Whistleblowing
Our Whistleblowing Procedure enables employees, councillors and members of the public to express any concerns regarding illegal, dishonest, or illegitimate practice that may involve the Council.
You can raise your concerns at any time about an incident that happened in the past, is happening now, or that you believe will happen in the near future. You are protected by law and can raise your concerns without fear of discrimination, victimisation or disadvantage.
Please note, complaints about council services are handled separately under the Councils Complaint Procedure.
Any council employee who needs to log a personal grievance can do so via the internal grievance policy.
How will my referral be handled?
The Council is committed to the highest possible standards of openness, integrity, and accountability and in line with this; we encourage anyone with serious concerns about any wrongdoing, in any aspect of the Council's work, to come forward with these concerns.
It is understood that people may find it difficult to report concerns of illegal or illegitimate practice with regards to the actions of the Council, and we would like to offer assurances that all whistleblowing referrals are confidential and will be treated with sensitivity. Any referrals received will be directed to an appropriate officer and you will be kept informed as to the process that will be followed going forward.
Although you will not be given a copy of any investigative reports or audits, we may advise you informally of the conclusions of the investigation where this is possible.
Whilst you are able to make an anonymous referral, we would always encourage you to include your name in any allegation made. Anonymous allegations are more difficult to investigate as we cannot know if the allegation is made in good faith or is malicious. In addition without knowing who has made the report, we are not able to ensure that any appropriate action is taken to protect the individual concerned or to request any further information that may assist or prove vital to any enquiries. If you do not provide your name in the referral, we would not have the opportunity to keep you informed as to the progress of the investigation where this is possible.
It is of note that not all whistleblowing referrals received will warrant a full investigation; it may be that the matter can be resolved informally such as in the instance where the information reported has been misinterpreted.
Tameside Council's Whistleblowing Policy
Full details of Tameside Council’s Whistleblowing Policy and how we deal with any referrals made can be found here.
Further information about Whistleblowing that may be informative is provided on the Gov.UK website,
You can inform us of your concerns regarding any illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practice involving the Council by using the link below to our online form:
Make your online Tameside MBC Whistleblowing complaint here.