Whistleblowing Policy

Section 01

Purpose

We Are Care Limited is committed to operating with integrity. This policy gives anyone who works with or for We Are Care a clear, safe, confidential route to raise concerns about wrongdoing — and clear protections under UK law when they do.

We’d rather hear about a serious concern early and address it than have it surface through a regulator, the press or a court. This policy is the route for that.

Section 02

Scope

This policy applies to:

• We Are Care employees, directors and officers
• Care workers placed or employed through We Are Care
• Contractors, consultants, agency staff and volunteers
• Any third party in a commercial relationship with We Are Care — suppliers, partners, associates
• Members of the public who reasonably believe wrongdoing is taking place in connection with We Are Care

It applies to concerns about We Are Care’s own operations and to concerns about activity in client settings (care providers, commissioners, partner organisations) where the individual raising it has a reasonable belief that something is wrong.

Section 03

What to report

Whistleblowing — legally a “qualifying disclosure” under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) — covers concerns about:

• A criminal offence (committed, being committed or likely to be committed)
• A breach of a legal obligation
• A miscarriage of justice
• Danger to the health or safety of any individual — including a person receiving care
• Damage to the environment
• The deliberate concealment of any of the above

In a care context that means — for example — suspected abuse or neglect of a person receiving care, falsified training records, fraud, modern slavery indicators, deliberate underpayment of workers, breaches of CQC requirements, or attempts to conceal any of these.

Section 04

Your legal protections

If you make a qualifying disclosure in the reasonable belief that it is in the public interest and substantially true, you are protected under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and the Employment Rights Act 1996.

That means:

• No retaliation. We Are Care will not dismiss, discipline, demote, withhold work from, or otherwise treat you detrimentally because you raised a concern under this policy. Doing so by anyone in We Are Care is a serious matter and itself a disciplinary offence.
• Anonymity protected so far as we reasonably can. Where you ask to remain anonymous we will protect your identity unless we are legally required to disclose it (for example, in a criminal investigation) — in which case we will tell you first wherever possible.
• You don’t need proof. A reasonable belief that wrongdoing has happened or is happening is enough to trigger this policy — you do not need to investigate it yourself first.
• Good faith honest mistakes are fine. If a concern turns out to be unfounded but was raised in good faith, no action will be taken against the person who raised it.

Section 05

How to raise a concern

You can raise a concern in any of the following ways. Choose whichever you’re most comfortable with.

Internal routes (preferred)

1. Your direct contact at We Are Care — your account manager, coordinator or line of communication. Often the quickest route for matters they can act on directly.
2. A We Are Care director. Email whistleblowing@wearecare.co.uk. This inbox is monitored by directors only and not visible to operational teams.
3. The named whistleblowing director. Currently Joel Dawson. Direct phone line and email available on request.

What to include

• What you believe has happened or is happening
• When and where, as best you know
• Who is involved, if known
• How you came to know about it
• Any documents, names or evidence you have, or where it could be found
• Whether you wish to remain anonymous, and how we should reach you if so

Section 06

How we investigate

In serious cases — especially those involving suspected abuse, neglect or criminal activity — we may suspend an individual or pause an activity while we investigate. That is a precautionary step and not a finding.

Section 07

Outcomes & feedback

Where you have given us a way to contact you, we will tell you:

• That the investigation has concluded
• The general outcome and the type of action taken (so far as we can without breaching confidentiality or legal duties)
• Where appropriate, what we’ve changed as a result

We may not be able to share every detail — particularly where the matter involves an individual’s personal data, an ongoing investigation, or a regulatory process — but we will tell you the outcome.

Section 08

External routes

Internal routes are usually the quickest and best place to start. But you have a right to escalate externally and you do not need We Are Care’s permission to do so. Prescribed bodies for whistleblowing in a care context include:

• Care Quality Commission (CQC) — for concerns about care quality, safety or registration. cqc.org.uk
• The relevant Local Authority Safeguarding Adults Board — for safeguarding concerns about an adult at risk
• Health and Safety Executive (HSE) — for serious workplace health and safety concerns
• Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) — for concerns about data protection breaches
• Police — for suspected criminal activity
• Protect — the UK’s independent whistleblowing charity, offering free confidential advice. protect-advice.org.uk

Section 09

Review & ownership

This policy is owned by the We Are Care board of directors. It is in active use across our operation: surfaced in induction, embedded in team-leader training, and refreshed continually as law, regulation, sector practice or our own learning calls for it. Confirmed reports of concerns raised under this policy are summarised (without identifying detail) at director level so that lessons learned feed back into operations.

This policy is published openly at wearecare.co.uk/policies/whistleblowing and a print-ready PDF is available on request.