How to make an appeal

If a civil servant believes he or she is being required to act in a way which conflicts with the Code or becomes aware of the actions of others which conflicts with the Code, he or she should:

talk to the line manager or someone in the line management chain
if this is difficult, talk to the nominated officer, whose role is to advise civil servants on the Code
give the department or agency time to consider the appeal
if not satisfied with the response, refer the appeal to the Commissioners.

The department or agency must consider the concern and make sure that the civil servant is not penalised for raising it.

The civil servant might want to raise the matter with the department or agency informally at first, but he or she must normally raise it formally under the Code before referring the concern to the Commissioners.