Standards of performance and behaviour at work

This policy sets out Sport Wales’ disciplinary procedure.  

All  employees of Sport Wales   are expected to maintain high standards of conduct by complying with Sport Wales code of conduct, professional standards relating to specific occupations and other Sport Wales policies and procedures. This is to ensure that Sport Wales remains a positive and safe work environment for everyone. 

This policy and procedure  provides a framework for responding to cases where an individual’s conduct or behaviour is alleged to have fallen below the required standard. The purpose of the policy and procedure is to encourage improved conduct where it is found to be unsatisfactory, promote good working relationships and to ensure fair and consistent treatment of all staff by providing a transparent and straightforward process for addressing conduct concerns. 

Wherever possible, problems will be resolved through advice and encouragement, training or increased support. However, it is recognised that circumstances may require formal steps to be taken. 

The process can be undertaken through the medium of English or Welsh. 

This policy and procedure comply with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance.

The following principles underpin how this procedure will work in practice; 

• All discipline matters will be dealt with in strictest confidence and information will only be disclosed to those employees who are involved in the case and those who need to know information to resolve the matter.  Any breach of this confidentiality may in itself be regarded as a disciplinary offence. 
• Informal measures to resolve minor instances of misconduct will be taken where appropriate before moving to the formal. 
• Potential disciplinary issues will be raised and dealt with promptly.  Neither employees nor management will unreasonably delay any part of the procedure.  If the employee is unable or unwilling to attend a disciplinary hearing, with good reason, this will be re-arranged once.  If the employee is unable to attend the re-arranged hearing, it may be held in their absence and a decision may be made on the evidence available. In this instance, the employee will be offered an opportunity to provide a written statement to be considered in their absence. 
• Any employee appointed to deal with the disciplinary case will have people management experience, be impartial and will receive appropriate support throughout from the HR team to ensure the policy and procedure is applied fairly and consistently. 
• The employee will be advised of the nature of the complaint or accusation against them and will be given the opportunity to state their case at a disciplinary hearing before any decision is made . 
• Employees will be provided with any written copies of evidence and relevant witness statements in advance of a disciplinary hearing. 
• No disciplinary action will be taken before the facts of the alleged misconduct have been established, on the balance of probabilities. 
• Employees will not normally be dismissed for a first breach of conduct standards except in the case of gross misconduct when the penalty may be dismissal without notice or pay in lieu of notice. 
• An employee will have one right to appeal against any disciplinary action taken against them. 
• During formal meetings, the employee who is the subject of  disciplinary matters has the right to be accompanied by a work colleague or recognised Trade Union representative. 
• If you or your companion require any adjustments to engage meaningfully with the process these will be considered and supported where possible. 
• Employees and /or anyone accompanying the employee, must not make electronic recordings of any meetings or hearings conducted under this procedure unless authorised by exception by the manager leading proceedings. 

Where applicable the organisation will inform the appropriate registered professional body of relevant disciplinary matters and refer relevant matters to the Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) in relation to regulated activity. 

Informal stage – dealing with minor misconduct 

Informal action should be taken to address a first instance of minor misconduct.  The employee will be invited to attend an informal meeting with their line manager to discuss the concern. The line manager will seek to understand the reason for the shortfall, offering support where appropriate and ensure the employee understands conduct expectations going forward. A period of monitoring or regular reviews of progress may also be agreed, as appropriate to the circumstances. This will be done promptly, and may be without notice. 

The employee will usually be advised that further instances of misconduct may result in the formal procedure being applied. 

Informal discussions with employees do not constitute formal disciplinary action and therefore the employee does not have a statutory right to be accompanied by a companion in such discussions.  However, the employee’s line manager may allow the employee to be accompanied should they request this. 

The line manager should follow up the meeting with a note to the employee, confirming the details of the discussion.  . The note will not form part of an employee’s formal disciplinary record, but it may be used in instances of further misconduct to determine whether a pattern of misconduct is emerging and to inform the appropriate subsequent action. 

Formal disciplinary procedure 

This procedure will usually be invoked in circumstances where: 

• Informal discussions have not resulted in the required improvement in conduct; or, 
• Misconduct is alleged to have taken place that warrants formal proceedings being instigated or, 
• Conduct remains unacceptable within the period specified in a previous warning; or, 
• Serious or gross misconduct is alleged to have taken place. 

The formal disciplinary procedure will only be initiated after discussion between the line manager and HR. 

During a disciplinary case, the employee may raise a grievance, using the Sport Wales  Grievance Policy.  Where this happens, dependent upon the details of the grievance, it may be appropriate to either suspend the disciplinary procedure for a short period until the grievance can be considered or to deal with both issues concurrently. Consideration might also be given, where possible, to bring in another manager to deal with the grievance. 

The manager handling the case must contact the HR team for procedural advice before continuing further. 

Sport Wales wants to provide a work environment that is open and supportive to those who seek advice and support.  Employees can seek advice from their line manager, HR team or Trade Union representative. 

Parties involved in a disciplinary matter may find the situation stressful or difficult and may want to talk things through in confidence with a professionally trained counsellor. Such support and counselling is available to Sport Wales employees through the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). This provides free, independent and confidential support. The EAP can be contacted via the details on Home. 

Where the employee may be facing formal disciplinary action, the line manager may decide that it is appropriate to transfer the employee to alternative/restricted duties or another post, until the procedure is concluded. 

In  serious cases, where there are no suitable alternatives, the employee may be suspended while investigation and any subsequent disciplinary procedure are undertaken. 

Suspension or variation of duties may be considered where one or several of the following circumstances apply: 

• In cases of alleged gross misconduct; 
• When relationships have broken down; 
• Where there are risks to property, reputation, or responsibilities to other parties; 
• Where there are reasonable grounds for concern that evidence has been, or may be, tampered with or destroyed, or witnesses influenced. 

Suspension does not indicate an assumption of guilt and is not considered to be disciplinary action.  While an employee is suspended, they will receive their full contractual pay. Such suspension or variation of duties will be confirmed in writing  and will be for as short a time as possible. 

If an employee is suspended, they will not usually be allowed to visit Sport Wales premises or have any contact with clients, customers, suppliers, contractors or staff unless authorised to do so. 

Where an employee returns to work after a period of suspension, their manager should offer support to ensure their smooth reintegration to the team. 

An abridged process may be appropriate in straightforward cases where the evidence is readily available, the facts of the case are not in dispute by the employee who is subject to the disciplinary process and the process could not result in a sanction more serious than a written warning (first or final). 

 Before pursuing the fast track process, the line manager should consult with HR. 

If the fast track process is considered to be appropriate, the line manager will meet with the individual whose conduct has caused concern and explain the process. The fast track process should only be used with the written agreement of the individual following consultation with them and with their full understanding.   

In fast track cases, rather than a full investigation, a simple fact-gathering exercise should take place which includes the following discipline procedure steps: 

• the allegations being put to the employee in writing, together with the evidence available 
• a meeting with the line manager (who will take the role of Decision Officer) where evidence will be presented and the employee will have an opportunity to present their case together with any mitigation (at this meeting the employee has the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or work colleague) 
• after a brief adjournment to consider any mitigation presented, the line manager will advise the employee of the decision and follow this up in writing within 5 working days, including the employee’s right to appeal if a sanction is issued. 

The fast track process should be stopped by the line manager if at any time it becomes evident that the scope of the misconduct is broader and more complex than initially thought or the employee requests for a full investigation to be conducted. In such cases, the line manager should seek HR advice to consider the appointment of an independent Investigation Officer. 

The fast track process will never be used for misconduct cases which could result in dismissal. 

Where the evidence is not readily available, the facts are in dispute or the process could result in dismissal, a formal investigation should be commissioned. 

An Investigating Officer will be appointed, usually by HR.  In some instances, it may be necessary to appoint an Investigation Officer who is external, this could be due to capacity issues or for impartiality.  The Investigation Officer will receive HR advice and support throughout the process to ensure the policy and procedure is applied fairly and consistently.  The Investigating Officer will be impartial and not directly involved in the alleged disciplinary matter.  The employee should be fully informed when a formal investigation into their actions is instigated.  

The nature and the extent of the investigation will depend on the seriousness of the issue but in all cases, will be carried out without unreasonable delay.  As part of the investigation a written report will be prepared.  The written report will also conclude if there is a case to be answer based on the evidence of the investigation. 

The role of the Investigating Officer is to establish the essential facts of the matter and reach a conclusion on what did or did not happen, on the balance of probabilities.  In some cases, this will solely involve the collation of written and physical evidence.  However, this may also involve obtaining statements from relevant witnesses, which may require a meeting, or the witness may simply provide a statement or written responses to questions from the Investigation Officer.  Interview notes should be shared with the witness and they should be invited to confirm it is an accurate reflection of the discussion.  

Individuals identified as witnesses are expected to comply with the request of an Investigating Officer to provide any insight they have on the matter being investigated. If the individual has any concerns about acting as a witness, they should discuss them with the Investigating Officer or a member of the HR team so that their concerns can be addressed and mitigated where possible. 

It may be necessary for the employee who is subject to the process to attend an investigatory interview.  If such an interview is held, they will be informed in writing of the nature of the investigation and may be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union representative. The employee will be given enough notice of the meeting so that they have time to prepare. .  It may be necessary for HR to attend the meeting to advise on policy and procedure.  Notes will be taken during the meeting to capture the key points of the discussion.  These will be made available to the employee after the interview. 

If at any stage of the investigation, enquiries indicate that the employee’s alleged misconduct may constitute a criminal offence, the Investigating Officer must inform HR immediately. 

If the investigation report concludes that there is no case to answer, the employee will be informed.  Any witnesses will also be informed that the matter has been concluded.  That will be the end of the matter. The employee subject to the process will be given appropriate line management support to ensure a smooth transition out of the formal process. 

If the investigation recommends that there is a case to answer, a Disciplinary Officer will be appointed by HR. Their role is to chair and decide the outcome of the disciplinary hearing.  This person must not have had any prior involvement in the case and where possible, should be more senior than the employee who is alleged to have committed the misconduct.  The Disciplinary Officer will receive HR advice and support to ensure the policy and procedure are applied fairly and consistently. 

The employee will be invited to the hearing in writing and given five working days written notice of the arrangements for the hearing.  This notification will include: 

• the allegation(s), setting out the supporting facts and enclosing copies of any documentary evidence used to inform the report, including witness statements; The possible consequences of the hearing up to the most serious possible consequence; 
• the date, time and venue of the hearing; 
• a reminder of the right to be accompanied; 
• a reminder of the procedure to be followed; 
• notice of any witnesses to be called. 

The employee is required to confirm their attendance at the meeting to the Disciplinary Officer, provide details of any witnesses they wish to call, written statements they wish to submit, advise whether or not they will be accompanied at the meeting, and if so, by whom at least 2 days in advance of the hearing. 

The employee can ask for a hearing to be deferred for up to five working days if they or their chosen companion are unavailable at the time of the proposed hearing, provided the suggested alternative date/time is reasonable and is within five working days of the original hearing. 

If an employee is unwilling, or unable, to attend a hearing, the Disciplinary Officer and HR will need to consider all the facts and come to a reasonable decision on how to proceed. In certain circumstances there may be a need to consult Occupational Health. Where the employee is on sickness absence, advice should be sought from Occupational Health on whether the employee is fit to participate in the meeting, before issuing the letter. The employee will be made aware of this referral to Occupational Health and the reason for it. 

Where the employee is fit but unwilling to attend the proposed hearing or fails to attend the first scheduled meeting, they will be offered one alternative opportunity to attend. The employee will be informed of the re-arranged hearing and that if they are still unable to attend, they should submit any evidence they wish to be considered in their absence as a decision will be made at the re-arranged hearing on the basis of the evidence available.   The employee will be informed of the decision and the outcome of the disciplinary hearing in writing within five working days of the hearing. 

The purpose of the disciplinary hearing is to: 

• resolve any outstanding questions or disputes about the facts of the case, by discussing the evidence and supporting information and giving the employee the opportunity to comment; 
• give the employee the opportunity to respond to the allegations made against them; 
• give the employee the opportunity to explain any mitigating factors or special circumstances which should be taken into account; and, 
• provide the Disciplinary Officer with sufficient information and evidence on which to base a decision. 

No decision about the outcome of the hearing will be made until after all representations have been heard and considered. The hearing will be conducted by the Disciplinary Officer and a member of the HR team will be present to advise on procedural matters. 

The employee may bring a companion who may address the hearing, ask questions of witnesses and confer with the employee during the hearing.  This person can also seek an adjournment of proceedings to allow time to confer.  However, they do not have the right to answer questions on the employee’s behalf or to address the hearing if the employee does not wish it, or to prevent management from explaining their position. If the employee’s companion exceeds the limits of their role, causing unreasonable disruption to the hearing, they may be asked to leave. 

At the hearing, the case will be outlined, and witnesses may be called or other evidence presented which may include written statements in support of the allegations.  The employee will be expected to answer questions to clarify the issues and they may question or comment on the information presented. 

The employee will be invited to set our their case and address the allegations that have been made.  The employee may also ask questions or comment on any information, including that provided by witnesses.  If the employee wishes to present evidence, call relevant witnesses or present written witness statements this should be provided to the Disciplinary Officer at least 2 days before the meeting.   

If new facts emerge, the Disciplinary Officer may need to adjourn the meeting for further investigation and depending on the extent of additional investigation required, reconvene at a later date. 

At the end of the hearing the Disciplinary Officer will summarise the main points of discussion.  The employee or companion will also be given the opportunity to sum up. 

The Disciplinary Officer should adjourn the hearing to consider the representations made during the hearing before delivering their decision. The decision may be given in person, on the day after a brief adjournment or in writing, within 5 working days. Either way, the employee will receive written confirmation of the decision and rationale. 

The Disciplinary Officer will decide whether or not a disciplinary sanction, or any other action, is justified.  

If the Disciplinary Officer concludes that the allegation is not upheld, the employee will be informed in writing that no further action will be taken and that the matter has been concluded.  Any witnesses will also be informed that the matter has been concluded. 

