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Public Interest Disclosure Act Essay

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The Public Interest Disclosure Act was introduced in 1999 to give greater protection to whistleblowers. It tells us which disclosures can be protected, the circumstances in which such disclosures are protected and the people who may be protected. The Standards Board for England’s Whistleblowing Policy and Procedure, are set out, in line with the Act. The procedure to follow if an employee wishes to raise a concern is as follows: • If an employee has a concern about malpractice, they can be raised verbally or in writing and should include the names of individuals against whom the allegations are made, the background, the nature of the malpractice that is alleged with relevant dates and the reasons for the concern. • Their concerns should …show more content…

While the Standard Board can consider anonymous reports, their policy is not designed to deal with concerns raised anonymously. Protection of the accused party: The recipient of the report will assess whether it is necessary to protect the accused party until the concerns have been investigated. Where such protection is considered necessary, the HR Department will be briefed and take the requisite precautions. The investigating manager will have the following responsibilities towards the accused: • Inform the individual about the seriousness of the allegations and provide any supporting evidence • Advise in writing of the procedure to be followed • Give the accused an opportunity to respond in person or in writing to the claims made, and receive and consider any relevant evidence • Inform them of their right to be accompanied at any interview by a trade union representative or work colleague • Give details of employee support mechanisms available • Where necessary the Standards Board will provide support, counselling or mediation to those subject to investigation in order to ensure normal working relationships are resumed as effectively as

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