Policy
POL00423292
POL00423292
Whistleblowing in POL
Existing policy in place - in need of refresh
Revised policy and investigations guidance have been drafted with help of Nisha Marwaha in
Legal — covers employees, contract workers etc. but not subpostmasters (agents &
operators)
Outstanding question on whether we should have ‘Whistleblowing Officer(s)’ in POL
Policy is due to be reviewed by ARC in May
Reporting facilities
‘Speak Up’ line provided by third party whistleblowing specialists (In Touch MSC) —
procurement process carried out in 2013 and three year contract awarded (value
£22.3k/year)
Reports can be made by telephone (speaking to an operator or leaving a message) or web
portal
POL has access to reports through a case management portal (currently Georgina and
Karima have access)
Whistleblowing reports
Line very poorly used — average of about 1 call every six months (the last one was a
misdirected call relating to a Royal Mail matter)
Most recent case (allegations made
Communication and promotion
Awareness of the line is very low
Comms plan is being prepared — due to roll out in April
Outstanding issues
Clarification of ownership of the Whistleblowing Policy (HR have historically been unwilling
to own it)
Dave Mason failed to include the costs of the whistleblowing line in the Risk & Compliance
budget for 2015/16 — we have been invoiced for the year commencing 1* April 2015 and
InTouch are awaiting payment (we are entering the last year of the three year contract)
Consideration of alternative options — in the past options such as Grapevine (Security
helpline) or the HRSC have been explored but not considered suitable because of a
perceived lack of independence and confidentiality. We will be having a discussion with
Security to re-explore whether the Grapevine option is feasible.
Whether to extend the line to agents — this has been considered in the past and decided
against because of practical difficulties when dealing with other companies’ employees and
because protection under PIDA does not extend to subpostmasters and their assistants.