. If
separation of the employees in question is appropriate, then on principle
(as in sexual harassment cases) it is the perpetrator, not the victim, who
should be moved. If , however, the victim asks to be moved for their
own protection or peace of mind, prompt and supportive action must be
taken to help them. If appropriate, the complainant should be supported
by counselling both during and after the outcome of the investigation.
Where information is provided anonymously, the allegation should be
investigated as described above and appropriate action should be
pursued. There need be no attempt to establish the identity of the
complainant unless their testimony is essential to substantiating a
serious complaint.
Any complaint upheld against a director must be notified in confidence
to the Company Secretary. If financial activity and/or criminal activity are
involved, Internal Audit and Security and Investigation Services must
also be notified.
Throughout the enquiry process, the rights of the person or persons
complained of must be adequately respected while the facts are being
established. It may be that the perpetrator, or alleged perpetrator,
requires counselling or other support and this should be provided as
appropriate. Managers making enquiries must take care to establish
facts and to take an even handed approach. This will be particularly
challenging when allegations and denials of harassment or bullying may
Document title: Employee Versionor I Date Review I Owner: Location stored: °
Disclosure Policy draft issued: I date:
number October Policy: Jackie llesley I POL HR Help
v4 2005 Document: Amanda
Booker
POL00423192
POL00423192
largely depend on the differing perceptions of the parties involved.
Nothing in this guideline should be taken to affect an employee's right to
involve their trade union in accordance with agreed practice should they
choose to do so.
5.0 Penalties
Royal Mail Group plc will take disciplinary action as appropriate against
anyone who is shown to have acted in an unethical or unlawful manner,
in breach of its Code of Business Standards or other standing
instructions. Criminal penalties may also be appropriate in serious
cases.
Employees who raise legitimate concerns under these guidelines in
good faith must not suffer disciplinary action or discriminatory treatment
or any other detriment as a result, even if subsequent enquiry
concludes that the complaint cannot be substantiated in whole or in
part. However, disciplinary action will be taken against any employee
who is shown to have used the employee disclosure system
deliberately, maliciously or mischievously to lay false or misleading
information. Penalties may range from reprimand when the integrity and
reputation of another employee have been impugned without
reasonable cause, to dismissal in serious cases where there has been
a knowingly false accusation of criminal activity.
6.0 Further Information
In such a sensitive area, no rule can cover every eventuality. It is
essential that good behaviour and integrity are fostered and supported
throughout the organisation, and recourse to the employee disclosure
system should be necessary only as a last resort. Its effectiveness will
depend on the discretion, good judgement and impartiality of the
nominated managers responsible for operating it and of managers who
are called on to take remedial action. The contact point for employee
disclosure should be the Director of Security with responsibility for your
business unit.
For serious complaints concerning senior directors, the matter should
be brought to the attention of the Company Secretary.
For advice concerning the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, contact
HRSC in the first instance on 0845 6016260
Document title: Employee Version or I Date Review I Owner: Location stored:
Disclosure Policy draft issued: I date:
6
number October Policy: Jackie llesley I POL HR Help
v4 2005 Document: Amanda
Booker
POL00423192
POL00423192
Document title: Employee Versionor I Date Review I Owner: Location stored: 7
Disclosure Policy draft issued: I date:
number: October Policy: Jackie llesley I POL HR Help
vi 2005 Document: Amanda
Booker