Where some formal action is needed, in coming to a decision, it is important that the severity of the penalty or other action is proportionate to the degree of the misconduct committed, bearing in mind the need to act reasonably in all the circumstances. What action is reasonable or justified will depend on all the circumstances of the particular case.  The Disciplinary Officer will take advice from HR as appropriate in deciding on the appropriate action.  Consideration will be given to: 

• whether the rules of the organisation indicate what the likely penalty will be as a result of the particular misconduct (see examples at 19.3) 
• penalties imposed in similar cases, although each case will be considered on its own merits and any relevant circumstances will be taken into account 
• whether similar standards of other employees are acceptable, and that the employee is not being unfairly singled out 
• the employee’s current work and disciplinary record, including whether they are subject to any current warnings; their level of responsibility and length of service; whether any training, support or adjustments to the work might be needed in addition to, or instead of, a penalty Any special circumstances which might make it appropriate to adjust the severity of the penalty 

The decision will be confirmed in writing within 5 working days of the hearing.  The written notification will specify: 

• the aspects of the allegations which have been upheld; 
• what disciplinary sanction, if any, is being imposed; 
• the likely consequences of any further misconduct or timescale for improvement performance; and, 
• the timescale and process for lodging an appeal. 

In cases of dismissal, if the dismissal is a result of the failure to improve behaviour to the required level within the specified time period or an escalation of penalties, notice may be given or pay in lieu of notice.  In the case of gross misconduct, notice will not be given or paid in lieu of notice, dismissal is effective on the day the penalty is issued if delivered in person, or 3 days from the date the penalty letter is sent which must be sent by recorded delivery.

Where allegations of misconduct are substantiated it is usual to give the employee a written warning.  A further act of misconduct or failure to improve conduct within a set period would normally result in a final written warning. 

If an employee’s first act of misconduct is sufficiently serious, it may be appropriate to move directly to a final written warning.  This might occur where the employee’s actions have had, or are liable to have a serious, or harmful impact on the organisation in some way. 

First Written Warning 

Depending on the circumstances, examples of behaviour which might result in a first written warning include, but are not limited to; 

• Single absence without authorisation and without good cause; 
• Minor timekeeping offences e.g. repeated arrival after start time or early departure time without good reason; 
• Personal telephone calls or personal use of the internet impacting on ability to perform duties; 
• Minor breaches of wellbeing, health and safety requirements; 
• Minor breaches of policy and procedure; and 
• Minor breaches of information security requirements; 

A warning will be given in writing setting out the nature of the misconduct, the change in behaviour required (within timescale), any action agreed by the line manager to aid improvement and the right of appeal. 

The employee will be told how long the warning will remain current and will be informed of the consequences of further misconduct within the set period following a warning. 

A copy of the warning will be kept on the employee’s HR record, but will be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after the specified period, usually 1 year, if satisfactory conduct is achieved and sustained. 

Final Written Warning 

If the offence is sufficiently serious, or if there is further misconduct during the currency of a prior warning, a final written warning may be given to the employee. 

Examples of behaviour which might result in a final written warning being issued include, but are not limited to; 

• Repeated or further unauthorised absence from work without good cause; 
• Persistent lateness or poor punctuality; 
• Breach of wellbeing, health and safety requirements; 
• Breach of information security and/or data protection requirements; 
• Unauthorised possession of potentially dangerous or noxious substances in work; 
• Serious breaches of trust and confidence; 
• Persistent breaches of flexible working time arrangements  
• Excessive use of telephones, internet and other office equipment such as printers for personal use; 
• Breaches of the ICT security policy; 
• Beaching procurement and financial procedures; and 
• Breaches of staff policies and procedures. 

A final warning will be given in writing setting out the nature of the misconduct, the change in behaviour required (within timescale), any action agreed by the line manager to aid improvement and the right of appeal.The employee will be told how long the warning will remain current and it will also warn that failure to improve may lead to dismissal and will detail the right of appeal. 

A copy of the  warning will be kept on the employee’s HR record, but will be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after the specified period, usually 1 year, subject to achieving and sustaining satisfactory conduct.  

Dismissal 

If there is further misconduct during the currency of a warning or a first instance of gross misconduct, dismissal may be appropriate. 

Dismissal decisions can only be taken by a Head of Department, and the employee will be provided with the decision in writing with reasons for dismissal, the date on which their employment will end, the relevant period of notice, if applicable, and their right of appeal. 

The employee will normally be dismissed in the following circumstances: 

• Where the misconduct is deemed to be gross misconduct (misconduct that is sufficiently serious as to destroy the essential mutual trust and confidence between the employee and Sport Wales); or, 
• If there is no satisfactory improvement within the period of a final written warning; or, 
• If further misconduct occurs during the currency of a final written warning; or 
• If there has been more than one offence at one time which accumulatively constitutes a more serious offence. 

Substantiated allegations of gross misconduct may be considered so serious or have such serious consequences that dismissal without notice for a first offence may be justified. However, a full and thorough investigation will always be carried out in cases of alleged gross misconduct and the employee will have the opportunity to provide representations at a hearing before dismissal is considered. 

Some examples of serious offences likely to be deemed gross misconduct and liable to result in dismissal include, but are not limited to: 

• Theft, fraud, deliberate falsification of records (including time sheets, flexi time records, and travel and subsistence claims); 
• Giving false information in any job application; 
• Physical violence or threatening behaviour; 
• Continuous unauthorised absence from work where contact has lapsed and efforts to re-establish contact have been exhausted without success; 
• Deliberate or reckless behaviour causing serious damage to property; 
• Serious harassment or bullying, including on social media; 
• Serious negligence which might cause unacceptable loss, damage or injury; 
• Serious or persistent insubordination; 
• Serious breach of wellbeing, health and safety requirements; 
• Serious breach of information security and data protection requirements; 
• Bringing the organisation into disrepute.  Some examples which include publicly criticising the organisation and / or leaking information in a way which damages the image and reputation of the organisation, including on social media; 
• Deliberate malpractice, deception or falsification of documents; 
• Acceptance of any bribe, inducement or reward for personal gain or for the benefit of a third party in return for an unauthorised act or transaction; 
• Acts of incitement or actual acts of discrimination on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, disability, age, religion or belief; and 
• Serious examples of the types of misconduct listed in the previous section ‘Final Written Warning’ may also be grounds for dismissal. 

An employee has one right of appeal against any disciplinary action taken against them. 

Appeals must be made in writing to the Appeals Officer within five working days of the notification of the outcome of the disciplinary hearing, clearly stating the grounds for appeal e.g. new evidence, failure to follow procedure, undue severity or inconsistency in the sanction. 

In most instances, the appeal will take the form of a review of the original decision where the Appeals Officer will examine the original decision-making process and the penalty given and decide, in light of any new evidence presented, whether these were reasonable. Occasionally, a full rehearing of the case, where the matters are considered completely anew, may be appropriate, for example, in the case of a complete failure to follow procedure during the original process or where there is considerable new evidence. The Appeals Officer should seek advice from HR on receipt of the appeal to decide which is appropriate. The Appellant should be informed of which route will be taken in their Appeal Hearing invite.   

The appeal will be dealt with impartially and will be heard by a manager who has had no prior involvement with the original disciplinary process, who will act as the Appeals Officer. Their contact details will be contained within the disciplinary outcome letter. HR will ensure that all relevant papers relating to previous disciplinary decisions and proceedings are made available to the Appeals Officer. 

The employee will be notified in writing and given details of an appeal hearing which will be held without unreasonable delay.  The notification will give five working days’ notice of the hearing and include: 

• The date, time and venue of the hearing 
• A reminder of the right to be accompanied 
• A reminder of the procedure to be followed including whether the appeal will be a review of the original decision or a complete rehearing 
• What action may be taken by the Appeals Officer 

The employee has the right to be accompanied to the appeal and  the same principles as set out as above will apply in relation to accepted companions, the role of the companion and confirmation of attendance at/rearrangement of the Hearing. 

If an employee is unwilling, or unable, to attend an appeal meeting it may be concluded that a decision will be made on the basis of the evidence available.  The employee will be informed where this is the case. 

The Appeal meeting will be conducted by the Appeals Officer, who will normally be the same grade as the Disciplinary Officer, or higher.  In some cases, where appropriate, this may be a Board Member.  A member of the HR team will attend the meeting to provide advice on procedural matters. 

The employee will explain the grounds for appeal and have an opportunity to comment on any new evidence. The Appeals Officer will ask questions to gain a fuller understanding of the appeal. 

If the employee raises any new matters in their appeal, it may be necessary to adjourn and carry out further investigation.  At the end of the meeting the Appeals Officer will summarise the main points of discussion.  The employee or companion will also be given an opportunity to sum up. 

The Appeals Officer should adjourn the hearing to consider the representations made during the hearing before delivering their decision. The decision may be given in person, on the day after a brief adjournment or in writing, within 5 working days. 

Either way, after the meeting the Appeals Officer will  confirm the  outcome of the appeal and the reason for the decision in writing within 5 working days of the meeting.  There will be no further right of appeal. 

Once the disciplinary process is complete, the Disciplinary Officer should share the lessons learnt from the process and outcome with relevant parties. 

 “Relevant parties” is likely to include the disciplinary subject’s Line Manager and any other manager who may be responsible for taking recommendations forward or monitoring improvements. 

Lessons learnt may relate to recommended departmental process changes or employee support requirements, in addition to any recommendations directly relating to the individual’s conduct. 

Responsible managers should review and take forward any recommendations without undue delay. 

This document sets out the Sport Wales’ policy and procedure for resolving grievances.    

This policy and procedure aims to promote and maintain good working relations and deliver fair and consistent treatment of all Sport Wales employees.   It does so by providing all employees with a route through which individual concerns or complaints relating to their employment, working conditions or working relationships can be addressed.  It details the process to be followed by employees who wish to raise a work-related grievance and the steps that Sport Wales will take to ensure prompt and effective action to resolve the grievance, as far as is reasonably practicable. 

The following principles under pin how this procedure will work in practice:  

• All discussions between individuals involved with the grievance will be handled in strict confidence.  Information and statements will only be shared with  those employees who are involved in the case and those who need to know information to resolve the matter.  An emphasis will be placed on informal approaches to addressing concerns.  Informal approaches will be exhausted before moving to the formal procedure unless an informal approach would be inappropriate, such as a case where the grievance allegations are substantial and serious.   
• Where appropriate, mediation should be considered as a way of resolving the grievance during the informal stage, and before progressing to the formal stage, but participation in the mediation process is voluntary.  
• In most instances, managers and their staff have a joint responsibility to work together to resolve issues early and informally before they escalate and become more difficult to resolve.   
• Grievances dealt with through this procedure may not always produce the outcome desired by the complainant.  However, effective application of the procedure should lead to all parties recognising that the outcome is fair, reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances.   
• Grievances should be raised as soon as is reasonably practicable. However, if a historic grievance is raised regarding an incident or issue you will need to provide valid grounds for the delay in raising this grievance and be aware that it may be more difficult to investigate.  
• Grievances will be progressed without as soon as is reasonably practicable.  
• No employee will be treated less favourably for raising a grievance, providing information as a witness or being the subject of a grievance. However, depending on the grievance findings, in some instances onward action under the Discipline or Performance Management policies may be required.   
• If an employee has difficulty at any stage of the grievance procedure because of a disability or because English is not their first language and they would prefer the grievance to be managed in Welsh, they should discuss the situation with their line manager or HR as soon as possible.  
• If you require any adjustments to engage meaningfully with the process these will be considered and supported where possible.  
• Raising a grievance that is known to be without foundation, or is in any other way vexatious or malicious or in bad faith may be regarded as a disciplinary offence, please see the disciplinary policy.   
• This Grievance Procedure should not be used to deal with complaints arising from the application of other policies and procedures that include an appeal mechanism e.g. Discipline, Performance Management or Attendance. If employees are dissatisfied with any action taken against them under such a procedure, they should submit an appeal under the relevant procedure.  
• In circumstances where an employee may have a grievance relating to bullying, harassment, victimisation or discrimination, the Anti-Bullying, Harassment, Victimisation and Discrimination Policy should be read in conjunction with this policy and procedure.   

Mediation may be considered as a way of resolving concerns at work at any stage of the informal or formal grievance procedure.  Mediation is a voluntary process where an independent mediator helps two or more people in dispute to attempt to reach an agreement.  Any agreement comes from those in dispute, not from the mediator.   

Participation in mediation is entirely voluntary, as all parties need to enter into it in an open-minded and constructive way for it to be effective in resolving disputes and conflict.    

Where mediation is accepted as the best way forward part way through the grievance procedure, the procedure will be suspended pending the outcome of mediation.   

If parties do not feel the dispute is fully resolved by mediation, they may decide to resume the grievance procedure.   

Further advice on mediation can be obtained from HR.

Sport Wales wants to provide a work environment that is open and supportive to those who seek advice and support.  Employees can seek advice from their line manager, HR team or Trade Union representative.  

The parties involved in the grievance may find the situation stressful or difficult and may want to talk things through with a professionally trained counsellor. Such support and counselling is available to Sport Wales employees through the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). This provides free, independent and confidential support. The EAP can be contacted via the details on Home. 

Employees should aim to settle most disputes informally directly with the individual(s) concerned.  Where this is not possible employees should raise this as an informal grievance with their line manager or with another manager who is not connected with the grievance or HR.  The line manager may be available to discuss the matter straight away or if not, they will arrange to meet with the employee to discuss their concern without unreasonable delay.     

When discussing the concern, the manager and employee should focus on the facts of the situation and the impact this has had, and the employee should explain how they would like the matter to be resolved.  If appropriate, the manager may wish to discuss the matter with relevant parties to gather further information on how best to resolve the concern. If the matter cannot be resolved by the manager the employee speaks with initially, any information shared at this stage will be shared with the person appointed to progress the matter.     

The manager and employee should work together to come to a mutually acceptable resolution to the concern, bearing in mind that there may not be a perfect solution to the problem, and agreed actions may take time and may not happen immediately.   

In most cases, informal approaches to addressing grievances will be exhausted before moving to the formal procedure.   However, where this is not possible, an employee can raise the matter formally and without unreasonable delay with the HR team.

Where an issue arises, which cannot be resolved informally, the employee should write to the HR Team stating the nature of the grievance.   

This should be done in writing indicating that it is a formal grievance and should set out the nature of the grievance in a clear and concise way, along with how the employee would like the matter to be resolved. This can be done in English or Welsh. The employee should expect the grievance to be dealt with fairly and without unreasonable delay. Written grievances will be placed on your personnel file along with a record of any decisions taken and any other notes or documents compiled during the grievance process.   

