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Post Office Whistleblowing Policy
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Contents Page
Contents Page
Document Control Sheet.............
Section A. Introduction
Section B. Context...
About this Polic
What is Whistleblowing..
Section C. Policy details.............
How to raise a concern...
Whistleblowing Officer and ‘Speak Up’ details
Confidentiality and anonymous reporting .....
Investigating concerns...
Outcomes and Reports...
External Disclosures...
Protecting the Whistleblower.....
Contact us
Who is responsible for this policy .
How we monitor compliance
Section D. Key Terms and References .............
Key Terms
References.
Document Control Sheet
General Counsel
Jane MacLeod
Status:
Final V1.6
GE Policy Sponsor
Version and Policy
MMA
Policy Owner Polley Implementor
Employment Lawyer Employment Lawyer
Nisha Marwaha
Nisha Marwaha
Policy Review
Period
Effective from:
Annual Review 19% May 2016
(from Effective date)
Policy Approver
Post Office
RCC and ARC
Committees
Policy location:
Policy intranet site
REVISION HISTORY
Version Reason For Change
Final v1.4 27/04/16 Jane MacLeod Sponsors review and sign-off
Final v1.5 10/06/16 Nisha Marwaha & I Impact assessment, new FCA
Mark Rodgers non-binding guidance - no
changes necessary
Final v1.6 22/09/16 Georgina Blair Minor amendment to comply
with FCA guidance
POLICY APPROVAL
Role/Forum
Executive Owner and Sponsor General Counsel (Jane MacLeod) 30 March 2016
Executive Committee Post Office Risk and Compliance 5 May 2016
Committee (RCC)
Board Committee Post Office Audit, Risk and Compliance 19 May 2016
Committee (ARC)
Distribution
(Mark x as appropriate)
Internal Only
DOCUMENT DISTRIBUTION STATUS
Non-sensitive
Document Sensitivity
(Mark x as appropriate)
External Only
Sensitive
Quality Control
This document is periodically reviewed and at least once each year starting
from the last effective date. This policy has been reviewed against the latest
Post Office policy standards.
Next review
date
No later than 19"
May 2017
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Section A. Introduction
(— >
Chief Executive’s Note
Post Office is committed to conducting business with the highest standards of
honesty, integrity and openness in order to create a workplace where workers
feel able to raise concerns. A culture of openness and accountability is
essential in order to prevent illegal, improper or unethical conduct and an
effective Whistleblowing Policy helps us to identify and address situations
when they occur.
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Introduction by the Group Executive
Policy Owner: General Counsel
As Post Office’s General Counsel and the Group Executive Policy Owner and
Sponsor, I have overall accountability to the Group Executive and the Board
for ensuring that Post Office has appropriate controls in place to meet its
Whistleblowing obligations. Post Office’s Audit, Risk and Compliance
Committee (“ARC”) considers Whistleblowing as an agenda item and the Post
—— Board is updated on a regular basis. SD)
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Section B. Context
[ About this Policy I
The purpose of this policy is to encourage the reporting of suspected wrongdoing
and/or dangerous practices, (see section entitled What is Whistleblowing below),
within Post Office, to make it easier for management to address those concerns and
therefore avoid serious accidents, fraud, regulatory breaches, financial impropriety
and/or reputational damage.
The aims are:
(1) to encourage staff to report matters as soon as possible in the knowledge
that their concerns will be taken seriously and investigated, and that
confidentiality will be respected,
(2) to provide staff with guidance as to how to raise those concerns, and
(3) to reassure staff that they should be able to raise concerns without fear of
reprisals, even if they turn out to be mistaken.
This policy enables Post Office to comply with its Whistleblowing obligations under
applicable legislation and to be in line with regulatory requirements. This Policy is
effective as at 19° May 2016.
What is Whistleblowing ]
"Whistleblowing" refers to the act of exposing potential or actual wrongdoing and/or
dangerous practices by reporting it either internally within an organisation, or
externally, for example to a regulator. The law on Whistleblowing is contained in the
Employment Rights Act 1996 as amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.
Wrongdoing includes criminal activity, civil offences (including negligence, breach of
contract, breach of administrative law), miscarriages of justice, dangers to health
and safety or to the environment and the cover up of any of these.
Workers should raise a concern if they are aware of, or suspect, wrongdoing which
affects others (e.g. customers, members of the public, colleagues or the Post Office).
Some examples (this is a non-exhaustive list) of situations where a worker may raise
a concern are:
. Financial Crime including Fraud, Money Laundering and financing of terrorism,
Bribery and Corruption,
. Giving, offering or taking of bribes,
. Financial mismanagement,
. Misreporting,
. Practices that could put individuals or the environment at risk,
. Breach of Post Office internal policies and procedures (including the Code of
Business Standards),
. Concerns about slavery or human trafficking, and
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. Any conduct likely to damage Post Office’s reputation.
