Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to comply with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, by describing: 

· the principles that underpin our approach to whistleblowing 

· the procedure we will follow when raising concerns about poor practice, maladministration or serious wrongdoing within the organisation.

Scope

This policy and procedure applies to Staff and Committee Members of the Orchard Housing Society Limited (the Society)

This policy should be read in conjunction with the Code of Conduct, the Confidentiality and Data Protection Policy and Procedures and Safeguarding Policy and Procedures.

Policy

The Society expects Staff and Committee Members to comply with the Code of Conduct, which includes not disclosing confidential information about the Society, or publishing material that might bring the Society into disrepute. 

The Society nevertheless acknowledges that Staff and Committee Members have a greater responsibility to comply with the law and good practice in the housing with support sector.

The Society therefore recognises the need for clear procedures for Staff and Committee Members wishing to raise concerns about poor practice, maladministration or serious wrongdoing at the Society.

The Society further recognises that such “whistleblowing” takes courage and may be in the best interests of the Society in the longer term.

Failure of Staff and Committee Members to comply with this policy may result in disciplinary action.

Staff and Committee members who knowingly make false or malicious disclosures will be subject to disciplinary action.

Procedures

Staff should report any concerns they have to their line Manager unless their concerns involve the line manager or Committee Chair, in which case, they should speak to another member of the Management Committee.

Committee members should report any concerns they have to another Member of the Management Committee, unless it involves a Member of the Management Committee, in which case they should speak to the Chair of the Management Committee.

Staff feeling unable to report concerns to the Management Committee, because of:

· fear of reprisal (including disciplinary action or bullying)

· fear that they will be subject to detriment (including denial of promotion or training opportunities)

· fear that information may be destroyed or concealed

· lack of response to previous disclosures

may report their concerns to the relevant body listed in appendix 1.

In addition, Staff or Management Committee members reporting to external bodies must:

· make the disclosure in good faith

· reasonably believe that the information, and any allegation it contains, are substantially true 

· not act for personal gain

· reasonably believe that the matter falls within the area of responsibility of that person or body see Appendix 1 – List of Prescribed Regulators

Regulator of Social Housing

The regulator is a ‘Prescribed Person’ able to provide workers with a mechanism to make their public interest disclosure to an independent body where the worker does not feel able to disclose the matter directly to their employer, or where they have made a disclosure, but their employer has failed to act.

Referrals and Regulatory Enquiries Team
Regulator of Social Housing
1st Floor - Lateral
8 City Walk
Leeds LS11 9AT

By email: enquiries@rsh.gov.uk

By telephone: 0300 124 5225. Choose option 3

Health and Safety Executive 

Matters in respect of which the person is prescribed: 

· Matters which may affect the health or safety of any individual at work

· Matters which may affect the health and safety of any member of the public arising out of, or in connection with, the activities of persons at work 

www.gov.uk/whistleblowing[3]

HSE Head Office

Health and Safety Executive
Redgrave Court
Merton Road
Bootle
Merseyside
L20 7HS

HSE does not operate a telephone helpline for general health and safety information. There is comprehensive Website: www.hse.gov.uk

 

If you need to engage the services of a health and safety consultant, you may wish to visit Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR) [4]Part of HSE website.
 

Information Commissioner’s Office

 Will investigate and take regulatory action, if required, in line with their statutory duties.

The lawful basis they rely on to process personal data is article 6(1)(e) of the GDPR, which allows the processing of personal data when this is necessary to perform public tasks as a regulator.

Helpline 0303 123 1113

Live chat via the website; ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/

Appendix 2 – Advice and Information 

Public Concern at Work

7-14 Great Dover St,

London

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SE1 4YR

 

020 3117 2520

email: whistle@pcaw.org.uk

Public Concern at Work is an independent organization that can provide guidance and training to employers on whistleblowing and can also offer free advice to employees unsure whether or how to raise a concern about workplace wrongdoing.

Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service

Acas operates a nationwide network of helplines that deal with queries about employment matters, including the rights and obligations arising out of employment law. The service is available to any individual or organisation free of charge. Any worker who contacts Acas will wish to bear in mind the distinction between seeking information about the provisions of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, and the requirements attached to making a protected disclosure. 

www.acas.org.uk

Tel. 0300 123 1100

Appendix 3 - Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 

The Act protects workers from detrimental treatment or victimisation from their employer if, in the public interest, they blow the whistle on wrongdoing.

The Act protects most workers in the public, private and voluntary sectors. The Act does not apply to genuinely self-employed professionals (other than in the NHS), voluntary workers (including charity trustees and charity volunteers) or the intelligence services.

The Act protects workers in a number of ways, for example:

· if a worker is dismissed because he has made a protected disclosure, 

that will be treated as unfair dismissal

· workers are given a new right not to be subjected to any  ‘detriment’ by their employers on the grounds that they have made a  protected disclosure, and to present a complaint to an employment   tribunal if they suffer detriment as a result of making a protected  disclosure

Through the introduction of protection for workers who blow the whistle on wrongdoing within or concerning an organisation, the legislation aims to increase the accountability of organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors. Charities (as part of the voluntary sector) are within the jurisdiction of the Act.

The Act makes special provision for disclosures to ‘prescribed persons’. The Charity Commission is the regulatory body to whom workers can make appropriate disclosures on matters relating to ‘the proper administration of charities and funds given, or held, for charitable purposes’.

Workers who are aware of wrongdoing within a charity or a non-charitable body (where this involves the administration of charities or charitable funds) can now disclose that wrongdoing with the benefit of the protections the Act affords, if they raise their concerns in accordance with the Act’s provisions. For a disclosure to be protected by the Act’s provisions it must relate to matters that ‘qualify’ for protection under the Act. Qualifying disclosures are disclosures which the worker reasonably believes tends to show that one or more of the following matters is either happening now, took place in the past, or is likely to happen in the future:

· a criminal offence

· 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 concealment of information tending to show any of the  above five matters

A qualifying disclosure to the commission will be a ‘protected’ disclosure provided the worker:

· makes the disclosure in good faith

· reasonably believes that the relevant failure relates to ‘the proper administration of charities  and funds given, or held, for charitable purposes’

· reasonably believes that the information disclosed and any allegation contained in it are  substantially true.

Workers can “whistleblow” directly to the Commission when they have concerns that fall within the above description. It should be noted that where a worker is victimised for making a disclosure to the Commission, any claim they may have under the Act is against his or her employer and not against the Commission.

In the normal course of the Commission’s work supporting and supervising charities, members of the public often contact it with information about the management/activities/trustees of charitable funds. The Commission considers all concerns it is approached with.

The action the Commission will take as a result of the concerns brought to its attention will of course depend on the nature of these concerns. The Commission’s guidance, Complaints about Charities, explains in general terms what happens when a concern is raised with the Commission and gives examples of the powers it has to investigate these concerns and to put matters right.

The Commission will respect confidences so far as it is able, with due regard to the individual’s rights to privacy under data protection and human rights legislation. However, a person who is under inquiry is entitled to know the nature of the allegations being made, and any person criticised by the Commission as a result of an inquiry has a right to be told the nature of the evidence upon which the criticism has been based.

While the Commission will take every step to try to ensure that a complainant’s identity is not revealed without their consent, in some cases the nature of the allegations or evidence may give an indication as to their source. Also, in limited cases there may be an obligation to reveal information under the freedom of information legislation or by order of the court in legal proceedings. Information obtained in the course of an inquiry may, in the public interest be published in an inquiry report.

Further information

The charity Public Concern at Work provides free confidential advice to workers who have concerns about wrongdoing in the workplace. See Appendix 2.

Making a qualifying disclosure to the employer or via internal procedures. 

A qualifying disclosure will be a protected disclosure where it is made: 

(a) to the worker's employer, either directly to the employer or by procedures authorised by the employer for that purpose; or 

(b) to another person whom the worker reasonably believes to be solely or mainly responsible for the relevant failure. 

