A whistleblowing allegation was made at a local council, alleging that a member of staff was working on a self-employed basis during office hours and fabricating their timesheets.
Employees who raise a whistleblowing concern should feel safe in the knowledge that they are protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.
Whistleblowing policies
We recommend that all organisations have an up-to-date whistleblowing policy and independent reporting line.
Your policy should explain what is included under whistleblowing, and how to raise a concern.
If your organisation does not have a policy, or you have a policy but need some additional support implementing it, our team can help.
Schools and academies
If you work at a maintained school, you are covered under your local authority’s whistleblowing policy. Check the list of Veritau’s core clients to see if your policy can be found there. Maintained schools can download and display our awareness-raising poster.
If you’re a client of our DPO service, please be aware that this doesn’t automatically mean you are a client of our whistleblowing service.
The Education and Skills Funding Agency’s ‘Academy Trust Handbook’ says:
“The academy trust must have procedures for whistleblowing, to protect staff who report individuals they believe are doing something wrong or illegal.”
We provide a specialist annual whistleblowing support service for academies which includes providing a policy template, helpdesk and more.
Want to raise a concern?
If your organisation doesn’t have a policy, or you’re not an employee of one of Veritau’s clients, the following bodies might be able to help.
For general whistleblowing concerns and advice
Contact Protect – the whistleblowing charity (previously called ‘Public Concern at Work’).
Protect can provide free confidential advice on how to raise a concern about malpractice at work on 020 3117 2520.
For concerns about children at risk of abuse
Support from Veritau’s team
Veritau provides an independent whistleblowing service for public sector organisations.
We conduct a wide range of investigations for our clients. This includes whistleblowing allegations, fraud and corruption, misconduct, breaches of contract, etc.
Case study
Whistleblowing investigation into conflict of interest and alleged timesheet fraud
