Speak Up - FAQs

Speak Up is a service provided by Vodafone that allows employees, contractors, suppliers, business partners, joint venture partners and agents of Vodafone to raise concerns if they see or hear behaviour at work which they feel may be a breach of our Code of Conduct or seems illegal or unethical.

The Speak Up Hotline is operated by NAVEX, an independent company. NAVEX’s independence from Vodafone provides employees an added level of comfort and security that their reports remain confidential.

Vodafone is committed to creating and maintaining an environment where you can raise concerns about business ethics without fear of retaliation. Like many large companies, Vodafone provides the Speak Up Hotline as an optional service for employees to raise concerns about issues related to our Code of Conduct. Although most concerns can be quickly resolved by discussing them with your manager, the Speak Up Hotline provides an additional way to get help should you feel uncomfortable asking questions or expressing concerns to management. The Speak Up Hotline is not intended to replace conversations between employees and their managers, but rather to provide an additional resource to employees.

If you see behaviour at work which you feel may be a breach of our Code of Conduct or seems illegal or unethical, please report it. You must report any behaviour which you suspect to be unlawful or criminal. This could be bribery, fraud, price fixing or a breach of data privacy. You must also report abuse of our systems, processes or policies. This could be bullying or harassment, a conflict of interest, danger to the health and safety of employees or the public, potential abuses of human rights or serious environmental issues. Vodafone has a non-retaliation policy for when a genuine concern has been reported. No action will be taken against you if you report such concerns, even if there is no proven unlawful conduct of compliance breach.

When you raise a concern, a decision will be made as to which area will progress the matter: Human Resources, Corporate Security, Legal teams or their Group equivalents. We will then contact the person raising the concern (this can be done through the external Speak Up line or the web intake portal system "Follow up" option which can be accessed with your digital key and password), to ensure we have all the information we need and talk through our next steps. If we decide to proceed with an investigation, a qualified expert will investigate, keeping the person who raised the concern informed throughout the process.

We will keep transparent and accurate records of all disclosures and subsequent actions.

Protecting the identity of people who raise a concern in good faith is our priority. Vodafone will not tolerate retaliation against an employee who raises a genuine concern. We will keep what you tell us private and confidential throughout the investigation process, subject to our legal obligations. Anonymous reporting is also available and included as an option when reporting through our external Speak up line. Note: Anonymous reports may limit our ability to conduct an investigation.

Speak Up has two methods of intake. The first is by toll free telephone number, which is available to you 24/7 throughout the entire year. When you call, a professionally trained intake specialist will guide you through a series of questions designed to identify the relevant details of your concern.

We encourage you to give your name and contact information and the intake specialist will note that information. If you choose to remain anonymous, we will make no effort to trace the call or take steps to learn your identity. If you choose to identify yourself when you contact the Speak Up Hotline, Vodafone will make every reasonable effort to hold your name in confidence during the investigation or follow up.

At the conclusion of the call, the intake specialist will summarise the information you have submitted and make any changes necessary to make sure that you are satisfied with the accuracy of your concern. Multilingual operators are available so that callers can raise concerns in their own language.

The second option is to use the web intake portal system. The intake portal asks you for the same type of relevant details about your concern as the telephone-based system. Again, if you choose to remain anonymous, we will make no attempt to track your web address or otherwise identify you.

Like the telephone-based system, the web intake portal system is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year. You may access it from any computer or mobile device that has an internet connection.

When you raise a concern, either over the internet or by telephone, you receive a unique report key and are asked to select a password. To return to the Speak Up system and access the original report, use your report key and password either through the internet or by telephone. At that point, you can add more details.

If you lose your report key or password, you will be required to file a new report due to the high level of confidentiality that is maintained for reports. You may mention in the new report that the matter relates to another report you filed earlier.

Yes, your concern is stored directly onto the NAVEX secure server to prevent any possible security breach. Only a very select number of Vodafone personnel have access to this information.

If you choose to identify yourself in raising your concern, the company will make every reasonable effort to hold your name in confidence during the investigation. Investigations can be quicker and effectively completed when the reporter is identified because it allows company investigators to follow up directly with the reporter. If you choose to remain anonymous, no effort will be made by either NAVEX or Vodafone to identify you.

When you are given your report key and password, you will be able to follow up either by telephone or through the web. If an investigator wishes to contact you regarding your concern, the investigator can leave you a message or ask you a question through the Speak Up platform.

You will be given a report key and password. Make sure you record these and keep them in a safe place. You may use your report key and password to re-connect to check on the status of your case, provide more information, or answer follow-up questions from those who are investigating the matter.

Only a very select number of Vodafone personnel have access to these reports. The NAVEX platform and distribution protocols are designed so any individuals named in the report are not notified about or granted access to reports in which they have been named.

Yes. The external Speak Up line is for the use of employees and contractors as well as suppliers, business partners, joint venture partners and agents of Vodafone.