Policy owner: The Directors of TP Transcription Limited
Version: 1.0
Effective from: 5 October 2026
Next review: October 2027, or sooner if legislation, guidance or our services change
1. Our safeguarding commitment
TP Transcription Limited is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk from abuse, neglect, exploitation and avoidable harm. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. We will take concerns seriously, respond promptly and act in a way that puts the safety, dignity, rights and wishes of the person at the centre of our response.
Our work normally involves transcription, translation, typing, subtitling, note-taking, proofreading and related language services. We do not ordinarily provide care, treatment or other services directly to children or adults at risk. However, our staff and contractors may hear or read sensitive material which contains a disclosure, indicates a risk of harm or describes possible abuse. This policy explains what must happen in those circumstances.
2. Purpose
This policy is intended to:
- protect children and adults at risk whose information is processed by TP Transcription Limited;
- help staff and contractors recognise and respond to safeguarding concerns;
- provide a clear route for recording and escalating a concern;
- ensure safeguarding information is handled lawfully, securely and only shared when necessary; and
- support our clients in meeting their own safeguarding responsibilities.
3. Scope
This policy applies to all directors, employees, workers, freelance transcribers, translators, proofreaders, note-takers, consultants and other contractors working for or on behalf of TP Transcription Limited. It applies whether work is carried out at Company premises, remotely, at a client’s premises or at an event.
Clients remain responsible for their own safeguarding duties and decisions. Where TP Transcription Limited processes information on a client’s behalf, the client will usually be the data controller and TP Transcription Limited the data processor. This does not prevent us from taking urgent action where we reasonably believe someone faces an immediate risk of serious harm.
4. Definitions
For this policy:
- Child or young person means anyone under the age of 18.
- Adult at risk means an adult who has needs for care and support, is experiencing or is at risk of abuse or neglect and, because of those needs, may be unable to protect themselves. We use this term in a practical, inclusive way and will follow the legal definition applying in the relevant UK nation.
- Safeguarding means protecting a person’s right to live in safety, free from abuse, neglect and exploitation, while promoting their welfare and respecting their voice and choices.
- Abuse may be a single act, repeated acts, deliberate harm or a failure to act. It may happen in person, within an organisation or family, or online.
5. Types of concern
Safeguarding concerns can include physical, sexual, psychological or emotional abuse; domestic abuse; neglect; self-neglect; financial or material abuse; discriminatory abuse; organisational abuse; modern slavery; coercive or controlling behaviour; forced marriage; so-called honour-based abuse; female genital mutilation; radicalisation; criminal or sexual exploitation; trafficking; online abuse; grooming; bullying; and a risk of suicide or serious self-harm.
A concern may arise from:
- a direct disclosure in an audio recording, video, document, live session or conversation;
- words, behaviour or circumstances that suggest a person may be at risk;
- an allegation about a client, member of staff, contractor, professional, family member or another person;
- evidence that a person responsible for care is failing to protect someone; or
- a combination of details which, taken together, creates a reasonable concern.
Staff and contractors are not expected to diagnose abuse, decide whether an allegation is true or conduct an investigation. Their responsibility is to recognise, record and report the concern.
6. Safeguarding contacts
The Directors of TP Transcription Limited are responsible for overseeing safeguarding and deciding how concerns should be escalated. A concern should be reported as soon as possible using one of the following:
- Email: anna.gresty@tptranscription.co.uk or jonathan@tptranscription.co.uk
- Telephone: 01745 813306, 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday
If the concern relates to one of the named contacts, it must be reported to the other director. If that is not appropriate, or if an internal report is not acted upon and a person may remain at risk, the person raising the concern should contact the relevant local authority safeguarding service, the police or another appropriate statutory body.
7. What to do if a concern arises
Immediate danger
If there is an immediate threat to life or a risk of serious and imminent harm, call 999. Do not delay emergency action while trying to contact TP Transcription Limited or the client. As soon as it is safe to do so, inform a director and record the action taken.
Concern identified in recorded or written material
- Do not investigate. Do not contact the person concerned, the alleged perpetrator or any other person mentioned in the material.
- Preserve the source. Do not delete, edit, copy or circulate the original file outside the normal authorised workflow. Do not add personal commentary to the transcript.
- Make an accurate record. Note the file or job reference, the relevant time stamp or page, the words used as accurately as possible, the date and time the concern was noticed, and why it caused concern. Clearly distinguish fact from opinion.
- Report promptly. Contact a director as soon as possible. Where the concern is urgent, report it by telephone rather than relying only on email.
- Maintain confidentiality. Share the concern only with people who need the information in order to protect the person or manage the report.
Disclosure during live work or direct contact
If a person makes a disclosure directly:
- listen calmly and take the person seriously;
- do not promise secrecy or say that the information will remain confidential;
- do not ask leading questions, challenge the account or seek unnecessary detail;
- explain, where it is safe and appropriate, that the concern may need to be shared with someone who can help;
- record the person’s own words and any immediate action taken; and
- report the matter promptly under this policy.