A Whistleblower is a person who raises a genuine concern relating to any wrongdoing
including any of the above. If a worker has any genuine concerns related to
suspected wrongdoing, they should report it under this Policy.
If a worker is uncertain about whether something is within the scope of this Policy,
they should seek advice from the Whistleblowing Officer, whose contact details are
set out in this Policy.
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Section C. Policy details
[ How to raise a concern ]
In the first instance, workers should raise concerns with their line manager, or a
senior HR manager in Post Office. Alternatively workers can notify the
Whistleblowing Officer directly, using the contact details provided in this Policy.
It is recognised that sometimes raising a concern directly with the business may not
be possible, for example, if the worker considers that the line managers may be
involved in the issue or if they have a concern about confidentiality.
In such instances workers should contact the “Speak Up” confidential reporting
service which is run by InTouch MCS Ltd, an independent company (see section
below entitled Whistleblowing Officer and Speak Up details for more information).
InTouch will treat concerns in complete confidence and the worker does not have to
provide contact details. Post Office treats all concerns raised under this Policy
very seriously.
Whistleblowing Officer and ‘Speak Up’ ]
The Whistleblowing Officer for the Post Office Group is Post Offi
currently
r via a secure on-line web
All reports to the Speak Up line will be acknowledged within five working days and
will be passed to the Whistleblowing Officer.
Confidentiality and anonymous reporting
Post Office hopes that workers will feel able to voice Whistleblowing concerns openly
under this Policy. However, if a worker wants to raise a concern confidentially, Post
Office will make every effort to keep their identity secret. If it is necessary for
anyone investigating a concern to know the worker's identity, the investigator will
discuss it with that individual.
When reports are made anonymously via Speak Up, there is no requirement to
provide contact details. However, not providing details may reduce Post Office’s
ability to undertake a thorough investigation into the concerns raised.
In all cases the individual’s concern will be treated sensitively and in confidence.
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Investigating concerns
All concerns (including those raised via Speak Up) will be passed to the
Whistleblowing Officer who will carry out an initial assessment of the issue to
determine the scope of any investigation.
The Whistleblowing Officer will decide whether an investigation is appropriate and
what form the investigation should take. The type of investigation will depend on the
nature of the concern and may be:
. investigated internally (or the Whistleblowing Officer may decide to appoint an
external investigator if there are good reasons),
. resolved by agreed action as determined by the Whistleblowing Officer without
the need for investigation,
. referred to the police, and
. referred to a regulatory authority.
If an investigation is appropriate, the Whistleblowing Officer will appoint an
investigator. The appointed investigator should be an individual at an appropriate
level for the matter under investigation and they must not have any conflict of
interest with the individuals or issues concerned.
In some cases an investigator or team of investigators may be appointed including
staff with relevant experience of investigations or specialist knowledge of the subject
matter.
The Whistleblowing Officer may determine that the matter should be investigated
under the terms of other more appropriate Post Office Group policies, such as those
covering grievance or bullying and harassment matters, in which case the process
described in the applicable policy will apply. The Whistleblowing Officer can also
decide to take no action if the complaint appears to be without a reasonable basis.
During an investigation under the Whistleblowing Policy, the investigator may wish to
contact the worker directly to request additional information. Where the worker's
identity is known, this will be done only where the worker has consented to a
representative from Post Office speaking to them directly. Where the worker's
identity is anonymous, questions or requests for information can be raised
anonymously either through the Speak Up service, or via secure voicemail or
messaging on the web portal.
Subject to concerns about confidentiality, the worker may be required to attend
meetings to provide further information. Workers can bring a colleague or union
representative to any meetings under this Policy. The companion must respect the
confidentiality of the worker and any subsequent investigation.
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Investigators should consider the principles set out in Post Office’s internal
Investigations Policy and adhere to those wherever possible when undertaking the
investigation.
Outcomes and Reports ]
The investigator should aim to keep the Whistleblower informed of the progress of
the investigation and its likely timescale.
The investigator must write a report containing the findings of the investigation,
including conclusions as to the validity of the allegations and recommendations for
further action. The report should be submitted to the Whistleblowing Officer.
After the investigation, the investigator will inform the Whistleblower of the outcome
of the investigation and what action, if any, has been taken. Sometimes the need for
confidentiality may prevent Post Office disclosing specific details of the investigation
or any disciplinary action taken as a result. If it is determined that no action will be
taken, then the individual concerned should be informed of the reason for this.
