1. Purpose and scope
The Water Industry Commission for Scotland (“WICS”) is a prescribed body under the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) for whistleblowing matters relating to the water and sewerage industry in Scotland.
This whistleblowing policy is for workers, who are not employed by WICS, who want to report concerns that are relevant to the functions of WICS. It sets out our procedures for reporting concerns. If a concern is a qualifying disclosure for the purposes of the legislation, the worker may, subject to the relevant statutory conditions being satisfied, qualify for certain protections against detriment from their employer because of making the disclosure.
1.1. Relevance
Our external whistleblowing procedure is for employees of, or contractors in, the Scottish water and sewerage sector who decide to report concerns relating to their employer in relation to matters that WICS has powers to take further action on. If you are a water customer with a concern, it will generally be most appropriate for you to contact your water company directly and follow their complaints procedure. Should you not be satisfied with the outcome, please contact the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman to investigate, they are the final stage complaints body for the Scottish water sector.
This policy applies to a worker, most likely employed or engaged by a water or sewerage company, who wishes to raise an allegation of malpractice about the supply of water and the provision of sewerage services in Scotland which is in the public interest. If you are a worker employed or engaged by a water or sewerage company in Scotland and you are concerned about believed malpractice relating to the water and sewerage industry in Scotland, it may be appropriate to disclose to us under this policy – see section 2 for further detail.
The whistleblowing legislation under which we are a prescribed body is designed to give protection to workers from detriment from their employers because of making the disclosure - see section 3.1. If you are not employed or engaged by an organisation in the water and sewerage industry in Scotland, it is highly unlikely that this policy is relevant to you. If in doubt, we recommend that you contact Protect or take independent legal advice regarding who to report your concern to.
It does not matter if an individual who raises a concern is mistaken about it—it is not necessary to prove the allegation being made but the individual must reasonably believe that the disclosure is made in the public interest and that the information they have tends to show some malpractice.
2. When to use this policy
Whistleblowing is where an individual has a concern about a danger or illegality that has a public interest aspect to it about the supply of water and the provision of sewerage services in Scotland, for example because it threatens customers, third parties or the public generally.
2.1. Malpractice covered by this policy
Whistleblowing, as defined in this policy, is the reporting of suspected malpractice, wrongdoing or dangers relating to the water and sewerage industry in Scotland. To be covered by whistleblowing law, the disclosure must be a ‘qualifying disclosure’. This is any disclosure of information which, in the reasonable belief of the worker making the disclosure, is made in the public interest and tends to show that one or more of the following has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur:
- A criminal offence (this may include, for example, types of financial impropriety such as fraud)
- a breach of a legal obligation
- a miscarriage of justice
- danger to the health or safety of any individual
- damage to the environment; or
- the deliberate covering up of wrongdoing in the above categories.
Specific examples might include, although is not limited to:
- A breach of guaranteed service standards by an organisation operating in the water industry
- Failure to provide information requested by a regulator
- Falsifying information or records
- Improper conduct or unethical behaviour
2.2 Malpractice not covered by this policy
This policy should not be used by WICS employees to raise concerns of a HR or personal nature, for example, complaints relating to a decision by managers, terms and conditions of employment and complaints against Ministers. Such concerns should be raised under the relevant alternative People policy.
This policy also does not apply to complaints from a member of the public about the service WICS provides. Such complaints will be dealt with under WICS’ complaint handling process.
3. Our commitment
We take malpractice very seriously. We are committed to conducting our business with honesty and integrity and we expect all staff to maintain high standards too.
We are committed to the principles set out in this policy. We understand that a person raising concerns can often be anxious and distressed and that the two main barriers whistleblowers face are a fear of reprisal because of making a disclosure and the perception that no action will be taken if they do make the decision to ‘blow the whistle’.
If an individual uses this policy to raise a concern, we will give them our assurance that we will not subject them to any form of retribution or detrimental treatment. We will treat their concern seriously and act according to this policy. If the individual believes they have suffered treatment at the hands of their employer following raising a complaint, then it is recommended that legal advice is taken on whistleblowing rights and protections.
If an individual asks for a matter to be treated in confidence, we will respect this request and only make disclosures to third parties or other staff with the individual's consent.
3.1 Qualifying for protection
To qualify for protection under whistleblowing law (the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998) you must:
- Be an employee or worker (Find out more about who is protected by PIDA)
- Make a disclosure of information
- Reasonably believe the concern to be in the public interest
- Reasonably believe the concern tends to show a category of wrongdoing set out in the law
This is called making a “qualifying disclosure” and is set out in section 43B of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
To be protected under the law you need to disclose to the right person in the right way. Find out more about raising a whistleblowing concern in accordance with the law.
4. Raising concerns
Any allegation of malpractice about the supply of water and the provision of sewerage services in Scotland which is in the public interest should be raised in writing., or via post. Any such concern should be marked as private and confidential and sent via our dedicated confidential whistleblowing mailbox to: externalwhistleblowing@wics.scot or via postal mail to the address provided at the end of this document.
