A Confidential space

Speak Up

A Safe, Independent Place to be Heard.

Sometimes something doesn’t feel right at work.

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.

Clear Voice Guardian provides an independent and confidential space where you can talk about what’s happening, understand your options and decide what you would like to do next.

Discuss Your Concern

Speak confidently to a guardian, who will support you to identify next steps.

Speak to a Guardian

Raise Your Concern

Raise your concern or improvement suggestion using the 24/7 online reporting system.

Raise a Concern

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

Bullying, harassment or inappropriate behaviour

Discrimination or unfair treatment

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.

Start Where Feels Right

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.

Internal Colleague or Department

If you feel comfortable, you may want to speak to your manager, a trusted colleague or the appropriate team within your organisation first.

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 Clear Voice Guardian

If you’re unsure what to do, you can speak to a Clear Voice Guardian first and we will support you to decide what happens next.

You don’t need to know exactly what to do before you speak to us. We can help you understand the options available to you.

Talk to a Guardian

Raise a Concern with Clear Voice

You can submit a concern online. While also having the options to speak up openly, confidentially or anonymously.

If you provide contact details a Guardian will be in touch to discuss the options available to you.

Raise a Concern

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 at the centre of the conversation.

We’ll help you understand what may happen next and, where appropriate, connect you with the right person, team or service.

We listen

You’ll be given the opportunity to explain what’s happened in your own words.

We understand

We’ll listen without judgement and make sure we understand what you’re concerned about.

We discuss your options

We’ll explain the possible routes available to you and help you consider what you would like to happen.

We agree next steps

Where appropriate, we’ll agree what should happen next and who needs to be involved.

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 Speak?

You don’t have to face a difficult situation on your own.