8. How TP Transcription Limited will respond
A director receiving a concern will:
- assess whether emergency action is required;
- create a secure, dated record of the concern and decisions made;
- consider the wishes of the person concerned, where known, alongside their safety, capacity, age and the safety of others;
- normally notify the client’s designated safeguarding contact or other authorised contact without undue delay;
- seek advice or make a referral to the relevant local authority safeguarding service, police or specialist agency where necessary;
- avoid alerting the client or any other person if doing so could place someone at greater risk, prejudice an investigation or alert an alleged perpetrator;
- follow any lawful instructions from the client or statutory authorities; and
- support the staff member or contractor who encountered the material.
Safeguarding decisions will be recorded, including the reason for sharing or not sharing information. If there is uncertainty, TP Transcription Limited may seek advice from the relevant safeguarding authority without initially disclosing identifying information, where practicable.
9. Information sharing and confidentiality
Safeguarding information is confidential, but confidentiality is not absolute. Relevant information may be shared without consent where this is lawful, necessary and proportionate to protect a child or adult from harm, prevent or detect crime, comply with a legal obligation or protect someone’s vital interests.
We will:
- share only information that is relevant and necessary;
- share it only with people or bodies that need it for safeguarding purposes;
- use secure communication methods;
- keep a record of what was shared, with whom, when and why; and
- comply with the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, our contractual duties and our Data Protection, Personal Data and GDPR Policy.
Staff and contractors must not discuss safeguarding material with friends, family members or colleagues who are not involved in managing the concern. Client files or safeguarding information must never be uploaded to unauthorised platforms, artificial intelligence tools, online transcription services, public file-sharing services or other third parties.
10. Allegations involving staff or contractors
Any allegation that a person working for or on behalf of TP Transcription Limited has harmed, may have harmed, or poses a risk to a child or adult at risk must be reported immediately to a director. If the allegation concerns that director, it must be reported to the other director.
TP Transcription Limited will protect the person at risk, preserve evidence, maintain appropriate confidentiality and seek advice from the police, local authority, Local Authority Designated Officer or other relevant safeguarding body as appropriate. The Company will not conduct an internal investigation that could compromise a statutory investigation. Suspension of work may be considered as a neutral protective measure and is not, by itself, a finding of wrongdoing.
Where the legal criteria are met, the Company will make any required referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service or another competent authority.
11. Safer working practices
TP Transcription Limited takes proportionate steps to reduce safeguarding risk. These include:
- clear confidentiality and conduct requirements for staff and contractors;
- identity, reference and right-to-work checks appropriate to the role;
- Disclosure and Barring Service checks where a role is eligible and the nature of the work requires them;
- access to client material only where it is necessary for the assigned work;
- secure systems, access controls and deletion requirements;
- safeguarding information and periodic refresher guidance appropriate to each role;
- quality assurance, supervision and routes for raising concerns; and
- action under contractual or disciplinary procedures where this policy is breached.
12. Staff and contractor wellbeing
Some recordings and documents can be distressing. Staff and contractors should stop work temporarily and contact the Company if material is causing significant distress or if they believe continuing would affect their wellbeing or the quality of their work. The Company may reallocate work, agree a break, provide debriefing or signpost appropriate support. Client confidentiality must still be maintained when seeking support.
13. Raising concerns and whistleblowing
No person acting in good faith will be penalised for raising a genuine safeguarding concern, even if it is later found to be mistaken. Deliberately false or malicious allegations may be dealt with under the relevant contractual or disciplinary procedure.
A person who believes that a concern has not been handled properly should raise it with the other director. They may also contact the appropriate local authority safeguarding service, the police, a regulator, a professional body or a prescribed whistleblowing body where applicable.
14. Record keeping and retention
Safeguarding records will be accurate, factual, dated and stored securely with access restricted to authorised people. They will be kept separately from general job notes where appropriate. Records will be retained only for as long as necessary, taking account of the nature of the concern, legal and contractual requirements, possible proceedings, the client’s instructions and the rights of the person concerned. Disposal will be secure.
15. Legal and guidance framework
This policy has regard to applicable UK legislation and guidance, including the Children Acts 1989 and 2004, the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, the Care Act 2014 in England, the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the Human Rights Act 1998, the Equality Act 2010, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR, together with:
- Wales Safeguarding Procedures;
- Working Together to Safeguard Children; and
- the safeguarding procedures and reporting arrangements of the UK nation and local authority area relevant to the concern.
16. Contacting external services
- Immediate danger: call 999.
- Non-emergency police matter: call 101.
- Child or adult safeguarding concern: contact the safeguarding team at the local authority where the person lives or is currently located.
- Advice about a child: the NSPCC Helpline can be contacted on 0808 800 5000.
17. Review
The Directors will review this policy at least annually and following any serious safeguarding incident, significant organisational change, change to relevant legislation or guidance, or evidence that the procedure is not working effectively.
TP Transcription Limited
Registered company number: 04946815
Registered office: Ty Brith, Llandegla Road, Mold, CH7 4QX
Telephone: 01745 813306