We cannot give legal advice as to whether it is the correct entity to blow the whistle to or whether a member of the public ought to consider also making disclosure to his or her employer and / or his or her legal advisor.
4.1. Responding to concerns raised
We are committed to ensuring that all disclosures raised will be dealt with appropriately, consistently, fairly and professionally.
For non-anonymous disclosures, we may arrange a meeting to discuss the concern raised. We may ask the individual for further information about the concern raised, either at the start or at a later stage.
The concern raised will be formally recorded and we will decide how to respond. Usually this will involve making internal enquiries first, but it may be necessary to carry out an investigation at a later stage which may be formal or informal depending on the nature of the concern raised. Investigations can take many different forms and will be conducted depending on the nature and details of the concern. External investigators may be brought in where necessary. We will endeavour to complete investigations within our agreed timescales – see section 4.1.2.
For non-anonymous disclosures, we will keep the individual who raised the concern informed of the progress of the investigation carried out and when it is completed and give an indication of timings for any actions or next steps that we will take. We will not however, be able to inform the individual of any matters which would infringe any duty of confidentiality owed to others.
Appendix 1 illustrates the process we will follow.
4.1.1. Our roles and responsibilities
Role |
Responsibility |
| Information Governance Lead |
Ensure that colleagues are aware of:
Monitor the external whistleblowing mailbox for any new concerns. Manage the process for all external whistleblowing complaints in line with this policy, undertaking investigations as necessary, and acting as an impartial intermediary between the individual and other associated parties. |
| Nominated Director | A Director will be nominated to support the investigation of an external whistleblowing concern depending on the nature of it and which directorate it is most closely related to. |
| CEO | Will be the final authorising body following a full investigation and preparation of our findings. |
4.1.2. Timescales
Stage |
Duration |
Description |
| 1 - confirm receipt | Within 5 working days of receipt | Acknowledge all concerns raised |
| 2 - establish jurisdiction | Within 10 working days of receipt | Establish and confirm WICS' jurisdiction to investigate |
| 3 - investigate | Within 30 working days of receipt | Provide a full response or, where complex and unable to resolve the concern within 30 working days, explain the reasons for the delay and provide a revised deadline (which must be as soon as possible after the initial deadline has passed). |
4.2. Confidentiality
All concerns raised will be treated in confidence and every effort will be made not to reveal the identity of an individual who raises a concern, if that is their wish.
Although a concern may be made anonymously, we encourage individuals to put their name to their allegation whenever possible. If this is not done, it will be much more difficult for WICS to protect the individual's position or to give feedback on the outcome of investigations.
Concerns that are expressed completely anonymously are much less powerful and are more difficult to investigate. We will consider each at its discretion, considering factors such as the seriousness of the issue raised, the credibility of the concern and the likelihood of confirming the allegation from other sources.
4.3. Reporting of outcomes
A full report of outcomes will be provided to the whistleblower.
A record of all disclosures and any subsequent action will be maintained by the investigator and in line with WICS retention policy. This information will be used to report anonymously to our Audit and Risk Committee, and in our annual report.
5. Further information and contacts
Further information and guidance can be found on the UK Government’s website. More useful contacts are outlined in the table below.
Organisation |
Contact details |
| The Water Industry Commission for Scotland is the prescribed body under the Public Interest Disclosure Act for whistle blowing matters relating to the water and sewerage industry in Scotland. |
Address: First Floor, Moray House, Forthside Way Stirling FK8 1QZ
Tel: 01786 430200 E-mail: enquiries@wics.scot Website: www.wics.scot
|
| Protect is a charitable organisation which can provide independent and confidential advice to workers who are unsure whether or how to raise a public interest concern. Their advice line is managed by qualified lawyers with a wealth of experience in whistleblowing law and practice. |
Address: The Green House
Tel: 020 3117 2520 Website: https://protect-advice.org.uk
|
|
Audit Scotland, the Accounts Commission, the Auditor General and the firms they appoint are all ‘prescribed persons’ under The Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 2014. This means that whistle-blowers (employees) can raise issues of concern (disclosures) with these organisations about fraud, corruption or wrongdoing within the public bodies they audit.
|
Website: www.audit-scotland.gov.uk E-mail: correspondence@audit-scotland.gov.uk Tel: 0131 625 1500 |
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The Scottish Environment Protection Agency can be contacted about acts or omissions which have an actual or potential effect on the environment or the management or regulation of the environment, including those relating to flood warning systems and systems and pollution in Scotland.
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E-mail: customerservices@sepa.org.uk Website: Contact | Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) |
| Water Services Regulation Authority (known as Ofwat) is the economic regulator of the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales, and expects openness, accountability and honesty throughout the water sector. |
Address: Ofwat
Tel: 0121 644 7500
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