United Kingdom

Last updated: May 2025

Policy Statement  

Our values, which we share with Greggs plc, underpin all of our work and commit us to being friendly, inclusive, honest, respectful, hardworking and appreciative. We aim to provide a welcoming and supportive culture where people feel valued and have the opportunity to fulfil their potential.  This policy sets out specific expectations with regard to whistle blowing, where our values may not have been applied.  

If you have a concern about a suspected wrong-doing or malpractice by Greggs Foundation, its staff, trustee directors, volunteers, suppliers or other interested parties, one of the routes you can take to voice your concerns is to raise it through the whistleblowing process, which is set out in this policy. The issue will be taken seriously and investigated as appropriate. Your confidentiality will be respected as far as possible, though we would encourage you to disclose your name wherever possible. The law gives protection to employees who raise whistleblowing concerns. If you raise an issue (or are concerned about something), you must not be threatened or subject to detrimental treatment in any way. Anyone involved in such conduct against you may be subject to disciplinary action. In order to be protected under whistleblowing law, you must reasonably believe that you are acting in the public interest. If you raise a personal grievance through the whistleblowing process, you will not normally be protected under whistleblowing law. 

Scope of Policy 

This procedure applies to all (who are employed by Greggs plc and seconded to the Foundation) along with Foundation trustee directors, volunteers, suppliers and any other interested parties, including grantees. 

Definition 

Whistleblowing provides a route for you to safely raise a genuine concern about a danger, a criminal act, or a wrong-doing. This could be an activity of one of our Foundation staff, trustee directors, volunteers, suppliers and any other interested parties. Blowing the whistle protects the Foundation and others by identifying harm before it’s too late. You do not need to provide any evidence of your concern.   

Examples of concerns where this policy apples include: 

• Health & Safety breaches, particularly if someone is in danger;  

• Unauthorised disclosure of confidential information or personal data;  

• Suspected / alleged criminal acts by an individual or the company, including theft;  

• Fraud, financial / accounting wrongdoing or irregularities;  

• Bribery, for example within our procurement processes;  

• Food Safety breaches, such as supplying unsafe food;  

• Practices which are damaging or could damage the environment;  

• Failure to comply with a legal obligation;  

• Miscarriages of justice;  

• Sexual, physical or verbal abuse or bullying or intimidation of employees, grant holders or service users; 

• Covering up any of the above 

This policy should not be used by Greggs Foundation staff for complaints relating to your own personal circumstances, such as how you are treated at work, including sexual, physical or verbal abuse or bullying or intimidation. These should be raised either through Greggs grievance procedure, or via the Greggs Equal Opportunities & Dignity at Work policy.  Note that if you raise a personal grievance through the whistleblowing process, you will not be protected under whistleblowing law. 

Reporting 

If you have a genuine concern regarding a suspected wrong-doing such as those set out above: 

Greggs staff should follow Greggs Whistleblowing policy.    

For all others including trustee directors, volunteers, suppliers and any other interested parties contact the Foundation manager  Tracy Lynch, Foundation manager, via email at  Tracy.Lynch@greggsfoundation.org.uk   If it is inappropriate to discuss your concern with the Foundation manager, contact the Foundation Chair Jo Dyson at joanna.dyson@greggsfoundation.org.uk   If your concern discloses evidence of a criminal offence it will be immediately reported to the Foundation board and a decision will be made as to whether to inform the police.  

Next Steps 

Once your concern has been reported, we will make preliminary enquiries to determine whether further investigation is needed. We will aim to acknowledge receipt of your concern within two working days, and provide you with some guidance as to what to expect from us as we look into the matter. If your concern relates to a grievance, we will redirect you to the correct process. The timeframe will depend on the nature of your concern, but we will aim to complete any whistleblowing investigations within four weeks. Any information which we share with you must be treated as confidential. There may be some matters which cannot be dealt with internally, and external authorities will need to become involved. In such circumstances, we reserve the right to refer your concerns to them without your specific consent. If your concern relates to a third party (for example one of our funders or suppliers), we may pass the information to them for further investigation, where this is appropriate. All concerns raised by Greggs staff are recorded centrally by Greggs, and an anonymised summary reported to their Audit Committee on an annual basis.  All other concerns will be recorded by Greggs Foundation, and an anonymised summary reported to our trustee board on a quarterly basis 

Confidentiality  

You do not have to leave your name or contact details – an anonymous disclosure is better than remaining silent about wrongdoing. However, it may make it more difficult for us to investigate your concerns if we are unable to contact you. You may wish to consider calling us from a phone or using an email address which does not identify you, so that we can respond to you directly. We will respect your confidentiality as far as possible, and won’t disclose your identity without your consent, unless it’s required by law. You must not suffer any detrimental treatment as a result of raising a concern. This could include threats, disciplinary action, dismissal, or other unfavourable treatment. If you believe that you have received such treatment then  should raise it formally through the Greggs Grievance procedure. 

Other Sources of Advice/Further Support 

Greggs staff should refer to Greggs Whistleblowing policy for advice on raising an issue. 

Other places where you can seek help include:  

• Protect (formerly Public Concern at Work), leading experts in whistleblowing www.protectadvice.org.uk or 020 3117 2520;  

• The government website: www.gov.uk/whistleblowing ;  

• The Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS): www.acas.org.uk 

False Reports  

You don’t need proof or evidence of your allegations – as long as you have a reasonable believe, you should report your concerns. We will support anyone raising genuine concerns, even if these turn out to be incorrect. However, knowingly making a false report is considered serious misconduct, and for Greggs staff this may be dealt with this in line with their disciplinary process.