Upon receipt of a formal written grievance, a Hearing Officer will be appointed, which may not be the same person who received the grievance. There is no minimum grade for the Hearing Officer, however, where the grievance arises from the decision or actions of a colleague, the Hearing Officer will be at least one grade higher than the level of the employee who was responsible for those decisions or actions.  The Hearing Officer must not have had any prior involvement with the case.    

The Hearing Officer should write to the complainant inviting them to a Grievance Meeting to ensure they fully understand the complaint. The invite letter will provide the complainant with 5 working days' notice of the meeting and the right to be accompanied by either a work colleague or a recognised trade union representative.   

At all stages of the formal procedure the employee will have the statutory right to be accompanied by a companion. This can be a recognised trade union representative or work colleague. You should inform the person conducting the meeting of the identity of any companion at least two days before the meeting is held.   

Employees and their companions should make every effort to attend the meeting. The employee can ask for a hearing to be deferred for up to five working days if their chosen companion is unavailable at the time of the proposed meeting provided the suggested alternative date/time is reasonable and is within five working days of the original meeting.    

During the meeting the employee will be allowed to explain their grievance and how they think it should be resolved.  The aim of the meeting is to come to a mutually agreeable resolution through discussion and dialogue.    

The companion will be allowed to address the hearing; sum up the employee’s case and confer with the employee during the hearing. The companion does not however, have the right to answer questions on the employee’s behalf or address the hearing if the employee does not wish it. If the employee’s companion exceeds the limits of their role, causing unreasonable disruption to the hearing, they may be asked to leave.   

Depending on the nature of the grievance and the available evidence, the Hearing Officer may decide to adjourn the Grievance Meeting for an investigation to be conducted. The Hearing Officer may investigate the grievance themselves or appoint an alternative Investigation Officer.   In some instances, it may be necessary to appoint an Investigation Officer who is external, this could be due to capacity issues or for impartiality.   The amount of investigation required will depend on the nature of the allegations and will vary from case to case depending on the amount of investigation required, such as interviewing witnesses, accessing ICT records etc.   

An employee must co-operate fully and promptly in any investigation. This may include stating the names of any relevant witnesses, disclosing any relevant documents and attending interviews as part of the investigation.   

Individuals identified as witnesses are expected to comply with the request of an Hearing/Investigating Officer to provide any insight they have on the matter being investigated. If the individual has any concerns about acting as a witness, they should discuss them with the Hearing/Investigating Officer or a member of the HR team so that their concerns can be addressed and mitigated where possible.   

As soon as possible following the hearing and any subsequent adjournment, the Hearing Officer will communicate the outcome of the grievance in writing. The outcomes available to the Hearing Officer are:  

• To uphold the grievance;  
• To uphold elements of the grievance (partially uphold the grievance); or  
• Not to uphold the grievance  

Potential actions that arise from the grievance could be restorative, such as mediation, or training and development.  Actions could also include progression to disciplinary or performance improvement plan  

Decisions should be communicated to the employee, in writing, without unreasonable delay and will summarise the main point(s) of the discussion, the rationale for the decision, and, where appropriate, set out recommendations made to resolve the grievance as well as advising the employee of their right to appeal.  Any witnesses called as part of an investigation will be informed that the matter has been concluded and of any action that directly affects them.    

The collective grievance process will be used where:  

• A grievance is submitted in writing, with recognised trade union support, by two or more employees;  
• A grievance is submitted in writing by two or more employees and they elect one of them act as their main representative; or  
• Two or more employees independently raise separate written grievances on the same issue and the Hearing Officer, with advice from HR, determines that it is appropriate to address both grievances at once to ensure consistency.  

Where there is no recognised trade union representation, employees should nominate a spokesperson to lead the grievance for the group.   

A meeting will be arranged between the spokesperson or the trade union representative and the Hearing Officer to discuss the way forward. The Hearing Officer will determine whether investigation is required in order to deliver an outcome. Once any investigation is complete, the Hearing Officer will share the outcome in writing with the spokesperson.   

If the group disagrees with the outcome, they have one right to appeal. The appeal should be submitted by the spokesperson or trade union representative in writing to the Appeals Officer who will be independent from the original grievance process. The Appeals Officer will arrange to meet with the spokesperson or Trade Union Representative and follow the process detailed in the Appeals section of this policy.  

If an employee has raised a grievance as part of a collective grievance, they cannot then raise the same issues as an individual grievance.  

During a disciplinary case, the employee may raise a grievance, using the Sport Wales  Grievance Policy.  Where this happens, dependent upon the details of the grievance, it may be appropriate to either suspend the disciplinary procedure for a short period until the grievance can be considered or to deal with both issues concurrently. Consideration might also be given, where possible, to bring in another manager to deal with the grievance.  

The manager handling the case must contact the HR team for procedural advice before continuing further. 

Once the grievance process is complete, the Hearing Officer and/or Investigating Officer should share the lessons learnt from the process and outcome with relevant parties.   

“Relevant parties” may include the grievance subject, the subject’s line manager and any other manager who may be responsible for taking recommendations forward or monitoring the situation.  

Lessons learnt may relate to recommended departmental process changes or employee support requirements, in addition to any recommendations directly relating to the subject’s conduct where a grievance against an individual is upheld.    

Responsible managers should review and take forward any recommendations without undue delay.  

An employee who feels that their grievance has not been satisfactorily resolved has one right of appeal against the decision.   

Appeals should be made in writing to the Appeals Officer and should be submitted within five working days of the employee receiving notification of the initial outcome, stating clearly the grounds for appeal e.g. new evidence, failure to follow procedure or the original decision was unreasonable.   

In most instances, the appeal will take the form of a review of the original decision where the Appeals Officer will examine the original decision-making process and the penalty given and decide, in light of any new evidence presented, whether these were reasonable.   

Occasionally, a full rehearing of the case, where the matters are considered completely anew, may be appropriate. The Appeals Officer should seek advice from HR on receipt of the appeal to decide which is appropriate. The Appellant should be informed of which route will be taken in their Appeal Hearing invite.    

The employee will be notified in writing and given details of an appeal hearing which will be held without unreasonable delay.  The notification will give five working days’ notice of the hearing and include:  

• The date, time and venue of the hearing  
• A reminder of the right to be accompanied  
• A reminder of the procedure to be followed including whether the appeal will be a review of the original decision or a complete rehearing  
• What action may be taken by the Appeals Officer  

The employee has the right to be accompanied to the appeal and the same principles as set out in the Formal Procedure section of this policy will apply in relation to accepted companions, the role of the companion and confirmation of attendance at/rearrangement of the Hearing.  

The appeal will be dealt with impartially and the Appeals Officer will be someone who has not previously been involved in the case, normally at the same grade as the Grievance Officer, or higher.  In some cases, where appropriate, this may be a Board Member.  A member of the HR team will attend the meeting to provide advice on procedural matters.   

At the appeal hearing, the employee will explain the grounds for appeal and have an opportunity to comment on any new evidence. The Appeals Officer will ask questions to gain a fuller understanding of the appeal.  

If the employee raises any new matters in their appeal, it may be necessary to adjourn and carry out further investigation.    

At the end of the hearing the Appeals Officer will summarise the main points of discussion.  The employee or companion will also be given an opportunity to sum up. The Appeals Officer should adjourn the hearing to consider the representations made during the hearing before delivering their decision. The decision may be given in person, on the day after a brief adjournment or in writing, within 5 working days.   

Either way, after the hearing the Appeals Officer will confirm the outcome of the appeal and the reason(s) for the decision(s) in writing within 5 working days of the meeting.  This decision will be final.   

Where an employee who is leaving the organisation wishes to raise a grievance, they must make every effort to raise their complaint at the earliest opportunity to help ensure that the matter can be dealt with before they leave.   

Where an employee raises a complaint during their notice period and leaving insufficient time prior to their leaving date to follow the full process, or after they have already left the organisation, a modified approach may be applied.   

In these circumstances, an independent Officer will be appointed to review the complaint and undertake appropriate investigations. They will write to the ex-employee inviting them to provide any further comments on their complaint before deciding what level of investigation is required.   

The officer will then speak to any relevant parties and collect any other evidence before writing to the ex-employee with their findings and any recommendations made.   

Where the employee has already left the organisation when the outcome is delivered, there will be no right of appeal.   

This policy sets out the Sport Wales procedures for managing and encouraging high performance. Our approach will always be constructive and aimed at helping to raise performance levels to deliver the organisation’s objectives and to support employees to achieve their own personal and professional development goals. 

The policy should be read in conjunction with the Sport Wales Performance Framework which provides detailed guidance for the provision of regular performance development support. 

This policy also contains the procedure for addressing concerns where performance falls below expected standards. Managers are expected to deal informally and sympathetically with minor dips in performance. The formal Performance Improvement procedure should only be used for more serious or persistent performance concerns and only with HR advice. The Performance Improvement Procedure has been designed to ensure concerns are addressed fairly and consistently, and employees are given the opportunity to improve.  

The following principles under pin how this procedure will work in practice: 

• Sport Wales will seek to provide a culture and environment where all employees can thrive. 
• Employees will have a clear understanding of the performance standards expected of them and specific objectives they are expected to meet within their role. 
• Open and continuous dialogue will be maintained between employees and their line managers to ensure a mutual understanding of expectations and the individualised support the employee needs to thrive. 
• The primary focus of performance and development will be to create a culture of continuous learning and improvement to support the achievement of organisational and personal development goals. 
• Uncharacteristic dips in performance will be addressed sympathetically and informal support will be provided to aid employee wellbeing and help the employee to return to their usual standard of performance. 
• More serious or persistent performance concerns will be addressed as soon as is reasonably practicable using the Performance Improvement Procedure. Neither employees nor management will unreasonably delay any part of the procedure.  
• Performance Improvement Plans should be viewed as an opportunity to improve performance rather than as a punishment. 
• Performance standards and objectives set should be reasonable, grade appropriate and achievable. 
• Employees have a responsibility to work with their Line Manager to take feedback on board and to identify steps they could take, with their manager’s support, to improve their performance. 
• Where there is no improvement after the implementation of an informal Performance Improvement Plan, the line manager will progress to the formal procedure. 
• During Performance improvement meetings, Line Managers should provide specific examples of where performance has fallen below expected standards. If the employee disagrees with their Line Manager’s assessment of their performance, they should provide evidence to support their position. Both parties should remain receptive to each other’s perspectives and should engage in constructive discussion to identify a way forward. 
• No formal action will be taken under the Performance Improvement Procedure where the employee has a disability or health condition which impacts their ability to meet expectations and reasonable adjustments have not yet been made. 
• Employees subject to formal proceedings have the right to be accompanied to formal meetings by either a recognised Trade Union representative or work colleague. 
• If you or your companion require any adjustments to engage meaningfully with the process these will be considered and supported where possible. If an employee is unable or unwilling to attend a Performance Improvement meeting, with good reason, it will be re-arranged once.  If the employee is unable to attend the re-arranged hearing, it may be held in their absence and a decision may be made on the evidence available. In this instance, the employee will be offered an opportunity to provide a written statement to be considered in their absence.   

 Sport Wales promotes a person-centred approach to performance. This means that the approach to performance development support is continuous, flexible and adaptable to the  needs and preferences of the employee . 

The Performance Framework that supports this policy encourages one-to-one Regular Reflective Conversations between employees and their Line Managers. These conversations should be led by the employee in terms of their frequency and content but as a minimum, five key areas should be discussed during these conversations over the course of a year: 

• Objective-setting 
• Wellbeing 
• Continuous Personal Development Plan 
• Behaviours; and 
• Feedback. 

The focus should be on using these conversations to support the employee to be at their best. 

The Performance Framework contains a number of aids and templates to support these discussions.

Sport Wales is committed to giving every employee the opportunity to reach their goals and potential. To this end, Sport Wales encourages its employees to consider learning and development opportunities which will support their performance in their current role and their career aspirations. 

Regular reflective conversations should be used to discuss learning and development needs in line with employee aspiration and organisation objectives. While every effort will be made to support employees to meet their development aspirations, it should be noted that Sport Wales’ development budget is finite and that first priority will need to be given to mandatory training courses.  It should also be noted that, for many circumstances, the more effective and best value route will be through informal training options, and these should be explored fully.  

In some instances, the HR & OD team may be able to design and deliver bespoke sessions to meet an identified team development need. Where a need is identified, managers should discuss the need with the HR & OD team to determine whether there is sufficient internal expertise and capacity to address the need or whether external support would be more appropriate.

Long Term Study  

Sport Wales recognises that gaining qualifications is beneficial both for Sport Wales and for employees to reach their aspirations. Courses that last a full academic year or longer are considered long term. Sport Wales offers support for long term study which is clearly aligned to the roles and responsibilities of the employee. Long term study may be wholly or partly funded by Sport Wales, depending on the relevance to your role. Sport Wales offers time off to allow employees to attend classes or to complete study through distance learning. To help employees successfully achieve their qualification Sport Wales allows time off for study leave and attendance at exams, normally half a day for study leave and half a day to attend the exam.  

The above differs from development which has been initiated by Sport Wales such a Management and Leadership programme.  

Staff should identify the need for this type of training as part of their regular reflective conversations with their manager. Alternatively, the development may be identified at recruitment stage for an individual wishing to progress their career at Sport Wales. Employees should have successfully completed their probation period before applying for long term study support. On approval from your manager, the Application for Long Term Study Form should be completed and submitted to HR – this can be found in the HR section of the intranet.  

 This procedure is designed to assist and encourage all employees to achieve and maintain appropriate standards of job performance.  The aim is to ensure consistent and fair treatment for all and to assist any employee who is considered to be experiencing difficulties in satisfactorily performing the duties required of their role. 

Concerns about under-performance should be addressed as soon as they arise. Before progressing any formal action under the performance improvement procedure, managers must ensure that all employees understand the required level of performance for their role and that they are given a reasonable opportunity to improve with informal support.  

Managers should always consult HR if they have any concerns relating to under-performance before starting the performance improvement procedure.  

