Security & Confidentiality
"Whistle-Blower" Protection
All employees are expected to maintain the highest standards of
integrity and good faith. If you feel that serious misbehaviour is
occurring you have a responsibility to help us to stop it.
Serious misbehaviour includes the following;
1. a criminal offence
2. the breach of a legal obligation
3. a miscarriage of justice
4. danger to the health and safety of any individual
5. damage to the environment
6. that information of the type set out above has been or is likely to be deliberately concealed.
If you become aware of any information of this nature which
causes you concern, you should raise the matter informally with the
Employee Relations Consultant and discuss with him the next steps which should be taken. We will ensure that any disclosure made is kept as confidential as possible; however, you should be aware that it may be necessary to divulge such information during the course of any
investigation. If an investigation into the allegations is thought
necessary, you will be informed that the allegations will be put to the
person accused of wrongdoing.
You will be informed of the progress and outcome of any investigation into the allegations.
If you are unhappy with the way in which your disclosure is
received or dealt with, you should immediately raise that concern with
the Managing Director. We are committed to ensuring that no employee is subjected to any detriment, or victimised, by reason of having made a disclosure in good faith, and will do everything within our power to investigate the matter fully and take the appropriate action against any wrongdoer. You should also be aware that provided certain conditions are met, you are protected by the law against suffering any detriment -for example dismissal - by reason of having made the disclosure.
However, if you make a disclosure which you do not believe to
be true, or which is made maliciously or with some ulterior motive (such
as a grudge against a fellow employee), this may be treated as a
disciplinary matter and dealt with under the Disciplinary Procedure.
Inventions, Discoveries, Copyright & Intellectual Property
The copyright and any other intellectual property rights relating to any invention or discovery made by you during the course of your employment with the Company shall vest completely in us, and shall belong to us free from all claims (wherever made). To the extent that any such rights vest in you in law, then you hereby assign these to us upon signing and returning the Employee Handbook Return Slip to the Company.
Use of Software
No software is to be loaded onto any PC without approval by a
Director. Software for which we only purchased one licence must be used
only on the machine it was purchased for, and not loaded onto extra
machines. Software from magazines, games etc must not be loaded onto
your computer.
If there is any software already on your machine for which you
are unsure whether we have a licence, please give the details to the
Company Secretary. Machines will be checked at regular intervals to
ensure all software is legal.
Email Policy
The Company’s Email system may not be used to broadcast solicitations for political or charitable organisations, to place personal advertisements for flat/house shares, theatre or sporting tickets, used cars, etc., to seek references for personal services, or for other personal reasons. E-mail in our business is not to be used to distribute such messages but may only be used for transmission of business-related information.
Breaches
A breach of this policy shall render the employee(s) concerned liable
to disciplinary action which, in serious cases, could include summary
dismissal.
Users have a duty to report the following to your Reporting Manager;
1. suspicious emails/email attachments
2. obscene/illegal material found on a PC or records of obscene/illegal web sites visited
3. persistent use of the Internet for personal reasons
4. downloading of illegal material
Communications or Statements to the Media
Only a Director of the Company is authorised to make any communication or statement to the media in matters relating to the business.
Other Employment
You must promptly notify us of all other employment which you
undertake. We will not allow any other employment which we deem to be
either in direct competition or presents a conflict of interest with
ourselves or our operation, but we will not object to any other
employment provided it does not interfere with your ability to
satisfactorily fulfill the job we employ you to do.
This information is also required in order that there is no infringement of the Working Time Regulations.
Viruses
You may not upload data, files, programmes etc from outside sources onto your PC without your Reporting Manager’s permission.
In instances when we need to use external data, all discs containing such data must be virus checked before being loaded onto your computer. This can be done using the virus checker software on your PC.
In addition, discs and tapes that have been used on computers
other than those owned by the Company should also be virus checked. If you are uncertain how to carry out this procedure, please discuss it first with your Reporting Manager.
Complaints
Employees who feel that they have cause for complaint as a result of communications via the Company’s systems should invoke the Grievance or other relevant Procedure at the earliest opportunity.
