ROYAL MAIL: SPEAK UP POLICY VS RAISING CONCERNS NATIONAL AGREEMENT
We are aware that some Branches have reported an issue regarding an apparent ability for people to instigate a Raising Concern complaint anonymously. Seemingly, there appears to be a misunderstanding and as such some confusion around this matter.
It could be that the Raising Concerns National Agreement and process is being confused with Royal Mail’s “Speak Up” (or in other words whistleblowing) Policy, which does allow for anonymous reports to be instigated if someone wishes. Below is an extract from the Speak Up Policy (attached), which Royal Mail says is designed to “…protect our people and our brand, build trust and confidence within our organisation but also with our customers and our regulators.”:
You can make reports anonymously if you wish, however, when using Speak Up, we encourage you to provide contact details to the external provider who will retain it confidentially if you wish, as otherwise it may be difficult to conduct an effective investigation.
For clarity purposes, if an employee wishes to action a Raising Concern, they either complete the form through the People App on Robin or contact their manager. When completing the form, they must provide their name at an early stage and if they don’t do so, they will be unable to progress to the next section and therefore will be unable to submit a Raising Concern. For the avoidance of doubt, we have received formal confirmation from Karen McKay, Head of HR Policy, that it is not possible under the Raising Concerns National Agreement for complaints to be lodged anonymously. The following is an extract from an email from Karen McKay:
Colleagues are not able to raise concerns anonymously under the Raising Concerns process. As you know they either contact their manager or complete the form through the People App on Robin. By completing the form they will provide their name
Hopefully this provides full clarity on this matter. In the event that Reps or Branches are faced with managers who say they are investigating or pursuing an anonymous Raising Concern via the Raising Concerns National Agreement, this needs to be immediately challenged as being outwith the National Agreement and reported to my Department without delay, in order that we can highlight any malpractices and abuses of the Agreement to senior management.
If you have any queries in relation to this LTB, please contact Samantha Nicholas at snicholas@cwu.org or Heidi Maughan at hmaughan@cwu.org
Yours sincerely,
Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary
LTB133.26 -RM Speak Up Policy Vs Raising Concerns National Agreement
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 
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