Whistleblowing at One Degree North

One Degree North values its reputation for ethical behaviour and recognises that an important aspect of accountability and transparency is a procedure to allow employees to voice in a responsible and effective way, information which they believe indicates malpractice or wrongdoing. The Company believes it has a duty to identify such situations and take the appropriate measures to remedy the situation. 

A culture of openness is encouraged at One Degree North. As such the Company believes it can help prevent malpractice; prevention is better than cure. That is the aim of this policy. This policy applies to all employees of the Company and to other workers within the Company including agency workers.

By encouraging a culture of openness, the Company wants to encourage employees and workers to raise issues which concern them at work. They may be worried that by reporting such issues they will be opening themselves up to detrimental treatment or risking their job security; that is quite understandable but is not the case. All staff have statutory protection if they raise concerns in the right way. This policy is designed to give staff that opportunity and protection. It does not matter if they are mistaken. There is no question of employees having to prove anything about the allegation they are making but they must reasonably believe that the disclosure is made in the public interest and that the information they have tends to show some malpractice.

If there is anything which employees think the Company should know about, they should use the procedure outlined in this policy. By knowing about malpractice at an early stage the Company stands a good chance of taking the necessary steps to safeguard the interests of all staff and protect the Company. In short, employees should not hesitate to ‘blow the whistle’ on malpractice. It should be noted that this policy is not the procedure for general grievances, and if an employee has a complaint about their own personal circumstances then they should use the normal grievance procedure. If an employee has concerns about malpractice within the Company, then they should use the procedure outlined in this policy. The Company also has a separate policy dealing with anti-bribery and corruption. Employees should report concerns about such issues using the process set out in that policy, instead of the process set out here.

The kinds of suspected wrongdoings, malpractice and dangers at work covered by this policy are:

• criminal offences (except those in relation to bribery and corruption, which should be reported using the procedure set out in the anti-bribery and corruption policy);
• miscarriages of justice;
• danger to the health and safety of any individual;
• damage to the environment;
• breach of any legal obligation (except in relation to bribery and corruption, which should be reported using the procedure set out in the anti-bribery and corruption policy);
• disclosures relating to sexual harassment;
• deliberately concealing any of the above.

Company commitment

The Company is committed to this policy. If an employee uses this policy to raise a concern, the Company gives them its assurance that they will not suffer any form of punishment or detrimental treatment. The Company will treat their concern seriously and act according to this policy. They will not be asked to prove anything about the allegation they raise but they must reasonably believe that the disclosure is made in the public interest and that the information they have tends to show some malpractice. If an employee asks for a matter to be treated in confidence the Company will respect their request and only make disclosures to third parties or other staff with their consent.