Before undertaking formal performance improvement proceedings, managers should check whether there are any underlying reasons (either personal, domestic or professional) which may have contributed to the under-performance.  Managers should consider and explore, with the employee, realistic and viable support arrangements, such as temporary adjustments, staff development, on the job training or reinduction, which may assist the employee in reaching the required standard of performance.  

At all stages of this procedure the employee will be given the opportunity to share their own reflections on their performance and advise whether there are underlying causes for the problem that they need support with. If the employee has a disability or medical condition that is impacting their performance, management under the Health & Wellbeing Policy or the Sickness Absence Policy may be more appropriate. However, if all reasonable workplace adjustments are made and performance remains below an acceptable standard, it may be appropriate to return to management under the performance improvement procedure. 

If external factors (such as bereavement or domestic circumstances) have contributed to the reduced performance these will also be taken into consideration. Sport Wales will consider appropriate adjustments that would help the employee to attend work at a reasonable level and to carry out their work effectively.  

If the employee becomes absent for any reason e.g. sickness, maternity, special leave etc, the process will be paused whilst the employee is supported to transition back to work. 

Normally, the procedure will be followed in the order of the stages set out in this procedure, although it may be appropriate to skip the informal stage where serious performance issues have been identified.  

Informal Stage  

It is important to recognise that many issues requiring performance improvement can be resolved without moving to the formal stages of the performance improvement procedure.   

As soon as a concern is identified by the manager, they should arrange to meet with the employee to discuss these concerns on a one-to-one basis. This meeting will allow the manager an opportunity to explain the performance issues and areas of concern in detail and the impact this is having on the expected level of service. The employee will be given the opportunity to share their own reflections on their performance and advise whether there are underlying causes for the problem that they need support with.   

During the meeting, the manager will usually discuss the implementation of an informal Performance Improvement Plan (a template to support can be found in the Performance Framework) with the employee. They may have started to populate the plan prior to the meeting but they should discuss this with the employee in the meeting and invite their input before finalising. The plan will identify areas for improvement, steps that need to be taken, support required and an appropriate review period. Usually a plan will be in place for 1-3 months, depending on the amount of time that would be required to demonstrate improvement against the areas identified. 

The manager will also inform the employee that if they do not meet the objectives outlined within the plan within the agreed timescale, the formal stages of the procedure may be applied. 

Formal Stage  

The formal stage of the Performance Improvement Procedure include three stages;  

• First Stage  

• Second Stage  

• Final Stage  

At each stage there will be a Performance Improvement Meeting to discuss the ongoing performance issues and progress made by the employee against the concerns identified.  

At all formal stages of the performance improvement procedure the employee will have the right to be accompanied by a recognised trade union representative or work colleague. 

Stage 1 Meeting

Where a serious and persistent performance issue has been identified and it is not appropriate to deal with this at the informal stage of the procedure, or where the informal stage has not resolved the performance issues, a Performance Improvement Meeting will take place.  

The manager will invite the employee to the meeting in writing at a specified time and place advising the employee of their right to be accompanied by either a trade union representative or a work colleague. In the invite letter, the manager will outline the areas of concern and enclose copies of any documents they intend to discuss during the meeting. The letter will also invite the employee to bring any evidence they feel would support the conversation. The invite letter should outline that a written warning is a possible consequence of the meeting. 

During the meeting, the manager will explain the performance concerns they have observed, providing specific examples to illustrate. The employee will be given the opportunity to share their own reflections on their performance and advise whether there are underlying causes for the problem that they need support with.   

Following a stage 1 performance improvement meeting, if it is confirmed that performance has been unacceptable, a first written warning will be issued and a performance improvement plan (PIP) will be agreed and shared with the employee. If a PIP was created during an earlier stage of the process, the original plan may be used and built upon. The plan will detail: 

• Specific improvement expectations 
• Success criteria 
• Methods of achieving success 
• Support required; and 
• Review dates (usually 1-3 months) 

The manager will advise the employee that if they do not meet the objectives outlined within the plan within the agreed timescale, the formal process will progress to the second stage. 

The outcome of this meeting should be confirmed in writing within 5 working days of the meeting. A first stage warning will usually remain in place for 12 months from the date it is issued. The manager should discuss this with HR. 

Progress against the PIP should then be reviewed regularly. These meetings should be scheduled in advance and the discussion noted and shared with the employee after the meeting. The manager will review performance and offer appropriate advice, support and guidance throughout.   

Following completion of the review period, the manager should meet with the employee again to review the performance.  

The purpose of this meeting is to review progress that has been made since the first formal meeting to establish whether the performance issues identified previously have been resolved. If performance has improved to an acceptable standard, no further action will be taken but the employee will remain subject to the first written warning for the remainder of the period for which it was issued. During this period, they will have regular supportive and informal one-to-ones with their line manager to ensure they continue to be supported to maintain an appropriate level of performance. If at the end of the warning period, there have been no further performance dips, no further action will be taken and the warning will be disregarded for performance management purposes. 

If at the end of the stage 1 review period, a significant number of the elements of the improvement plan have been met but not all, it may be appropriate to extend the review period. 

If at the end of the stage 1 review period, performance has not improved to an acceptable standard, the manager should progress to stage 2. 

Stage 2 Meeting

If performance does not improve to an acceptable standard within the review period set at stage 1 or, if there is further evidence of under-performance after the stage 1 review period but while the first written warning is still active, the employee will be formally invited to a stage 2 meeting where a final written warning will be considered.  

The manager will invite the employee to the meeting in writing at a specified time and place advising the employee of their right to be accompanied by either a trade union representative or a work colleague. In the invite letter, the manager will outline the areas of concern and enclose copies of any documents they intend to discuss during the meeting. The letter will also invite the employee to bring any evidence they feel would support the conversation. The invite letter should outline that a final written warning is a possible consequence of the meeting. 

During the meeting, the manager will explain the performance concerns they have observed, providing specific examples to illustrate. The employee will be given the opportunity to share their own reflections on their performance and advise whether there are underlying causes for the problem that they need support with.   

Following a stage 2 performance improvement meeting, if it is confirmed that performance has been unacceptable, a final written warning will be issued and a performance improvement plan (PIP) will be agreed and shared with the employee. If a PIP was created during an earlier stage of the process, the original plan may be used and built upon. The plan will detail: 

• Specific improvement expectations 
• Success criteria 
• Methods of achieving success 
• Support required; and 
• Review dates (usually 1-3 months) 

The manager will advise the employee that if they do not meet the objectives outlined within the plan within the agreed timescale, the formal process will progress to the final stage. 

The outcome of this meeting should be confirmed in writing within 5 working days of the meeting. A final written warning will usually remain in place for 12 months from the date it is issued. 

Progress against the PIP should then be reviewed regularly. These meetings should be scheduled in advance and the discussion noted and shared with the employee after the meeting. The manager will review performance and offer appropriate advice, support and guidance throughout.   

Following completion of the review period, the manager should meet with the employee again to review the performance.  

The purpose of this meeting is to review progress that has been made since the stage 2 meeting to establish whether the performance issues identified previously have been resolved. If performance has improved to an acceptable standard, no further action will be taken but the employee will remain subject to the final written warning for the remainder of the period for which it was issued. During this period, they will have regular supportive and informal one-to-ones with their line manager to ensure they continue to be supported to maintain an appropriate level of performance. If at the end of the warning period, there have been no further performance dips, no further action will be taken and the warning will be disregarded for performance management purposes. 

If at the end of the stage 2 review period, a significant number of the elements of the improvement plan have been met but not all, it may be appropriate to extend the review period. 

If at the end of the stage 2 review period, performance has not improved to an acceptable standard, the manager should progress to the final stage. 

Final Meeting

If performance does not improve to an acceptable standard within the review period set at stage 2, or if there is further evidence of poor performance while the final written warning is still active, a final stage meeting will be held.  

Performance meetings which consider dismissal should be chaired by the Head of Department (or above, if appropriate) but the employee’s line manager will also be in attendance to provide an account of the performance issues and progress they have observed. HR will also be present to advise on policy and procedure. The employee will be invited to the meeting in writing at a specified time and place and advised of their right to be accompanied by either a trade union representative or a work colleague. The invite letter will outline the areas of concern and enclose copies of any documents they intend to discuss during the meeting. The letter will also invite the employee to bring any evidence they feel would support the conversation. The invite letter should outline that dismissal or redeployment are possible consequences of the meeting. 

During the meeting, the Chair will  ask the line manager to explain their understanding of the performance concerns observed, providing specific examples to illustrate . The employee will be given the opportunity to share their own reflections on their performance and advise whether there are underlying causes for the problem that they need support with.   

Following the Final Meeting, if it is confirmed that performance has remained unacceptable, possible outcomes include;   

• Dismissal 
• Extension of the final written warning and setting a further review period (this will only be appropriate in exceptional cases where it is considered that a substantial improvement is likely within a further review period); or 
• Demotion or lateral redeployment may be considered (again, in exceptional circumstances only, where the reason for underperformance is specifically related to the level of responsibility or specific responsibilities associated with the grade, where a suitable post at a more junior grade/different area is available and the employee agrees) 

Dismissal decisions can only be taken by a Head of Department, and the employee will be provided with the decision in writing within 5 working days of the meeting with reasons for dismissal, the date on which their employment will end, the relevant period of notice, and their right of appeal.  

Dismissal will normally be with notice or pay in lieu of notice, unless performance has been so negligent as to amount to gross misconduct in which case dismissal will be without notice or a payment in lieu of notice.  

Appeal  

An employee has one right of appeal against any formal action taken against them under each stage of the performance improvement procedure. 

Appeals must be made in writing to the Appeals Officer within five working days of the notification of the outcome of the Performance meeting, clearly stating the grounds for appeal e.g. new evidence, failure to follow procedure, undue severity or inconsistency in the sanction. 

In most instances, the appeal will take the form of a review of the original decision where the Appeals Officer will examine the original decision-making process and the penalty given and decide, in light of any new evidence presented, whether these were reasonable.  

Occasionally, a full rehearing of the case, where the matters are considered completely anew, may be appropriate. The Appeals Officer should seek advice from HR on receipt of the appeal to decide which is appropriate. The Appellant should be informed of which route will be taken in their Appeal Hearing invite.   

The appeal will be dealt with impartially and will be heard by a manager who has had no prior involvement with the original performance improvement process, who will act as the Appeals Officer. Their contact details will be contained within the Performance meeting outcome letter. HR will ensure that all relevant papers relating to previous performance improvement decisions and proceedings are made available to the Appeals Officer. 

The employee will be notified in writing and given details of an appeal hearing which will be held without unreasonable delay.  The notification will give five working days’ notice of the hearing and include: 

• The date, time and venue of the hearing 
• A reminder of the right to be accompanied 
• A reminder of the procedure to be followed including whether the appeal will be a review of the original decision or a complete rehearing 
• What action may be taken by the Appeals Officer 

If an employee is unwilling, or unable, to attend an appeal meeting it may be concluded that a decision will be made on the basis of the evidence available.  The employee will be informed where this is the case. 

The Appeal meeting will be conducted by the Appeals Officer, who will normally be the same grade as the manager who made the original decision, or higher. In some cases, where appropriate, this may be a Board Member.  A member of the HR team will attend the meeting to provide advice on procedural matters. 

The employee will explain the grounds for appeal and have an opportunity to comment on any new evidence. The Appeals Officer will ask questions to gain a fuller understanding of the appeal. 

If the employee raises any new matters in their appeal, it may be necessary to adjourn and carry out further investigation.   

At the end of the meeting the Appeals Officer will summarise the main points of discussion.  The employee or companion will also be given an opportunity to sum up. 

The Appeals Officer should adjourn the hearing to consider the representations made during the hearing before delivering their decision. The decision may be given in person, on the day, after a brief adjournment or in writing, within 5 working days.  

After the meeting, the Appeals Officer will confirm the outcome to the employee in writing, and the reason for the decision within 5 working days of the meeting.  There will be no further right of appeal. 

 This policy sets out the Sport Wales procedure for supporting new employees during their New Starter Review period. Our approach will always be constructive and aimed at ensuring all new starters have the tools and support they need to successfully complete their New Starter Review period. 

The policy should be read in conjunction with the Sport Wales Performance Framework which provides detailed guidance for the provision of regular probationary support. 

This policy also contains the procedure for addressing concerns where performance, attendance or conduct falls below expected standards during the New Starter Review Period. Managers will recognise the need for new employees to be given time to settle into the department and the rest of the team and to familiarise themselves with their new ways of working. Managers will ensure that new starters understand the standards expected of them from the outset of their New Starter Review and will offer regular support and feedback to provide them with the best opportunity to meet those expectations. 

The following principles underpin how this procedure will work in practice: 

• All new employees will serve a probationary period of six months (unless otherwise agreed).  
• All employees will receive a formal induction, arranged by HR, to help them to understand the context within which they will be working. The formal induction will be supported by department specific training and development arranged by their line manager. 
• During their New Starter Review Period, employees will meet regularly with their line manager and a focus will be placed on ensuring they have every opportunity to thrive in their role. 
• New employees will have a clear understanding of the standards expected of them and specific objectives they are expected to meet within their role. 
• Open and continuous dialogue will be maintained between employees and their line managers to ensure a mutual understanding of expectations and the individualised support the employee needs to thrive.   
• Any concerns relating to performance, attendance or conduct during the New Starter Review period will be addressed promptly and appropriate support provided. 
• Employees have a responsibility to work with their Line Manager to take feedback on board and to identify steps they could take, with their manager’s support, to improve.   
• If the employee has a disability or medical condition that is impacting their performance or performance during the New Starter Review Period, management under the Health & Wellbeing Policy or the Absence Management Policy may be more appropriate. However, if all reasonable workplace adjustments are made and performance, attendance or conduct remains below the expected standard, it may be appropriate to return to management under the Probation procedure.   
• Performance, attendance and conduct are considered as a whole. Failure to meet required standards in one area or in any combination of areas may result in a written warning being given and/or dismissal at any stage during probation. 
• Employees subject to formal proceedings have the right to be accompanied to formal meetings by a companion, either a recognised Trade Union representative or a work colleague. 
• If the employee  or their companion require any adjustments to engage meaningfully with the process, these will be supported wherever possible. 
• If an employee is unable or unwilling to attend a formal meeting with good reason, it will be re-arranged once.  If the employee is unable to attend the re-arranged hearing, it may be held in their absence and a decision may be made on the evidence available. In this instance, the employee will be offered an opportunity to provide a written statement to be considered in their absence.   
• Sport Wales reserves the right to dismiss new starters at any point during the New Starter Review period or to extend the review period where it becomes obvious that the individual will not reach an acceptable standard within a reasonable timeframe. The employee will have one right of appeal. 