The only additional requirement on the worker is that they should act in good faith. No other requirement is necessary to qualify for protection. 

Making a qualifying disclosure to a prescribed person 

Workers who are concerned about wrongdoing or failures can make disclosures to a person or body that has been prescribed by the Secretary of State for the purpose of receiving disclosures about the matters concerned. If a worker makes a qualifying disclosure to such persons, it will be a protected disclosure provided the worker:- 

· makes the disclosure in good faith; 

· reasonably believes that the information, and any allegation it contains, are substantially true; and 

· reasonably believes that the matter falls within the description of matters for which the person or body has been prescribed. (For example, breaches of health and safety regulations can be brought to the attention of the Health and Safety Executive or appropriate local authority, or environmental dangers can be notified to the Environment Agency.) 

A list of prescribed persons, the description of matters for which they are prescribed and contact details, are shown in Appendix 2. 

Making a qualifying disclosure more generally 

A qualifying disclosure will be a protected disclosure if the following conditions are met: 

Firstly, the worker must:- 

· make the disclosure in good faith 

· reasonably believe that the information, and any allegation contained in it, are substantially true, and 

· not act for personal gain. 

In addition, one or more of the following conditions must be met: 

· the worker reasonably believed that they would be subjected to a detriment by their employer if disclosure were to be made to the employer or to a prescribed person; 

· in the absence of an appropriate prescribed person, the worker reasonably believed that disclosure to the employer would result in the destruction or concealment of informationabout the wrongdoing; 

· the worker had previously disclosed substantially the same information to their employer or to a prescribed person. 

Finally, it must be reasonable for the worker to make the disclosure. The employment tribunal will decide whether the worker acted reasonably, in all the circumstances, but in particular will take into account:

· the identity of the person to whom the disclosure was made(e.g., it may be more likely to be considered reasonable to disclose to a professional body that has responsibility for standards and conduct in a particular field, such as accountancy or medicine, than to the media); 

· the seriousness of the relevant failure; 

· whether the relevant failure is continuing or is likely to occur again; 

· whether the disclosure breaches the employer's duty of confidentiality to others (e.g., information that is made available by the worker may contain confidential details about a client); 

· what action has or might reasonably be expected to have been taken if a disclosure was made previously to the employer or a prescribed person; and 

· whether the worker complied with any internal procedures approved by the employer if a disclosure was made previously to the employer. 

Complaints Policy and Procedures

The Orchard Housing Society aims to provide housing and support services of a high standard, and staff and Management Committee work together to this end. However, if a Tenant has reason to be dissatisfied with the quality of service offered a procedure is in place to enable them to complain. All complaints are taken seriously and dealt with in a timely and transparent way. 

The Committee monitors complaints to ensure clients receive a good service and to highlight areas of policy and procedure that may need review or amendment.

Procedure

Repairs and Maintenance

Minor matters, such as small maintenance items, should be referred to the Finance and Buildings Manager when they arise, and there is a box outside the ground floor office for this purpose. If the repair has not been dealt with in a reasonable time the Tenant should write to the Secretary of the Orchard Management Committee.

Other matters

If the complaint relates to a more serious matter that the Managers are unable to resolve the Tenant should in the first place write to the Secretary of the Orchard’s Management Committee, who will make enquiries in an effort to settle the matter.

If the Secretary is unable to deal with the complaint satisfactorily the complaint will be forwarded to the Chairman of the Orchard Management Committee, with a formal request for it to be considered by the Committee at their next meeting.

All complaints will be acknowledged within seven days and a full reply within twenty-eight days.

If, after the Committee has considered the complaint, the Tenant is dissatisfied with the decision he/she has the right to take the complaint to:

The Independent Housing Ombudsman, whose address is:

P O Box 152, Liverpool, L33 7WQ.

Email: info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk

 The Ombudsman will only be able to consider a complaint if he/she is satisfied that the Orchard’s own complaints procedures, as detailed above, has been fully exhausted and that it falls within his/her jurisdiction.