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.
Staff who raise whistleblowing concerns are protected by law
On World Whistleblowers’ Day, we want to spread the message that whistleblowers:
- Are encouraged to voice their concerns
- Should be listened to
- Are protected by law
We recommend that all organisations have an up-to-date whistleblowing policy and independent reporting line.
What is whistleblowing?
Employees are protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, when raising a concern that counts as whistleblowing. This includes suspicions of:
- Criminal offences
- Sexual harassment
- Failure to comply with a legal obligation
- Health or safety breaches / danger
- Miscarriages of justice
- Environmental damage
- Failure to report or deliberately concealing any of the above
Personal grievances and complaints are not covered by the legislation.
Read our article for World Whistleblowers’ Day to find out more about whistleblowing.
Are you looking to raise a whistleblowing concern?
Or would you just like to find out more about whistleblowing?
The next steps depend on whether or not you already receive whistleblowing support from Veritau. Our core council clients all receive this service from us (see below).
If you are a schools DPO client, please follow our guidance for schools and academies.
Veritau’s core council clients:
Speak to an expert
Jonathan, Kelly, Lottie and Karina all have first-hand experience in a wide range of sensitive whistleblowing issues. Speak to one of them confidentially on 0800 9179 247.
Jonathan Dodsworth
Director - Corporate Fraud
Jonathan is an Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist with a wealth of experience delivering counter fraud services to public sector organisations across the region. He was instrumental in establishing the North Yorkshire housing fraud partnership and is an active member of various public sector counter fraud networks.
Kelly Holmes
Senior Corporate Fraud Investigator
Kelly holds both Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist status and a qualification in investigative practice from CIPFA. She has many years of experience as a fraud investigator and leads on complex internal and whistleblowing investigations. Kelly also has experience working in a busy HR team and is ACAS trained on conducting internal investigations.
Lottie Leonard
Senior Corporate Fraud Investigator
Lottie started with Veritau as a trainee in 2019 and is now an Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist and Senior Investigator. Lottie has specialist knowledge of whistleblowing investigations and has experience leading on large and complex fraud investigations. She is also ACAS trained in conducting internal investigations.
Karina Ward
Corporate Fraud Investigator
Karina has been with the team since 2023 after joining as a trainee. She is an Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist and is ACAS trained on conducting internal investigations. Karina has specialist knowledge of the whistleblowing process; from raising a concern to conducting and concluding an investigation; as well as a MSc in Cybercrime Investigation.
Case study
Whistleblowing investigation into conflict of interest and alleged timesheet fraud
