7. Handling comlpaints/allegations of abuse by a council employee

Any allegation or complaint about a council employee or volunteer that involves possible harm to a child or adult at risk where this is related to the employee’s work, must be reported immediately to Human Resources (within 24 hours maximum) and the employee’s Head of Service or other senior manager. It is essential that any allegation of abuse made against a person who works with children, young people and/or adults at risk, including those who work in a voluntary capacity are dealt with fairly, quickly and consistently in a way that provides effective protection for the subject and at the same time supports the person who is the subject of the allegation.

In such cases, if staff are given the information in confidence, they must explain to the person that they have no choice but to report what they have been told.

Any manager who is made aware of such an allegation or complaint must not start their own enquiries but should follow similar guidelines to those provided under section 7 above, recording what they know and passing the information on to Human Resources immediately, followed by a written report. The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO - see contact details below) must be informed within one working day, to determine the next appropriate step. This should be through the LADO Referral form. Details of the role of the LADO.

The employee or volunteer may need to be suspended from work whilst the matter is investigated and if their role involves contact with children, young people and adults at risk this is likely to be the case. However, this will not be automatic and will take into account the relevant circumstances and outcome of any possible strategy discussion with the LADO. In some cases, it may be sufficient to ensure that the employee or volunteer does not have unsupervised access to children or adults at risk. In all cases the person who is the subject of the investigation should be kept informed of the progress of the case and supported appropriately. Every effort should be made to keep the details confidential and to guard against any publicity whilst the allegation is being investigated.

Social Care (and/or the Police) will be informed and the procedures for managing allegations against people who work with children or adults at risk or are in a position of trust will be followed. Any internal investigation or action will not commence until this can be done without prejudicing their proper procedures - (where internal procedures are underway and a child protection issue comes to light, the internal procedures may be suspended pending Social Services/Police action). It is also helpful to share information about the alleged employee/volunteer(s) and any other possible employment/activities they may be involved in with children, e.g., coaching.

The contact details for the Local Authority Designated Officers are: Tel: 0300 123 2044 Email: LADO@suffolk.gov.uk