Updated: Policy updated December 2017
On 1 February 2016 the Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) Order 2014 was amended to list the SSRO as a ‘prescribed person’ to whom protected disclosures may be made under the Employment Rights Act 1996. As a result, the SSRO can consider and act on ‘qualifying disclosures’ in line with the requirements of the Employment Rights Act.
A ‘qualifying disclosure’ is a report by a worker of malpractice or wrongdoing such as a criminal offence, failure to comply with legal obligations, or deliberately concealing information. The worker must reasonably believe that the disclosure tends to show one or more aspect of malpractice or wrongdoing and that the disclosure is in the public interest. The whistleblower does not have to possess substantive evidence as long as they reasonably believe their concern to be true.
The qualifying disclosure will be protected if the requirements set out in the SSRO’s Whistleblowing Policy are met. The whistleblower has the right not be subjected to any detriment by their employer (or by another worker or agent of the employer) because of the fact that they have made a protected disclosure. The SSRO also has a duty to respect the whistleblower’s preferences regarding confidentiality and anonymity.
The process for raising such concerns, and the steps the SSRO will take to ensure the whistleblower is protected and that concerns are addressed, is set out in the SSRO’s Whistleblowing Policy. To raise a concern of malpractice or wrongdoing in single source defence procurement, you should contact the SSRO at the details below:
Public Interest Disclosure Act enquiriesSSRO Finlaison House 15–17 Furnival Street London EC4A 1AB
Email directorofinvestigations@ssro.gov.uk
Telephone 020 3771 4792
Local copy of Whistleblowing_Policy_December_2017_WEB.pdf
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ssro-whistleblowing-policy
seen at 14:33, 15 December in Publications on GOV.UK.Email this to a friend.