 New starters and their manager should meet at least monthly to review progress against the objectives set towards the start of the New Starter Review period.  There will be a formal review at 3 months and a final review at 6 months. 

At each of these stages, the line manager will provide the new starter with thorough feedback about their performance to date, highlighting any areas for development and discussing any support needed to help the employee reach expectations. 

At each review, provided that the new starter is meeting the expectations required of them, it will be confirmed that they have successfully completed the 3 month/6 month review period. If they have successfully completed the 6 month review period, the new starter will be regarded as a substantive employee and will no longer be subject to probationary arrangements. 

 Where concerns remain at the 6 month review meeting, about the new starter’s suitability for the role to which they were appointed, the New Starter Review period may be extended up to (but no longer than) 9 months. The review period should only be extended where there is evidence that with more time, the new starter is likely to be able to meet the required standard. A New Starter Review period extension will usually be accompanied by a written warning detailing the area for concern and the expected improvement. 

A written warning can be issued at any stage during the New Starter Review Period and managers should not wait until the 3 or 6 month Review Meeting to address a serious concern. 

If performance concerns arise, it is usually appropriate to initially address these informally and to agree a plan of support and improvement expectations. If informal support does not result in an acceptable level of improvement, the line manager will arrange a formal meeting to discuss the concern. This may naturally coincide with the date of the 3 or 6 month review meeting. 

If a new starter is absent from work during their New Starter Review period, the line manager should seek to understand the reason for the absence and provide support where appropriate. If attendance dips below an acceptable level (refer to the managing unsatisfactory attendance policy for indicators of unsatisfactory attendance and pro-rata indicators for the length of the New Starter Review period), the line manager will arrange a formal meeting to discuss the concern. This may naturally coincide with the date of the 3 or 6 month review meeting. 

If conduct concerns arise during the New Starter Review period, the guidance contained within the Disciplinary policy should be followed to determine how the concerns should be addressed. If, once an appropriate level of fact-finding has been conducted, allegations of misconduct are substantiated, the line manager will arrange a formal meeting to discuss the concern. This may naturally coincide with the date of the 3 or 6 month review meeting.  If the misconduct is sufficiently serious, it may merit dismissal for a first instance. 

Where a formal meeting is convened to discuss an issue arising with a new starter’s performance, attendance or conduct, the invite letter should provide: 

• 5 working days’ notice of the meeting 
• A reminder of the right to be accompanied 
• An outline of the concerns to be discussed 
• Copies of any documents the manager intends to discuss during the meeting 
• Forewarning that the meeting may result in a written warning (or dismissal where serious or gross misconduct is being considered). 

The manager will confirm the outcome of the meeting during the meeting after a brief adjournment, including any expectations for improvement. They will confirm the outcome in writing within 5 working days of the meeting. 

Performance, attendance and conduct are considered as a whole, and warnings issued for any concern during the New Starter Review will be referred to as a probation warning. The warning will remain live for the remainder of the New Starter Review period. If concerns persist or different concerns arise during the currency of the warning, a further formal meeting should be arranged where the outcome will usually be dismissal for failed probation. 

Formal probation meetings which consider dismissal should be chaired by the Head of Department (or above, if appropriate) but the employee’s line manager will also be in attendance to provide an account of the performance issues and progress they have observed. HR will also be present to advise on policy and procedure. The employee will be invited to the meeting in writing at a specified time and place with at least 5 working days’ notice and advised of their right to be accompanied by either a trade union representative or a work colleague. The invite letter will outline the areas of concern and enclose copies of any documents they intend to discuss during the meeting. The letter will also invite the employee to bring any evidence they feel would support the conversation. The invite letter should outline that dismissal is a possible consequence of the meeting. 

Where performance, attendance and/or conduct improve after a probation warning is issued and the employee successfully completes their New Starter Period, the probation warning will be disregarded for management purposes. However, any absences will remain on the employee record and will count towards any future consideration of formal unsatisfactory attendance action if attendance levels become unsatisfactory again within a 52 week rolling period. Any advice or improvement support given during the New Starter Review period may also be considered when determining the appropriate response to recurrent concerns after the New Starter Period is complete.

Employees will have one right to appeal a probation warning or dismissal. 

Appeals must be made in writing to the Appeals Officer within five working days of the notification of the outcome of the formal meeting, clearly stating the grounds for appeal e.g. new evidence, failure to follow procedure, undue severity or inconsistency in the sanction. 

In most instances, the appeal will take the form of a review of the original decision where the Appeals Officer will examine the original decision-making process and the penalty given and decide, in light of any new evidence presented, whether these were reasonable.  

Occasionally, a full rehearing of the case, where the matters are considered completely anew, may be appropriate. The Appeals Officer should seek advice from HR on receipt of the appeal to decide which is appropriate. The Appellant should be informed of which route will be taken in their Appeal Hearing invite.   

The appeal will be dealt with impartially and will be heard by a manager who has had no prior involvement with the original performance improvement process, who will act as the Appeals Officer. Their contact details will be contained within the formal meeting outcome letter. HR will ensure that all relevant papers relating to previous probation decisions and proceedings are made available to the Appeals Officer. 

The employee will be notified in writing and given details of an appeal hearing which will be held without unreasonable delay.  The notification will give five working days’ notice of the hearing and include: 

• The date, time and venue of the hearing 
• A reminder of the right to be accompanied 
• A reminder of the procedure to be followed including whether the appeal will be a review of the original decision or a complete rehearing 
• What action may be taken by the Appeals Officer 

If an employee is unwilling, or unable, to attend an appeal meeting it may be concluded that a decision will be made on the basis of the evidence available.  The employee will be informed where this is the case. 

The Appeal meeting will be conducted by the Appeals Officer, who will normally be the same grade as the manager who made the original decision, or higher. In some cases, where appropriate, this may be a Board Member.  A member of the HR team will attend the meeting to provide advice on procedural matters. 

The employee will explain the grounds for appeal and have an opportunity to comment on any new evidence. The Appeals Officer will ask questions to gain a fuller understanding of the appeal. 

If the employee raises any new matters in their appeal, it may be necessary to adjourn and carry out further investigation.   

At the end of the meeting the Appeals Officer will summarise the main points of discussion.  The employee or companion will also be given an opportunity to sum up. 

The Appeals Officer should adjourn the hearing to consider the representations made during the hearing before delivering their decision. The decision may be given in person, on the day, after a brief adjournment or in writing, within 5 working days.  

After the meeting, the Appeals Officer will confirm the outcome to the employee in writing, and the reason for the decision within 5 working days of the meeting.  There will be no further right of appeal. 

This policy sets out the standards expected of Sport Wales employees when using social media where there is a link or potential link between their activity and their employment at Sport Wales.   

Sport Wales respects the legal rights of employees and, by and large, what you do in your own time is your concern. However, in digital communications, the lines between public and private, personal and professional, can sometimes blur. As such, this policy covers the responsibilities of employees both inside and outside of work.   

For the purposes of this policy, social media is defined as any type of interactive online media that allows parties to communicate with each other or share information in a public forum. This includes online social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, YouTube, TikTok and LinkedIn. This is not an exhaustive list as social media continues to expand its reach.   

The Sport Wales Information and Communications Technology policy handbook provides detailed information regarding Email and Internet Usage.    

Sport Wales expects its employees to approach the online world in the same way we do the physical one – by using sound judgment and common sense. As such, the rules that apply to your actions in general, as found in the Staff Handbook, apply to your conduct online.

Sport Wales recognises that social media can bring significant benefits to the organisation, particularly for building profile and relationships with stakeholders.   

The Sport Wales Communications team is responsible for the management of the official Social Media accounts. At the time of publishing, Sport Wales uses LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X as a means of engaging with the public by communicating the work we do and our central messages and responding to their queries.  

The content shared from our official accounts goes through a level of scrutiny to ensure that it reflects the organisation’s values, business plan priorities and adheres to our statutory duties e.g. Welsh language.   

You must not personally set up any social media platforms or feeds described as a Sport Wales account or a Sport Wales department account. If you have ideas for content, the Communications team would welcome a discussion with you.

 Sport Wales encourages open and two-way conversation with target audiences.     

If employees use social media with due care, it can be of real benefit to both the public and to Sport Wales. With this in mind, when sharing content on your own personal social media channels for work purposes, you should always aim to add value. Sport Wales’s reputation is made up in a large part by the behaviour of its employees and everything you publish can reflect on how we are perceived. If it helps you, your co-workers, our target audiences or our partners to perform well and solve problems; if it promotes our work or our organisational vision; and any potential negative/harmful consequences have been considered and mitigated against, then it is adding value. These principles also apply to giving consent to third parties to share content about Sport Wales activity.  

You are expected to exercise personal responsibility whenever you use social media for work purposes. This includes maintaining the trust of those with whom you are engaging. You should be sure that you are presenting accurate and respectful information and ensuring audiences are not misled.  It is important to understand what is recommended, expected and required when you discuss Sport Wales related topics. You should always consider whether the comments you are making are guided by knowledge and alignment with Sport Wales’s values and priorities and seek guidance from the Communications team where you are unsure.   

You may choose to share official Sport Wales social media posts. This helps to build the profile of sport in Wales and may help to add value to your work..   

If someone from the media or press contacts you about posts you’ve made using social media you should talk to your line manager before responding and the Communications team must be consulted.    

If you see inaccuracies articulated about Sport Wales by partners, journalists or other online voices, you should advise the Communications team  department that you have identified information that is inaccurate or could damage the reputation of the organisation.   

When sharing content online, be prepared for a two-way conversation – people are entitled to their own views. To avoid unnecessary or counterproductive arguments, make sure that what you say is factual and be prepared to disengage if conflict escalates and the discussion is no longer constructive.   You should talk to your line manager or seek advice from the communications team.  

When using social media for work purposes, it is essential that you follow copyright, data protection and safeguarding laws. For the organisation’s protection as well as your own, it is critical that you stay within the legal framework and be aware that libel, defamation, copyright, data protection and safeguarding laws apply. Always ask permission to publish or report on conversations that are private or internal to the organisation.  Confidential information must not be shared.  Be aware that content on social media websites may become subject to Freedom of Information requests.    

You also must adhere to the following principles, that are part of Sport Wales' family of Data Protection Policies:     

• We are all responsible for keeping records (see Data Protection Strategy)    
• All information created as part of your job role constitutes a Sport Wales record and is evidence of the organisation’s work and may be needed for reference by others in future. (see Information Classification Strategy)  
• All information is subject to a retention period, specifying how long it must be kept. (see Information Deletion and Destruction Strategy)  

If you fail to observe the guidance outlined in this section and this results in real or potential reputational damage to Sport Wales, action may be taken against you under the Disciplinary Procedure. 

These guidelines apply to all Sport Wales employees. However, there may be additional expectations or controls set by managers in each area of the organisation, based on the area’s function and specific responsibilities. Managers should not adopt an unnecessarily restrictive approach and should ensure that any special instructions are reasonable and explained clearly to staff.   

Managers should bear in mind impartiality, confidentiality, conflicts of interest and commercial sensitivity when setting expectations. In some cases, individuals may be dealing with matters which are so sensitive that rules may have to be set on what they can and cannot discuss on social media.

You may wish to reference where you work on your personal social media profiles. If you decide to publicise where you work, or it is evident through your feed or reputation that you work for Sport Wales, you must  should also include a statement that the views you express or imply via likes, re-posts etc. do not necessarily reflect the views or values of Sport Wales e.g. 'Statements and opinions shared here are my own and are not those of my employer'. This is to help safeguard the integrity of the organisation if an employee inadvertently or deliberately posts something inappropriate or damaging to Sport Wales’ reputation.  

Even with a disclaimer, where there is a publicly apparent link between you and Sport Wales, you must be mindful of the appropriateness and potential impact of the things you choose to post about, or comment on  

Our code of conduct policy includes guidance in relation to personal political activity and you must make yourself aware of this and consider whether a comment or a post that you may wish to make could be perceived as political or controversial. You will need approval to undertake certain political activities because Sport Wales is politically neutral and answers to Senedd Cymru, nothing should be posted, liked or shared in a personal capacity which is likely to cause reputational difficulty, for the organisation, yourself, or any other employee. This would include any implication that the organisation has allowed political views to influence its decision making.  

You should not disclose financial, operational, strategic or any sensitive information regarding Sport Wales unless it has already been published. You should not share images of your desk screens or pictures of printed Sport Wales material unless it has already been published or is promotional material. Any messages that you write in a personal capacity on your social media channels must not:   

• Bring Sport Wales into disrepute;   
• Infer that Sport Wales has allowed political views to inappropriately influence its decision making   
• Disclose confidential information;   
• Do anything that could be construed as discriminatory towards any group or encourage the breaking of any laws   
• Inadvertently make other people's personal information public.   

In general, it is good practice for you to exercise caution when posting to your personal social networks. If you think an update or message might cause complaints or offence-or be otherwise unsuitable-you should not post it. If in doubt, leave it out.   

Any content contained in social media carries the risks of potential legal liability for the author arising from the accidental or deliberate infringement of laws including (but not limited to):   

• Defamation   
• Obscene or blasphemous material   
• Protection of children   
• Data protection   
• Discrimination/harassment, human rights   
• Confidential contract information   
• Copyright designs and patents, data protection and privacy   
• Computer crime e.g. Computer Misuse Act, Telecommunications Acts   
• Regulation of Investigatory Powers   
• Trademarks   
• Infringement of confidentiality agreements.   

If you do infringe a law this would usually result in a disciplinary investigation. Always remember that participation on line results in your comments being permanently available and open to being republished in other media.  

If you break the law using social media (for instance, by posting something defamatory), you will be personally responsible, and action may be taken against you under the Disciplinary Procedure.  

When engaging in social media use, for work or personal purposes, it is important to remember that once you share content publicly online, you are no longer in control of that content; it is susceptible to being republished by other parties and therefore, to become permanently available.

