Speaking Up
Speak Up
If something doesn’t feel right at work, you don’t have to know exactly what to do before you speak up.
You may have experienced something yourself, witnessed something happening to someone else, or simply have a concern that you feel needs to be heard.
You don’t have to deal with it alone.
About Speaking up
What does Speaking Up mean?
Speaking up means sharing something that you believe could be improved, addressed or looked at.
It might be a concern about:
Patient or service-user safety
Working practices
Discrimination or unfair treatment
Bullying, harassment or inappropriate behaviour
Fraud
Team relationships
An idea for improvement
Something that doesn’t feel right
Concerns you’ve raised before which remain unresolved
You don’t need to know exactly what category your concern falls into before you speak to us.
Our Approach
How Would You Like to Start?
There are different ways to speak up. You can use your organisation’s existing routes, talk to a Clear Voice Guardian, or raise a concern with us directly.
Talk to Someone Internally
If you feel comfortable, you may want to speak to your manager, a trusted colleague or the appropriate team within your organisation.
If you’re not sure who to speak to, or don’t feel comfortable raising it internally, you can talk to a Clear Voice Guardian.
Talk to a Guardian
Not sure what to do? Start with a conversation.
A Clear Voice Guardian gives you an independent space to explain what’s happening, ask questions and understand your options.
You don’t have to decide what happens next before you speak to us.
Raise a Concern
Ready to tell us about something?
You can raise a concern directly with Clear Voice.
You can choose to speak openly, confidentially or anonymously, depending on what feels right for you.
Our Approach
What Happens When I Speak Up?
Speaking up doesn’t always mean making a formal complaint or knowing exactly what to do next.
When you talk to a Clear Voice Guardian, we’ll give you the time and space to explain what’s happening, understand what you’re concerned about and explore the options available to you.
You remain in control of what happens next.
We’ll help you understand what may happen next and, where appropriate, connect you with the right person, team or service.
01
We Listen
You’ll be given the opportunity to explain what’s happened in your own words.
02
We Understand
We’ll listen without judgement and make sure we understand what you’re concerned about.
03
We Discuss Your Options
We’ll explain the possible routes available to you and help you consider what you would like to happen.
04
We Agree on Next Steps
Where appropriate, we’ll agree what should happen next and who needs to be involved.
05
We Keep You Informed
Where we are able to contact you, we’ll keep you updated about what happens next.
Apprehensive?
Worried about Speaking Up?
You may be worried about:
“What if people find out it was me?”
“Will speaking up affect my job?”
“What if nothing changes?”
“What if my concern isn’t serious enough?”
“What if I’ve already raised it and nothing happened?”
These are understandable concerns.
You don’t have to have everything worked out before you contact a Guardian. You don’t need to prove your concern and you don’t need to know which policy applies or whether something is a grievance, a whistleblowing concern, a safeguarding issue or something else.
That’s what we’re here to help you understand.
Confidentiality & Anonymity
You can talk to us about your concern and discuss your options before deciding what you want to do.
We will explain how your information will be handled before you share your concern.
Please remember that confidentiality cannot always be guaranteed in every circumstance, particularly where there is a serious risk of harm or a legal requirement to share information.
If you choose to remain anonymous, this may limit our ability to ask follow-up questions, provide updates or offer support.
Let’s talk
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Whether you’d like to talk things through first or raise a concern directly, you can choose the route that feels right for you.
If you need an immediate response
This service is not an emergency service.
If there is an immediate risk to someone’s safety, follow your organisation’s emergency or safeguarding procedures.
Please do not include unnecessary patient-identifiable information when submitting a concern.