The Whistleblowing Officer will determine what further action is required. If Post
Office concludes that a Whistleblower has made false allegations maliciously or with a
view to personal gain, the Whistleblower will be subject to disciplinary action.
Post Office cannot always guarantee the outcome the Whistleblower is seeking, but
will aim to deal with concerns fairly and in an appropriate way. If a worker is
unhappy with the way in which their concern has been handled, they should raise it
with the Whistleblowing Officer or if that is not appropriate for any reason, the
Chairman of the Post Office Board Audit and Risk Committee.
The investigator will share any reports with the Whistleblowing Officer. In all cases a
report of the outcomes of any investigation will also be made to the Audit Committee
as a means of allowing the committee to monitor the effectiveness of the Policy.
Copies of such reports should be held in accordance with Post Office’s document
retention policies.
External Disclosures
The aim of this Policy is to provide an internal mechanism for reporting, investigating
and remedying any wrongdoing in the workplace. In most cases workers should not
find it necessary to alert anyone externally.
However, the law recognises that in some circumstances it may be appropriate for
workers to report their concerns to an external body such as a regulator. This
includes the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for matters related to certain financial
services. It will very rarely, if ever, be appropriate to alert the media.
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The independent Whistleblowing charity, Public Concern at Work, have a list of
prescribed regulators for reporting certain types of concern. Their contact details are
as follows:
Public Concern at Work operates free, confidential advice to people concerned about
crime, danger or wrongdoing in the workplace. We strongly encourage you to seek
advice from them before reporting a concern to external parties.
[ Protecting the Whistleblower I
It is understandable that Whistleblowers are sometimes worried about possible
repercussions. Post Office has a statutory obligation to protect Whistleblowers and
will support workers who raise genuine concerns under this Policy, even if they turn
out to be mistaken.
Post Office will take all reasonable steps to ensure that Whistleblowers do not suffer
any detrimental treatment as a result of raising a concern. Detrimental treatment
includes disciplinary action, dismissal, threats or other unfavourable treatment
connected with raising a concern.
Workers must not threaten or retaliate against Whistleblowers in any way. If anyone
is involved in any such conduct, it will be taken seriously and they will be subject to
disciplinary action.
If a worker believes that they have suffered any such treatment, they should inform
the Whistleblowing Officer immediately. The Whistleblowing Officer should take
steps to address any victimisation, which may include working with the HR team to
put appropriate measures in place. If the matter is not addressed the Whistleblower
should raise it formally using Post Office’s Grievance Procedure.
Training will be provided to managers to make them aware of the rights of
Whistleblowers.
[ Contact us ]
If you need further information about this Policy or wish to report an issue
in relation to this Policy , contact Nisha Marwaha - Employment Lawyer on
GRO lor by email i
GRO
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Who is responsible for this policy
Post Office’s Board of Directors have overall responsibility for ensuring that Post
Office has a framework to ensure compliance with legal, regulatory and contractual
requirements. The Board is kept abreast of relevant matters relating to the
Whistleblowing by reports from its committees including its ARC Committee.
. The General Counsel for Post Office is the Policy Sponsor, accountable to the
Post Office Board overall.
. The Principal Employment Lawyer is the Policy Owner responsible for the day
to day implementation of and compliance with this Policy. The Employment
Lawyer is accountable to the General Counsel.
[ How we monitor compliance ]
The Principal Employment Lawyer will ensure that this policy is reviewed and remains
effective. Post Office’s internal systems and controls ensure that this policy is
regularly independently assessed for effectiveness, suitability and adequacy. In
addition, Internal Audit will periodically test compliance with this policy.
Review and assessment of compliance with this policy is done on a regular and timely
basis. Reports are made to the Risk and Compliance Committee.
The General Counsel provides an annual summary of reports made via the Speak Up
line and other known instances of Whistleblowing to (i) the Post Office Board and the
Post Office Management Services Board as appropriate, and (ii) the Post Office Board
Audit and Risk Committee. In making these reports, the confidentiality of
Whistleblowers will be respected.
Any serious concerns reported by Whistleblowing will be escalated by the
Whistleblowing Officer to the Chairman of the Post Office Board Audit and Risk
Committee.
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Section D. Key Terms and References
[ Key Terms I
Term or Acronym Description
HR team Post Office Human Resources team
[ References
References Description
Post Office Group (‘Post Office’) Post Office Limited and all subsidiaries and
entities within the Post Office Group which
includes Post Office Management Services
(POMS)
Executive Policy Owner As defined by the Post Office Policy
Framework-Roles and_ responsibilities
Matrix document V0.5
Policy Owner As defined by the Post Office Policy
Framework-Roles and responsibilities
Matrix document V0.5
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