Sport Wales recognises the value of media engagement in celebrating the impact of its work and projects.  This policy seeks to ensure that, where possible, all representations of Sport Wales in the media demonstrate a unified position and support its professional reputation. 

Sport Wales employees have a responsibility to consider the impact of any communication with the media on Sport Wales’s reputation and conduct themselves in a way that is consistent with our values and priorities. Any failure to do so may result in action being taken under the Disciplinary Policy. 

Wherever a member of staff is invited to appear or comment in the media in a context related to  Sport Wales, the invitation must  be channelled through the Communications team.   The Communications Manager (in consultation with the Assistant Director of Communications, where appropriate), will consider the request, including any potential conflicts of interest and/or risk factors and decide who would be the most appropriate member of staff to make the appearance or comment. In some instances, a decision may be taken not to move forward with the appearance or comment if it is not considered to be in the best interests of Sport Wales. 

Where making an appearance or comment is considered to be ,appropriate the Communications team will take over liaison with the media and work with the relevant staff to ensure that the best spokesperson is identified, they are fully briefed and prepared.  

If, because of a particular personal expertise or interest not connected or linked to the work of Sport Wales, a member of staff is invited to appear or provide comment in the media, it is essential that the Communications Manager is made aware.  Any reference to your role or employment at Sport Wales must be agreed upon by the Communications team prior to taking part or providing comment. 

 Members of staff are encouraged to publicise the work of Sport Wales by writing topical articles which could be for online or printed on subjects related to the work of Sport Wales. Sport Wales recognises that it is important to provide individuals with reasonable scope to express their own ideas. However, to ensure that the position of Sport Wales is not prejudiced, all such articles must be discussed with the Communications team before any agreement is made on writing or publishing. The Communications team will work with staff to ensure that both priorities are met including consideration of whether the intended publication channel adheres to Sport Wales’s values and priorities and to assess any conflicts of interest or risk in content topic.  The article should also be: 

• submitted to the Chief Executive for comment and the internal subject matter lead (where relevant) for content sign-off; and 
• submitted to the Assistant Director of Communications or Communications Manager for final sign-off. 

Where appropriate, the Communications team may arrange for the article to be published in other relevant publications. 

There may be occasions where Sport Wales staff have the opportunity to write or contribute to publications that are not directly linked to their work at Sport Wales. Even in these instances, it may still be possible for material you produce or contribute to be linked with your employment at Sport Wales. As such, it is essential that the Communications team is made aware of any such contribution. Any reference to your role or employment at Sport Wales must be agreed upon by the Communications team prior to writing or publishing of the article. 

Members of staff considering writing a book on a subject related to the work of Sport Wales must advise the Communications Manager or Assistant Director of Communications who may consult with the Chief Executive Officer, and other appropriate individuals within the organisation.   Their connection with Sport Wales may be mentioned provided that, well in advance, the Chief Executive Officer approves an appropriately worded disclaimer, the author is prepared, if necessary, to submit a typescript of the book before proof copy stage and Sport Wales withholds the right to remove any inaccurate or misleading detail, or information that may bring the reputation of the organisation into disrepute. 

Members of staff considering writing a book on a subject matter not related to the work of Sport Wales should advise their line manager of such intention and make the Communications team aware of publishing plans. 

Any staff members writing a book or article are personally responsible for ensuring that they follow copyright and data protection laws. For the organisation’s protection as well as your own, it is critical that you stay within the legal framework and be aware that libel, defamation, copyright and data protection laws apply.

 This policy applies the provision of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 at Sport Wales and provides a procedure which enables employees to raise concerns about what is happening at work, particularly where those concerns relate to unlawful conduct, financial malpractice or dangers to the public or the environment.  The purpose of this policy is to ensure that concerns are raised and dealt with at an early stage and in an appropriate manner.    

Sport Wales is committed to providing protection for employees who need to utilise this policy.  If an employee raises a genuine concern under this policy, they would not be at risk of losing their job, nor would they suffer any form of detriment as a result.  As long as the employee is acting in good faith and in accordance with this Policy, it does not matter if they are mistaken.

This policy does not apply to raising grievances about an employee’s personal situation.  These types of concerns are covered by Sport Wales’ Grievance Procedures.  The Whistle-Blowing Policy is primarily concerned with where the interests of others or Sport Wales itself are at risk.  It may be difficult to decide whether a particular concern should be raised under the Whistle-Blowing Policy or under the Grievance Procedure, or under both.  If you have any doubt as to the correct route to follow, please consult the Head of Organisation Development for advice. 

 The following principles under pin how this procedure will work in practice: 

• The objective of the Whistleblowing Policy is primarily to address concerns of wrongdoing where there is a public interest, which includes a risk to the public, staff, or the organisation itself. 
• In some instances, matters raised under the Whistleblowing policy would be more appropriately managed under the Grievance policy e.g. where the problem is personal to the person raising the complaint in relation to their employment. Where this is the case, the individual who raised the concern will be advised of this by their manager or HR and provided with guidance as to next steps.   
• Sport Wales recognises that it is in its best interests to foster a culture where employees feel safe to raise any concerns of malpractice or impropriety they have. Employees are encouraged to do so without delay. 
• Sport Wales will not tolerate whistleblowers being treated less favourably as a result of raising a concern under this policy in good faith. Sport Wales will consider any mistreatment of a whistleblower to be a serious breach of conduct standards and deal with it under the Disciplinary Policy. 
• Where the whistleblower requests it and where practicable, the whistleblower’s identity will be protected. 
• Where it is not possible to protect the whistleblower’s identity e.g. where they may be required to give evidence in court, the best way to proceed will be discussed with them. 
• If an employee would prefer to raise and discuss their concern in Welsh, they should request this of their Line Manager or HR without delay so this can be arranged. 
• If an employee raises a concern in good faith, but it is not substantiated by an investigation, they will not be subjected to any disadvantage. 
• However, if it is evident that an employee has raised a concern that is known to be without foundation, or is in any other way vexatious, malicious or in bad faith, this will be managed under the Disciplinary Policy. 

This policy should not be used to raise a concern about a problem that is personal to you in relation to your employment. These types of concerns are covered by Sport Wales’s Grievance policy.  

The Whistleblowing Policy provides a process through which to raise concerns, primarily where the interests of others or Sport Wales itself are at risk.  Qualifying disclosures are likely to fall into one of the following categories: 

• a crime has been committed or is likely to be committed; 
• the organisation has failed or is likely to fail to comply with a legal obligation; 
• a miscarriage of justice has or is likely to occur; 
• Sexual harassment, unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature, from employees or third parties, that violates someone’s dignity or creates intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment; 
• someone's health and safety has been or is likely to be compromised or endangered; and 
• the organisation is causing or is likely to cause damage to the environment. 

You can also blow the whistle if you become aware that someone is trying to conceal information about any of these issues. 

It may be difficult to decide whether a particular concern should be raised under the Whistleblowing Policy or under the Grievance Policy.  If you have any doubt as to the correct route to follow, please consult the HR & OD team for advice.

If you have a concern that you feel should be raised under the Whistleblowing Policy, you should raise it with your Line Manager in the first instance. This can be done either verbally or in writing. However, after an initial discussion, you may be asked to express concerns in writing. You are encouraged to set out the context and history of your concern, providing as much detail as possible. If you wish for your disclosure to be treated in confidence, you should make this known at the outset of raising the concern. If it is not possible to protect your identity for any reason, this will be communicated to you and a discussion will be had about the best way to proceed. 

If, for any reason, you feel unable to raise the concern with your line manager, you should raise it with the Director responsible for your team or with the HR & OD Manager. 

If you feel unable, for any reason, to raise the concern with any of these parties or you feel these channels have been exhausted and you still have concerns, you should discuss it with the Chief Executive Officer. 

If you have brought your concerns to the attention of the Chief Executive Officer and you feel that they have unreasonably refused to act upon them, such concerns can be raised with the Chair of Sport Wales or Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee. 

In the rare instance where an employee feels that, after exhausting the above process, acts of fraud or impropriety are being ignored or condoned, such concerns can be reported to Sport Wales’ sponsor department in Welsh Government. Employees undertaking such action should be confident that they have followed all internal processes prior to contacting Welsh Government.  

 Sport Wales has also engaged a third-party platform, called Safecall, to provide the option for Whistleblowers to make anonymous reports under this policy. If you wish to make an anonymous report, you can do so by accessing the Safecall portal.  

There are three levels of anonymity that you can report under – named, semi-anonymous and anonymous. If you are happy for Sport Wales to know your identity and contact you directly regarding your concern, you can use the named option as an alternative to the process described at 'How to raise a concern'.  

If you are willing to be contacted about your report for any follow‑up information but do not want your identity shared with Sport Wales, the semi‑anonymous option allows you to provide your name and contact details to Safecall, only. If you select this option, you will receive notifications informing you when there have been updates to your report or when further information has been requested. You will also be given login details so that you can provide any information requested via the Safecall platform while remaining anonymous to Sport Wales.  

If you wish to remain entirely anonymous, you will be provided with login details to access updates to your report or requests for further information but you will not receive notifications that there have been updates. Therefore, it will be your responsibility to check for updates. If you do not respond to requests for additional information, and there is insufficient detail to adequately investigate, it may not be possible to progress your report. 

In some instances, concerns may be able to be resolved between you and the person to whom you disclosed the concern. However, the person to whom you made your disclosure may escalate it to another party in the organisation to determine appropriate next steps. 

Usually, the Director of Finance and Business Services will make an initial assessment – which may include a preliminary fact-finding exercise – of whether a formal internal investigation should be initiated. In some instances, they may assess that the matter should be reported to an external agency such as the police or to Audit Wales. This initial assessment should take no longer than five working days from the point the disclosure is made. 

If an internal investigation is determined to be the appropriate course of action, the Director of Finance and Business Services will appoint an investigating officer. The investigating officer will have had no prior involvement with the concern raised and will be a member of the Leadership Team. Where it is not appropriate to appoint an investigating officer from the Leadership Team, they may appoint a member of the Board. The investigating officer will contact you once they have been appointed to advise you of their role and – as far as it is appropriate to do so – how they intend to take it forward. 

The investigating officer will collect evidence to determine the veracity of the concern, this may include physical evidence and/or witness testimony. As the whistleblower, you may be invited to an interview to provide additional information. 

If the investigating officer feels there is a need to collect evidence via surveillance or monitoring without the subject’s knowledge, they must seek legal advice before proceeding. 

The investigation should be completed as soon as reasonably practicable. Once complete, the investigating officer will share their report, including a recommendation as to whether or not there is a case to answer, with the Director of Finance and Business Services (unless an alternative party has been determined to be the appropriate hearing authority) who will determine what, if any, onward action should be taken. 

At the conclusion of the investigation, subject to any legal restrictions, the Director of Finance and Business Services will provide you with information about the outcome of any investigations and/or proceedings. 

If, as a whistleblower, you are unhappy with the outcome of the investigation into your disclosure because you believe the investigation was flawed, you can request an internal review of the decision. 

Disagreement with an investigation outcome does not automatically provide a right to escalate to the internal review stage. Requests must be made on one of the following grounds: 

• That the decision and /or investigation was not carried out in accordance with relevant policy, regulations, legislation or other information published or communicated by Sport Wales; 
• That the decision was based on incomplete or inaccurate evidence, to the extent that it is reasonable to conclude that the decision may have been different if all evidence was considered; 
• That there was prejudice or bias by one or more decision maker; and 
• That the alleged wrongdoing is still happening. 

If there is evidence that one of these grounds applies, an internal review of the original decision will be undertaken by someone independent of the original decision and investigation. The internal review will normally be completed within 30 working days of the request being received and recommendations will be made. A written response will be provided to the whistleblower following its conclusion. This will include the decision to either uphold or revise the decision. 

Once the process is complete, it is good practice to reflect on lessons learnt. 

Where the disclosure related to fraud, a review will be undertaken by the Director of Finance and Business Services to assist Sport Wales with lessons learned.  The review will include: 

• A fundamental review of all systems and procedures in order to identify any other potential systems failures. 
• System changes, where identified, actioned immediately and staff notified of procedural updates which will be available via Sport Wales’ Intranet (KIT). 
• An annual report submitted to the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee of all investigations undertaken detailing outcomes and the lessons learned. 

For all other concerns, the investigating officer and/or the Director of Finance and Business Services should share the lessons learnt from the process and outcome with relevant parties. 

“Relevant parties” will include anyone who will be responsible for taking recommendations forward or monitoring improvements.  

Depending on the nature of the disclosure and outcome of the investigative process, lessons learnt may relate to recommended departmental process changes or recommendations relating to an individual or multiple individuals’ conduct or support requirements.  

Responsible managers should review and take forward any recommendations without undue delay. 

Everyone has the right to be treated with consideration, dignity and respect at work. Sport Wales is committed to providing a safe, inclusive and supportive working environment for all employees, and will not tolerate bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation by or against its staff in any form.  

The aim of this policy is to promote a working environment that is free from hostility and to enable employees to make a complaint about bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation or assist in an investigation without concerns of reprisal. Employees are encouraged to challenge inappropriate or unacceptable behaviour and take action if they experience or observe any acts of hostility by following the procedure outlined in this policy. 

The following principles underpin how this procedure will work in practice: 

• All staff have the right to be treated with consideration, dignity and respect at work. 
• Any form of bullying, harassment, victimisation or discrimination is unacceptable, even if unintentional. 
• All individuals have a duty of care to practicably protect others from harm and should therefore endeavour to support colleagues who they observe being bullied, discriminated against, harassed or victimised. In practice, this may mean bringing it to the attention of their line manager, another appropriate manager or HR. 
• Employees who feel they have been bullied, discriminated against, harassed or victimised will be provided with help and support to raise a complaint and are encouraged to do so. 
• Employees accused of bullying, harassing, victimising or discriminating against a colleague will have the opportunity to respond to the complaint before any decisions are made about how to resolve the issue and will be able to access support to manage any associated worry or anxiety from their line manager and/or the Employee Assistance Programme. 
• Complaints will be resolved informally wherever possible which may include the provision of mediation or other external restorative approaches. 
• Where informal resolution is not possible or appropriate, the formal grievance procedure or disciplinary procedure, depending on the circumstances, will be used to deal with complaints of bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation. 
• Complaints will be dealt with promptly and progressed as quickly as possible whilst allowing for thorough investigation. 
• Proven instances of bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation will be addressed using the disciplinary procedure, normally being treated as gross misconduct which is likely to result in dismissal. 
• Should any third party be found to be bullying, discriminating against, harassing or victimising  a member of staff or any other third party, Sport Wales has the right, where possible, to remove the service or contract from the third party. 
• Confidentiality will be observed at all times by all parties and records of formal processes will be kept. 
• Sport Wales will provide education and guidance on the subject of bullying, harassment, victimisation and discrimination to all Sport Wales employees. 
• Sport Wales will continue to ensure that all our policies, practices and activities are free from discrimination. 

