Complaints and Whistle Blowing Policy

TeacherActive is committed to providing a high-quality service. If you ever think we have not met that expectation, we would like you to tell us about it. This will help us resolve any issues and improve our standards.

Complaints Procedure

If you have a complaint, whether it is in relation to our service provided or agency worker regulations (AWR), in first instance please contact the Branch Manager of the office you have been working with. If you require their name and phone number, please contact our Head Office on 0121 200 3224.

At this stage, if you do not feel everything has been resolved, please contact Fleur Slicer-Watkinson, Office Manager and PA to the Directors. You can write to her at: [email protected] or TeacherActive, 158 Edmund Street, Birmingham, B3 2HB.

Next Steps

1) We will acknowledge your complaint and contact you for clarification on the details within 5 working days of us receiving it.

2) Once we have all the details, we will investigate your enquiry.

3) We will then contact you within a further 10 working days to discuss the investigation, outlining the findings aiming to resolve your complaint.

4) Within 2 days of the above contact, where applicable, we will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions agreed.

5) At this stage, if you are still not satisfied with the outcome, you can write to us again. A Director of the company will review the earlier decision within 10 days.

6) We will let you know the outcome of this review with 5 days. We will write to you confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reason. If you are not satisfied, you can contact the REC, the industry trade association, of which we are a member by writing to the Consultancy and Compliance Team, REC, Dorset House, 1st Floor, 27-45 Stamford Street, London, SE1 9NT.

If we have to change any of the time scales above, we will let you know and explain why.

WHISTLE-BLOWING POLICY

A) INTRODUCTION

Under certain circumstances, temporary workers are protected from suffering any detriment or termination of employment if they make disclosures about organisations for whom they work.

B) QUALIFYING DISCLOSURES

1. Certain disclosures are prescribed by law as “qualifying disclosures”. A “qualifying disclosure” means a disclosure of information that the employee genuinely and reasonably believes is in the public interest and shows that the Company has committed a “relevant failure” by:

a) committing a criminal offence;

b) failing to comply with a legal obligation;

c) a miscarriage of justice;

d) endangering the health and safety of an individual;

e) environmental damage; or

f) concealing any information relating to the above.

2. These acts can be in the past, present or future, so that, for example, a disclosure qualifies if it relates to environmental damage that has happened, is happening, or is likely to happen. The Company will take any concerns that you may raise relating to the above matters very seriously.

3. The Employment Rights Act 1996 provides protection for workers who ‘blow the whistle’ where they reasonably believe that some form of illegality, injustice or breach of health and safety has occurred or is likely to occur. The disclosure has to be “in the public interest”. We encourage you to use the procedure to raise any such concerns.

C) THE PROCEDURE

1. In the first instance you should report any concerns to the branch manager who will treat the matter with complete confidence. If you are not satisfied with the explanation or reason given to you, you should raise the matter with Fleur Slicer-Watkinson, Office Manager and PA to the Directors. You can write to her at: [email protected] or TeacherActive, 158 Edmund Street, Birmingham, B3 2HB.

D) TREATMENT BY OTHERS

Bullying, harassment or any other detrimental treatment afforded to a colleague who has made a qualifying disclosure is unacceptable. Anyone found to have acted in such a manner will be subject to disciplinary action.