QMU Whistleblowing Policy
Whistleblowing – Definition and Legal Basis
You are a ‘whistleblower’ if you are a worker and you report certain types of wrongdoing. The wrongdoing you disclose must be in ‘the public interest’. This means it must affect others, eg the general public.
As a whistleblower, you are protected by law, which means that you shouldn’t be treated unfairly or lose your job because you ‘blow the whistle’. The particular law that provides this protection is the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, commonly know as the PIDA. The Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) is designed to give protection to workers who disclose confidential information about malpractice in the workplace, whether carried out by other workers or by the employer. As notedabove, such disclosures are commonly referred to as “whistleblowing”.
You are protected as a Whistleblower if the matter that you are disclosing meets the particular requirements of the Public Interest Disclosure Act. The Public Interest Disclosure Act sets out rules on what counts as "malpractice" for the purposes of the Act and prescribing the person(s) or bodies to whom a protected disclosure can be made. Sections 2 to 4 below provide further detailed information on what kinds of disclosures are covered by the Act, and therefore, by this policy, and to whom such disclosures can be made.
When someone blows the whistle they are raising a concern about danger or illegality that affects others (e.g. employees, members of the public, or their employer). The person blowing the whistle is usually not directly, personally affected by the danger or illegality. Consequently, the whistleblower rarely has a personal interest in the outcome of any investigation into their concern - they are simply trying to alert others.
This is very different from a complaint. When someone complains, they are saying that they have personally been poorly treated. This poor treatment could involve a breach of their individual employment rights or bullying and the complainant is seeking redress or justice for themselves.
This whistleblowing policy should not be used to pursue a personal grievance. Such complaint should be pursued through the appropriate University procedure.
If you wish advice at any stage, you can contact the University Secretary, who is responsible for the operation of this policy within the University. You may also wish to seek advice, or to discuss your disclosure, with your Trade Union representative, or with the contacts listed at Section 8 of this policy.
Whistleblowing Policy
This Whistleblowing policy was developed originally following the introduction of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 [PIDA]. This policy was previously known as the Public Interest Disclosure policy.
This policy was updated following the enactment of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act in 2013 (ERR). That Act introduced a Public Interest test requirement on Whistleblowers. So, in order to receive the protection of the Act, whistleblowers have to show that they reasonably believe that the disclosure they are making is in the ‘Public Interest’.
Further information on the ERRA can be found at legislation Government website
This policy allows employees of Queen Margaret University to raise concerns or to disclose information which they believe shows wrongdoing by the university or its staff that is of public interest. In the first instance, you are encouraged to bring any matter of concern falling within the categories detailed in the Act to the attention of the university as set out in this policy.
The policy is in addition to other policies and procedures in place, including those relating to staff grievance, discipline and complaints.
- You can raise your concern at any time about an incident that happened in the past, is happening now, or you believe will happen in the near future. Information on how you raise your concern with the University is set out in Section 3 below.
There are other options if you don’t want to report your concern through this policy. You can get legal advice from a lawyer, or tell a ‘prescribed person’ or body. However, the prescribed person or body does need to be the correct person or body related to the particular concern. For the purposes of this policy, the prescribed person is the Auditor General for Scotland. A full list of prescribed people and bodies are listed at the following website:
If you raise a concern under the provisions of this policy, you will be protected from suffering any detriment for having raised that concern, unless it is later proved that the information you provided was known to be false. Any person who believes that they are suffering or have suffered any detriment as a result of having raised a concern under this policy should report this to the University Secretary. Any person who subjects an individual to detriment on the grounds of raising a whistleblowing report will be subject to disciplinary action.
Whistleblowing law is located in the Employment Rights Act 1996 (as amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998). It provides the right for a worker to take a case to an employment tribunal if they have been victimised at work or they have lost their job because they have ‘blown the whistle’ (see also paragraph 3.2.4 below).
The Chair of the Court and the Principal will be informed of all qualifying disclosures submitted under the provisions of this policy. All cases investigated under the provisions of the policy will be reported to the Convener of the Audit and Risk Committee, and to the Chair of the University Court.