Bullying is unwanted behaviour from a person or group that is either: offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting; or an abuse or misuse of power that undermines, humiliates, or causes physical or emotional harm to someone. 

Bullying might be a regular pattern of behaviour or a one-off incident. It might happen face-to-face, on social media, in emails or calls. It might happen at work or in other work-related situations. Bullying may not always be obvious or noticed by others. 

It's possible someone might not know their behaviour is bullying. It can still be bullying even if they do not realise it or do not intend to bully someone. 

Examples of bullying at work could include: 

• constantly criticising someone's work 
• spreading malicious rumours about someone 
• constantly putting someone down in meetings 
• deliberately giving someone a heavier workload than everyone else 
• excluding someone from team social events 
• putting humiliating, offensive or threatening comments or photos on social media. 

Discrimination means treating someone less favourably because of a protected characteristic they possess. Discrimination could occur where one person is treated less favourably than another because of a protected characteristic or when a provision, criteria or practice in place creates a disproportionate disadvantage for a person with a protected characteristic compared to those who do not share that characteristic. This applies regardless of whether the individual identifies as having a protected characteristic or not and is extended by association to family members or friends.  Less favourable treatment can be anything that puts someone with a protected characteristic at a disadvantage, compared to someone who does not have that characteristic. 

Putting someone at a disadvantage might include: 

• excluding someone from opportunities or benefits 
• unnecessarily making it harder for someone to do their job 
• causing someone emotional distress 
• causing someone financial loss 

It can still be discrimination even if the less favourable treatment was not intended. 

Discrimination could be on the basis of any of the 9 protected characteristics: 

• age 
• disability 
• gender reassignment 
• marriage and civil partnership 
• pregnancy and maternity 
• race 
• religion or belief 
• sex 
• sexual orientation 

For the purposes of this procedure, ‘gender reassignment’ is inclusive of all gender identities, be that transgender, non-binary or intersex.  It is also inclusive of someone’s perceived gender identity or gender expression.  

We know that people can experience multiple forms of discrimination at the same time due to the overlap of different protected characteristics (e.g. race, gender and sexual orientation). This is known as intersectionality. The combination of these can lead to intensified or compounded forms of discrimination. We will ensure that all complaints are considered with full awareness of how overlapping characteristics may influence a person’s experience and they will not be at a disadvantage due to the complexity of their intersectionality. 

Hate crime is targeting someone because of their disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or being transgender.  This could include physical violence, sexual assault, verbal abuse, threats of violence, online abuse, damage to someone’s property or inciting or stirring up hatred.  It can still be a crime if there is a mistake about someone’s identify.  This is a criminal offence and should be reported to the police.  Internally, hate crimes will be handled in the same way as any other discrimination complaint. 

Harassment is defined as unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual.  Harassment may be an isolated occurrence or repetitive.  It can be harassment if the behaviour has one of these effects even if the effect was not intended or if the behaviour was intended to have one of these effects but didn’t. 

Harassment is when bullying or unwanted behaviour relates to any of the following protected characteristics: 

• age 
• disability 
• gender reassignment 
• race 
• religion or belief 
• sex 
• sexual orientation 

Sexual harassment is unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature. This type of harassment does not need to need to be related to a protected characteristic so someone who feels they have been sexually harassed does not need to show it was because of their sex or sexual orientation. 

Sexual harassment can be a one-off incident or an ongoing pattern of behaviour. It can happen in person or online. 

Examples of sexual harassment may include: 

• making sexual remarks about someone's body, clothing or appearance 
• asking questions about someone's sex life 
• telling sexually offensive jokes 
• making sexual comments or jokes about someone's sexual orientation or gender reassignment 
• displaying or sharing pornographic or sexual images, or other sexual content 
• touching someone against their will, for example hugging them 
• sexual assault or rape 

What some people might consider as joking, 'banter' or part of their workplace culture can still be sexual harassment. 

Sexual harassment is usually directed at an individual, but it's not always the case. Sometimes there can be a culture of behaviour that's not specifically aimed at one person – such as sharing sexual images. Someone could still make a complaint of sexual harassment in this situation. 

Victimisation is the less favourable treatment of someone because they have made or supported a complaint to do with a protected characteristic, or someone thinks they did. 

For example, your colleague makes a sexual harassment claim against your boss. After you give evidence as a witness to support their claim, your boss starts treating you unfairly. 

Executive 

The Executive team are responsible for upholding the principles of this policy and reducing risk of bullying, harassment, and victimisation at work.  This includes raising awareness of this policy amongst employees and overseeing appropriate implementation of this policy where instances arise.  

Managers 

Managers and supervisors have a duty to implement this policy and to make every effort to ensure that bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation do not occur, particularly in work areas for which they are responsible. Managers and supervisors have responsibility to address any incidents of bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation of which they are aware, or ought to be aware. 

If bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation does occur, they must effectively deal with the situation using the steps outlined in the next section. 

All Employees 

All employees are responsible for their own behaviour and are expected to behave in ways which encourage and contribute to a tolerant and inclusive working environment. We must all comply with this policy, and should ensure that our behaviour towards colleagues, partners, customers and suppliers does not cause offence, and could not in any way be considered to be bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation. 

We should make it clear that we find such behaviour unacceptable, and support colleagues suffering this treatment and who are considering making a complaint. 

If you think you have witnessed an act of bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation you should try to keep a record of when and where the behaviour occurred and the names of anyone else who may have witnessed it. This will be important when discussing the matter with the alleged perpetrator or if the matter were to be formally investigated. 

It is advisable to speak to the person you think has been bullied, discriminated against, harassed or victimised to ensure you have understood the exchange between them and the alleged perpetrator. If you still feel that bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation has occurred, you should discuss with the individual how they feel about the incident and whether they need any support. 

Incidents may be addressed either by speaking directly to those involved or raising the incident with a manager or member of the HR team to enable the organisation to deal with the matter. 

Failure to fulfil individual responsibilities under this policy may result in disciplinary action, including dismissal. 

We encourage staff to speak up regarding any instances of bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation whether directed toward them or a colleague. 

If you feel that you have been bullied, discriminated against, harassed or victimised you can seek support and advice from your manager, HR Team, a Trade Union representative of the Employee Assistance Programme. 

Informal Stage 

In some cases it may be possible to deal with matters informally. Sometimes people are not aware that their behaviour is unwelcome and an informal discussion can lead to greater understanding and an agreement that the behaviour will stop. 

If the working relationship is still reasonably positive you may feel able to speak to the person you believe is treating you unfairly or inappropriately directly to let them know how their behaviour has made you feel. 

Before speaking to the other person, it is important to identify the behaviours you are experiencing as unpleasant, or that you believe to fall within one of the definitions in section 33.1, with specific examples so that you can clearly communicate your concerns and to give the other person the opportunity to stop those behaviours. If this discussion fails to resolve the issue or it is too difficult or  uncomfortable to do this personally, you may request a supervisor or manager to speak with the alleged perpetrator on your behalf. 

Where you, or a manager, speak to an alleged perpetrator, this should be done with the intention of improving understanding and adjusting future behaviour.  You may wish to seek guidance from your manager, HR or a trusted colleague if you are unsure how to proceed. 

Formal stage  

Where the informal stage does not resolve the issue, the formal grievance procedure or disciplinary procedure, depending on the circumstances, will be used to deal with complaints of bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation. 

Usually, it will be for the complainant to decide whether they would like the concern to be dealt with formally or informally, but some situations may be considered too serious to be dealt with informally. 

If an employee raises a concern in good faith, but it is not substantiated by an investigation, they will not be subjected to any disadvantage. 

However, if it is evident that an employee has raised a concern that is known to be without foundation, or is in any other way vexatious, malicious or in bad faith, this will be managed under the Disciplinary Policy. 

HR should be consulted where an investigating officer believes this to be the case. 

It may be helpful to keep a note of any issues raised with you, your response and any remedial action you take, in case you need to refer to it if the complaint progresses further. If you have been told that your behaviour makes someone feel uncomfortable, you should stop it immediately. Even though your behaviour may seem innocent to you, it is important to consider its effects on others. If you are told that your behaviour has caused offence, you should consider the following important points: 

• Remember it is the other person’s experience of your behaviour that is important, not your intention nor the reaction you think they should have; 
• Listen carefully to the complaint and to the particular concerns expressed; 
• Stop the offending behaviour immediately and review the way you behave at work. The behaviour may have offended other colleagues who have not complained; 
• If you continue to bully, discriminate against, harass or victimise someone after their objection to your behaviour has been made known to you, the fact that you persisted will make the offence more serious if disciplinary action commences. 
• If you do not understand the complaint against you, you should seek support from your line manager, another appropriate manager or a HR representative. 
• If, after listening carefully to the complaint, you feel that the allegations are unjust or malicious, you should contact your line manager or a HR representative. 
• In some cases, you will be given the opportunity to engage in mediation with the complainant. If this is not offered and you feel that it may be helpful, you can suggest it. All parties would need to agree to engage in mediation in order for it to proceed. 
• If you are unsatisfied with the outcome of any attempts to resolve the complaint informally, you may ask for the allegations to be investigated formally so that a formal decision be made as to whether your actions meet the definition of bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation. 

You should seek advice and support from appropriate sources. This could be the HR Team, your line manager, a trade union representative or the Employee Assistance Programme.  

If the person you seek advice or support from is involved in the investigation, they will refer you to another source of help. 

Sport Wales acknowledges that its employees may suffer unacceptable behaviour by partners, suppliers and users of Sport Wales’s services, which also will not be tolerated. 

We will provide support to you if you are the victim of unacceptable behaviour by employees of partners, suppliers or a member of the public in the course of your employment. 

Sport Wales will not engage with or provide work for a contractor or agency worker who has been found to have bullied, discriminated against, harassed or victimised you. 

Complaints of bullying, harassment or victimisation made against individuals who work with Sport Wales on a secondment or on an agency contract will be referred to their substantive employer for investigation in line with their policies. 

To ensure this policy is effective, appropriate training will be provided so staff can perform their role sensitively and effectively.  

All staff are required to complete an e-learning diversity resource that covers bullying discrimination, harassment and victimisation. 

All formal complaints of bullying, discrimination, harassment or victimisation resulting in formal action will be reported to and monitored by the Executive team and HR team.  

Our aim is to monitor the effectiveness of the policy and actions and as such we commit to collating data to identify any trends or patterns emerging. 

This document sets out the code of conduct for all employees of Sport Wales, including all employed on a permanent, fixed term or casual basis.  The code provides standards which apply to the conduct and practice of employees at Sport Wales.  Employees must seek to always comply with this Code.  Failure to do so may result in a disciplinary action.  

You should familiarise yourself with the contents of the Code and its related polices (referred throughout) and should act in accordance with the principles and general conduct set out in them. 

You are expected to carry out your role with dedication and commitment to the Sport Wales behaviours and in line with all Sport Wales policies. 

A high standard of conduct is expected of employees at all levels in line with the Nolan Principles 

Selflessness 

You should act solely in terms of the public interest.  

Integrity 

You should not place yourselves under any obligation to individuals or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence you in your work.  You must not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefit for yourself, your family, or your friends. You must declare and resolve any interests and relationships. 

Objectivity 

You must act and make decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias. 

Accountability 

You are accountable to the public for your decisions and actions and must submit yourself to scrutiny appropriate to ensure this. 

Openness 

You should act and take actions in an open and transparent manner.  Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for doing that. 

Honesty 

You should be truthful 

Leadership 

You should exhibit  these principles in your own behaviour and treat others with respect.  You should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs. 

Conflicts of interest are a normal and unavoidable part of decision-making and seeking to eliminate them is neither feasible nor desirable. At the same time, for all public bodies, it is essential to maintain public trust and confidence in the organisation and individuals. In such a relationship with the public, it is important for organisations to consider the perceived, and not solely the actual, conflicts that may be present. 

A conflict of interest is a set of circumstances that creates a risk that an individual’s ability to apply judgement or act in one role is, or could be, impaired or influenced by a secondary interest. It can occur in any situation where an individual or organisation can exploit a professional or official role for personal or other benefit. The perception of competing interests, impaired judgement or undue influence can also be a conflict of interest. 

If you are considering taking up an appointment where a potential conflict of interest may occur (such as sitting on the Board of a NGB), you should seek the permission of your line manager before entering into such an arrangement and ensure that you receive adequate advice on managing conflicts of interest. 

You will be required to declare interests as and when they occur or on a yearly basis, whichever is sooner.  Reporting of such conflicts of interest are the responsibility of the individual. If you have any doubts about whether a conflict of interest exists, please seek further advice from our Corporate Governance team. 

Internal 

A number of pieces of information can be described as both confidential and sensitive.  Such information should be protected very carefully.  This includes:  Disclosure and Barring checks, employment references, medical information, details relating to disciplinary events or bullying/harassment problems, etc. 

You should ensure you treat all internal confidential documentation sensitively. 

External 

Sport Wales’ documents and information acquired by any officer in the course of work with Sport Wales must be regarded as confidential to Sport Wales.  Clearly matters of general policy, once they have been agreed by Sport Wales, can be conveyed to anyone.  However, much of Sport Wales’ work is concerned with a one-to-one dialogue with individuals and bodies and must remain confidential to the two bodies told. 

Similarly, Sport Wales considers internal policy, administrative and financial matters, some of which eventually become formally agreed.  Discussions of these suggestions are confidential and are not to be conveyed to any third party until decisions have been reached.  These will be formally conveyed to those who should be told. 

As a public body Sport Wales is accountable to the general public.  Sport Wales also has to comply with the Code of Practice on access to Government information.  This does not mean, however, that anyone can ask to have sight or knowledge of any information which is held.    Before complying with requests for information, you should refer to Sport Wales’ Code of Practice which covers, among other things, items which should not be made available as well as providing details of the charging policy. 

