Freedom at Work
A workplace can help by making accurate information visible, preparing the right people and creating a clear route to specialist help. A volunteer colleague should not be left carrying organisational safeguarding or HR risk.
Know. Notice. Respond. Change.
Know — give staff and relevant teams accurate information using current Freedom resources.
Notice — help managers and specialist teams recognise warning signs, unsafe assumptions and gaps in response.
Respond — make it clear who does what if a colleague asks for help; protect confidentiality and do not contact family members.
Change — improve policy, training, referral routes, communications and partnerships, then test whether people can actually use them.
Three levels
Start — make reliable information and routes to help visible and brief the right internal teams.
Strengthen — train managers, HR or safeguarding teams; review policies and response steps; test internal communications.
Partner — work with Freedom on professional training, staff engagement, fundraising, policy improvement or another agreed collaboration.
If a colleague asks for help
Do not investigate allegations, contact family members or alleged perpetrators, mediate, promise secrecy you cannot keep, expose a colleague’s location or store case details in campaign or staff-network files. Follow the employer’s appropriate procedure and the Freedom route agreed for the activity. In forced-marriage or family-related abuse, contacting relatives or attempting informal mediation may increase risk. If somebody is in immediate danger, call 999.
A 30-day workplace check
- Can staff find reliable information in under two minutes?
- Does the route to confidential help name who does what?
- Would a manager know not to contact family members?
- Do relevant teams know when to seek specialist advice?
- Are staff stories, data and photographs handled safely?
- Is the response dependent on one enthusiastic person?