Borough Secretary & Monitoring Officer

This policy reflects the Council's commitment to good practices, to valuing its staff and seeking continuous improvement in service delivery.

Employees are often the first to realise that there may be something wrong within the council, but they may not express their concerns for fear that speaking up would be disloyal to their colleagues or to the Council. They may also fear harassment or victimisation. In these circumstances it may be easier to ignore the concern rather than to report what may be just a suspicion of malpractice.

The Council is committed to the highest possible standards of openness, probity and accountability. Accordingly it expects employees and others that we deal with who have concerns about any aspect of the Council's work to come forward and voice those concerns.

It is recognised that most cases will have to proceed on a confidential basis. This policy and procedure makes it clear that you can do so without fear of victimisation, subsequent discrimination or disadvantage.

The document is intended to encourage and enable employees to raise concerns within the council rather than overlooking a problem or 'blowing the whistle' outside.

Please note that the whistleblowing procedures are in addition to others in use at this Council, such as the grievance procedure.

• Whistleblowing policy

Any queries about the Whistleblowing Policy and or the reporting procedure can be put to the Council's Borough Secretary and Monitoring Officer, Francis Fernandes.