The unauthorised divulgence of confidential information is a very serious matter, as is any refusal to supply information not restricted under the Freedom of Information Act. 

It is appreciated that, from time to time, it will not be clear whether or not information should reasonably be released.  In these circumstances you should consider the Code and/or consult the person to whom you are responsible. 

Disciplinary action could be taken against you if you divulge confidential information inappropriately. 

If you are bankrupt or declared bankrupt by a court of law they must report this fact as soon as practicable to their line manager and HR. Failure to disclose bankruptcy and insolvency will be considered an act of gross misconduct. 

There is no objection to you holding private investments.  If, however, a share-holding might raise a question of possible conflict with the interests of your department, you should consult your head of department about the desirability of acquiring it or retaining it. 

If you are arrested, cautioned, given or refused bail, or are convicted by a court of any criminal offence, you must report the fact to your head of department as soon as possible. Failure to inform will be considered as an act of gross misconduct. 

Sport Wales has a commitment to high legal, ethical and moral standards. Our Sport Wales’s anti-fraud, bribery and corruption policy provides steps that must be taken where fraud or bribery is suspected or discovered.  This policy can be found in the Finance section of the intranet (FIN009_Fraud).  All Board members and employees are expected to follow the steps in this policy.  Any person who becomes aware of any fraud, bribery, corruption or other illegal act and does not follow this policy could be subject to disciplinary action. 

If you are approached with the offer of hospitality or a gift, in any way connected with your official duty, you should refer to our hospitality and gifts policy which can be found on our Intranet under Hospitality.

You may buy items of Government, including Sport Wales property which are on general public sale, i.e. pool cars, laptops etc, unless 

• you have, because of your official position, been able to obtain special knowledge about the condition of the goods to be sold, or 
• you have had a decisive role associated with the disposal arrangements. 

Outside roles (such as being a board member of another organisation or a second job or small business) can be an important opportunity for personal development that can broaden and extend skills, support colleagues with additional roles and may benefit the organisation.  

It is important to note, that in line with the Sport Wales values and our ways of working that the intention will be to find ways to support further/personal development opportunities for you.  However, the needs and reputation of the organisation must take priority and any potential risks identified and managed.  

If you are considering taking on a secondary or voluntary role. You should inform your manager that you are considering a secondary or voluntary role   

If the secondary or voluntary role is related to a development need, your manager should discuss with the leadership team (or their connection into the leadership team) opportunities that may be available within the organisation (e.g. involvement in a work area/project, or leading a piece of relevant work etc)  

Any secondary or voluntary role should be unrelated to sport Wales’ work and of a type which could not legitimately be regarded as part of the service Sport Wales might provide. You should not at any time engage with any work or activity which would in any way impair or detract from Sport Wales interests, your ability to carry out your role or in a manner which may be inappropriate to your role. 

You will not be permitted to access to areas designated solely for Sport Wales employees to carry out private work. You will not be permitted to use other resources solely designated to Sport Wales employees such as laptops, printers, stationery, uniform.  

You may use publicly accessible areas at Sport Wales to carry out your activity; these must be booked as a customer rather than an employee. You will need to provide assurances such as insurance and qualifications certificates and may need to agree a conditions of use with your manager. 

Fees or payment for work which can legitimately be regarded as part of the services of Sport Wales must be made payable to Sport Wales.  Normally, staff will be expected to undertake such work as part of their Sport Wales duties.  

Any work undertaken, including paid or unpaid private work, should be in keeping with the character and good repute of Sport Wales and with the professional standing of the staff. 

Information acquired in the course of employment is the property of Sport Wales and can only be disclosed with the approval of the Chief Executive. 

Request for secondary or voluntary roles 

In some cases, you will simply be required to inform your manager of your secondary or voluntary role, however, in some cases approval will need to be sought.  If any of the following conditions apply you must submit a ‘Request for Secondary Work or Activity’ form which need approval from the relevant leadership team member for your department: 

• You will carry out the activity or work during your normal hours (including if you need to use special leave or annual leave) 
• You will be working over 48 hours per week (on average over a 12-week period) 
• You will be accessing Sport Wales publicly available facilities 
• The activity or work could legitimately be regarded as part of the service Sport Wales might provide i.e. same work and/or same customers/partners 
• There could be a conflict of interest, which includes conflicting with Sport Wales stance on issues or values, including political engagement or policy interests, or a role which may influence your judgement or actions at Sport Wales. 

If the role does not meet the above criteria to require a request form, you are still required to inform your manager of your secondary or voluntary role.  

When completing the request form, you should discuss your responses with your manager who will work with you to consider any risks and mitigations.  For example, a risk may be that the work or activity is with an organisation that has political engagement or overlap with Sport Wales policy interests, in this case a mitigation may be that you are required to ensure that any potential conflicts and activities that arise during the period of the secondary or voluntary role are highlighted with your manager to be discussed and managed. The outcome of this may be that you are unable to continue the secondary or voluntary role. 

Decision regarding secondary or voluntary roles 

Once the form is completed, your manager will decide whether to accept the request.  Your manager is required to discuss the decision with the Head of People and Culture and ideally one other Leadership Team members for guidance and to ensure consistency of application. 

Your manager will inform you of the outcome of your application and update the application request.  It is important to note that the decision whether to allow a secondary or voluntary role may be different for different people with seemingly the same request due to the factors outlined in the form that need to be considered. 

You should upload a copy of your application form to your cascade record under DOCUMENTS screen.  

If the request included a change to working hours or patterns you will need to refer to the flexible working policy.  If the request requires special leave you should refer to the special leave policy.   

Managing and reviewing secondary and voluntary roles 

You are responsible for putting in place any mitigations that have been agreed as part of the decision to approve the request.   

You are responsible to ensuring that any potential conflicts and/or changes to the conditions outlined above during the period of the secondary/volunteering role are reported to your manager.  This could result in mitigations being agreed but may result in you being unable to continue the secondary or voluntary role. 

A review date will be set —typically annually or sooner if situations mean that your responses on the form would change. It is your responsibility to submit a new review request. 

Employees should aim to present a positive and professional image of Sport Wales.  A common sense approach should be used to ensure appropriate clothing is worn depending on the nature of the task, meeting and environment you are in.  If you are unsure about which clothing is suitable please speak to your manager. 

If you are provided with a uniform, this should be worn, unless specific circumstances apply. 

For Sport Wales to work with Governments of different political complexions it is essential that the public should have confidence that Sport Wales acts correctly.  The intent of the rules governing political activities by Sport Wales staff is to allow them the greatest possible freedom to participate in public affairs without infringing this fundamental principle. 

You must ask the permission of your Head of Department if you want to engage in any of the following: 

• Holding office in a party political organisation 
• Being announced publicly as a candidate for election to a community council, a local authority, the UK Parliament or the Welsh Senedd. 
• Canvassing on behalf of a candidate for public office on behalf of a political party. 
• Taking part in any activity, role or work which may involve political engagement or overlap with Sport Wales policy interest. 

You should consider the appropriateness of engaging in the following activities depending on your role, if in doubt you should seek guidance from your line manager: 

• Speaking in public on matters of national or political controversy. 
• Expressing views on such matters in letters to the press or in books, articles, or leaflets. 

Approval may be granted subject to appropriate restrictions.  You must not take part in any political activity when on duty, or in uniform, or on official premises. 

You must ensure that all involvement in political activities does not affect your work for Sport Wales at any time over and above that agreed by your Head of Department. 

If you are given permission to take part in political activities, you should note that this can be withdrawn at any time and without prior notice if there is a change in relevant circumstances.  If permission is not given, a detailed explanation will be provided. 

For the avoidance of any doubt, this does not include Union activities as a Union representative. 

Sport Wales recognises the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union for the purposes of collective negotiation on issues relating to employment policies or terms and conditions, etc. 

When changes are made to policies or terms and conditions of employment, you will be advised, either through our usual staff communications channels either on the intranet or via email.  Depending on the change, you may be notified in writing, with an appropriate notice period provided (where relevant).

You are bound by the UK Anti-Doping Rules; and you are required to cooperate with Code-compliant anti-doping investigations and proceedings; furthermore you need to support and cooperate fully with any UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) investigations when requested by Sport Wales or UKAD to do so. 

Sanctions/disciplinary actions will apply if: 

• You use Prohibited Substances or Prohibited Methods without valid justification and provide support to an Athlete within its jurisdiction; and 
• you delay or impede in any way, or fail or refuse (without compelling justification) to cooperate with, an anti-doping investigation or proceedings conducted by UKAD or any other relevant Anti-Doping Organisation. 

A DBS check will be conducted for positions involving close and regular contact with children or adults at risk, that are also included under the Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations.  It will provide details of spent and unspent convictions, cautions and warnings. In addition, an enhanced check with the children/and or adults’ barred lists, may also be eligible if the regulations permit, which may then contain information from local police forces, and a check of whether individuals are registered on the children or adults’ barred lists. 

Posts will be confirmed as eligible for a DBS check by obtaining a DBS declaration from DBS checking service. 

Procedure 

If you occupy a role requiring a DBS check we will contact you to complete an online disclosure form.  You will be required to supply supporting documentation, which is then checked, countersigned and forwarded to the DBS by a member of the HR team who is a designated Counter-signatory. 

You will receive a copy of your DBS disclosure. HR will receive an email with the outcome of the check and records of dates and relevant information will be recorded confidentially. As the employer, we would contact the applicant to request a copy of their criminal disclosure certificate in order to determine their suitability for post.      

Retention 

Once a recruitment (or other relevant) decision has been made, Sport Wales will not keep full Disclosures for any longer than is absolutely necessary. However, HR will make a record of an individual’s disclosure record number, as well as the date of issue and date received.  This is necessary for us to demonstrate our obligations to DBS and ensure that checks are renewed every 3 years.  Sometimes, information may be required to be kept for longer periods to allow for the consideration and resolution of any disputes or complaints. If, in very exceptional circumstances, it is considered necessary to keep Disclosure information for longer, Sport Wales will consult with the DBS about this and will give full consideration to Data Protection before doing so. 

Commencing employment without Disclosure 

In some cases, the Disclosure report may not have been received by the time the employment is due to commence. If it is not possible to delay the start date, the individual will be able to commence employment, but only on a supervised basis for those aspects of the job involving contact with children or adults at risk, until such time as the Disclosure report is received. 

Criminal Incidents 

When a report is received which contains a criminal record, a decision will be made by a member of the Executive  Team, on what action to take as a result.  

Disclosure and Barring Reports - Renewals 

For those posts identified as requiring a DBS disclosure check, renewals will take place every three years.  Should any incidents arise which could affect your record within this period, you are required to advise HR immediately.  Failure to do so will result in disciplinary action. 

Sports betting 

Legal and illegal betting on sports poses a risk to the integrity of sport through corrupt betting and associated activity from within and outside Sport Wales. With smart phones and tablet devices, access to the internet and online gambling sites etc, makes it easier to place bets on the outcome or of certain aspect(s) of an event. Sport Wales is in a position of influence and is privy to information that could be used for private gain particularly through betting. This applies to employees, staff and workers and those appointed to represent Sport Wales. 

Sports betting activity has increased across all sports and disciplines. It is essential that such activity does not take place in a manner which has the potential to compromise the authenticity of sporting conduct and endeavour and the irregularity of results. 

Therefore, Sport Wales employees, contractors, other workers or students cannot: 

• bet on any sport for whom Sport Wales provides performance services, anywhere in the world; 
• ask someone to bet on your behalf on any sport above, anywhere in the world; 
• share any “Inside Information” with anyone including but not limited to your partner, civil partner, spouse, cohabitee or dependent children which could enable them to gain an advantage through corrupt betting activity 
• become involved in any other activity associated with corrupt betting which could reasonably be deemed as suspicious and detrimental to the image and reputation of Sport Wales or the sport in question. 

The following acts are also prohibited: 

• fixing a match or attempting to fix a match; 
• benefiting from a participant failing to perform; 
• soliciting, inducing, encouraging, offering a bribe (or attempting) to any other party to do any of the above offences; 
• receiving, seeking a bribe (or attempting to) in order to fix a match or attempt to fix a match; 
• destruction of evidence in relation to a potential breach; and 
• failing to report suspicions or approaches or disclosure of information. 

Criminal Offence of Cheating 

Section 42 of The Gambling Act 2005 has created a new offence of “cheating at gambling” which would include cheating in sports influenced by betting involvement. This may result in the imposition of severe penalties for individuals (fines and jail). We may refer any matter to the Gambling Commission for consideration of an investigation of the criminal offence of cheating at gambling. 

Inside Information 

The sharing of “Inside Information” by anyone captured by this policy is specifically prohibited by Sport Wales. 

 “Inside Information” means any information, which is not Publicly Known that would materially affect peoples’ expectations relating to the participation in, or the likely or actual outcome of a sporting competition or event. Such information includes, but is not limited to, factual information regarding the competitors, the conditions, tactical considerations, injuries, or any other aspect of the sporting competition or event. 

“Publicly Known” means any information that is already published as a matter of public record, able to be readily acquired by an interested member of the public, or disclosed according to the rules and regulations governing the relevant sporting competition or event. 

It is your responsibility to determine whether information which you have access to falls under the definition of “Inside information”. If you are unsure whether something constitutes a conflict of interest, please seek further advice from our Corporate Governance Team. 

You must ensure that you act consistently and regularly review what you are doing to ensure that your actions are fair, reasonable and consistent. 

You must be fully conversant with Sport Wales’ policies and must be extremely careful not to give misleading information or to raise unjustified expectations. 

Complaints from members of the public must be dealt with as quickly as possible with senior members of staff becoming involved immediately.  To this end the following reporting procedure must be used:- 

Sport Wales National Centre 

General staff of Facilities, Maintenance, Catering and Domestic, and Customer Services’ sections are to endeavour, if possible, to resolve the problem and thereafter to report, immediately, any complaint from members of the public to their section head.  Please refer to the Sport Wales National Centre complaints policy 

Sport Wales 

All staff will, in the first instance, report any complaint either directly from the complainant or from a solicitor, immediately to the Director of Finance and Business Services, who will appoint an investigating officer, if appropriate.