You can use this form to contact Speak Safe @ Fair Way. Alternatively, if you would prefer to chat to our team, please get in touch by:

- Email:  speaksafe@fairwayresolution.com

- Phone:  0800 677 697

Fair Way operates an independent enquiry and complaints service for the people, volunteers and contractors of Fire and Emergency New Zealand. The following form will collect information specific to your enquiry/issue and this will be used to answer your query and/or triage your request. This information will not be shared with Fire and Emergency without your consent

Frequently Asked Questions About Fair Way, Kāpehu and Speak Safe@ Fair Way

Who is Fair Way?

Fair Way is an independent complaints management company based in New Zealand. Fair Way provide a range of services to government and non-government organisations throughout New Zealand.

Why does Fire and Emergency NZ need a system like Kāpehu and Speak Safe@ Fair Way?

Fire and Emergency value their people and want to hear their concerns. They understand some people are reluctant to share these internally and have responded by bringing Fair Way on board as an independent provider offering the Kāpehu and Speak Safe @ Fair Way services. Fire and Emergency also wished to have a service in place to help all people with issues they may be facing within their environment. The Kāpehu services offers this type of support and coaching.

What is Speak Safe@ Fair Way?

It is a service for those who are concerned about other people’s behaviours, conduct, actions, or activities in the workplace. Speak Safe @ Fair Way provides a safe place to raise these concerns through an independent organisation. You can contact us by phone or online. You can raise your concerns anonymously. Fair Way will ensure that the matters you raise will get to the right place and are actioned. Please note, some matters will be referred back to Fire and Emergency for resolution, however this will only be done with your consent.

What is Kāpehu?

It is an independent, informal, and confidential conflict coaching service for all Fire and Emergency personnel, including volunteers and managers. An experienced coach will offer you a “listening ear” and safe space to discuss any concerns or challenges you are experiencing within this environment. The coach will also guide and support you to develop a plan and they will help you to decide on the next steps and possible solutions. If needed, they will help you to build appropriate skills to address your concerns.

How do I engage with the service?

The services can be used via phone, email or webform.

What type of situations can I report?

There are a wide range of situations that you may wish to report, normally these would relate to issues around behaviour or conduct, but there are a number of different possibilities. As a rule of thumb, you can consider raising anything that youbelieve is not normal practice or contravenes Fire and Emergency's stated Code of Conduct.

If I see an issue, shouldn't I just report it internally to my manager, Audit and Risk, or another senior manager and let them deal with it?

It is good practice to use internal channels to resolve or understand any issues you are facing or observing, and options for doing so can be found through Fire and Emergency internal communication channels. However, Fire and Emergency recognises some people may feel more comfortable reporting the issue through an external service. If you are concerned about an issue and want to simply discuss it prior to raising your concern the Fair Way service is a good option. The independent nature of the Fair Way service means you can remain anonymous if you wish. Fire and Emergency would rather you report anonymously than keep the information to yourself.

Why should I report what I know?

We all have the right to work in a positive environment and with that right comes the responsibility of acting in an ethical manner and letting the appropriate people know if someone is not acting appropriately. By working together, we can maintain a healthy and productive environment. As a team member you know what is going on in Fire and Emergency - both good and bad. You may have initial knowledge of an activity that may be cause for concern. Through reporting (either internal or external) you can reduce the potential negative impact on yourself and your colleagues and contribute to a healthy workplace culture. Additionally, offering positive input may help identify issues that can improve culture and performance.

Where do these reports go? Who can access them?

Speak Safe @ Fair Way enquiries are recorded directly within Fair Way's secure case management system (either following a phone conversation, or email, or via the webform). For enquiries, Fair Way provides monthly reports to Fire and Emergency based on statistical (enquiry type, number, region etc.) information. Alongside this, on a quarterly basis, Fair Way will note any insights or observations regarding this information. Fair Way will not provide any identifying information in these reports. Note: if your enquiry becomes a complaint, with your consent, certain information relating to the complaint will be provided to Fire and Emergency. In all cases this would be an appropriate person in People Branch. In some very specific instances, due to the seriousness of the enquiry Fair Way may have an obligation to escalate externally (for example this could be for an immediate safety concern).

For the Kāpehu service no information, other than non-identifying statistics, is released to Fire and Emergency. As part of your discussion with Kāpehu, if you wish your issue to be raised with Fire and Emergency we can help you work through that contact.

Note: Fair Way has an obligation to ensure the wellbeing of all people engaging with our services. If we believe that there is a serious threat to someone’s wellbeing, we will escalate this to the relevant authorities immediately.

What will happen with my report?

Within Kāpehu many enquiries will be worked through without the need to escalate. If, through your visit to Kāpehu, you decide you want to take your complaint further, Fair Way will work with you on the next steps. The independent Speak Safe @ Fair Way is a people led process, this means Fair Way will get your consent before moving to another part of the process – you control the progress.

If you have chosen to remain anonymous then your concerns will also be reviewed. It is important to note that Fair Way will be limited in our ability to respond to or investigate issues raised anonymously. You can choose to provide your name to Fair Way, and still be anonymous to Fire and Emergency. We will always talk through the options to progress with you before committing to a course of action.

Can I remain anonymous?

You can report from anywhere, at any time using this form, and you can choose to remain completely anonymous. You can also choose to remain anonymous through our telephone line. When you call, you will be asked to provide the same information that you would provide in a webform. All information shared with Fair Way has security and confidentiality measures applied to them.  Note: if you choose to remain anonymous it may limit the ability to resolve an issue.

I am concerned that the information I provide Fair Way will reveal my identity. How can you assure me that will not happen?

The Fair Way system is designed to protect your anonymity. Fire and Emergency has no access to our system, and we guard how any information is released to Fire and Emergency to work through issues. While we can protect your identity you too should ensure you do not submit, as part of your issue, anything that will identify you, if you would prefer to remain anonymous. Ifyou are concerned about how to do this the Fair Way team will be able to assist you.

So, are you saying that I can remain truly anonymous?

Yes, that choice is yours. You can provide as much or as little information about yourself as you are comfortable with. Fair Way does not have the ability to trace your call or call you back unless you give us that information.

I am aware of individuals involved in unethical conduct, but it does not affect me. Should I bother reporting it?

Fire and Emergency promotes a culture of ethical behaviour. All unethical conduct, at any level, hurts Fire and Emergency and its teams, including you. So, if you know of any incidents of misconduct or ethical violations, it is important that you do speak up.

I am not sure if what I have observed or heard is a violation of company policy, or involves unethical conduct, but it just does not look right to me. What should I do?

Contact us. Fair Way can help you determine whether reporting your concern is appropriate. We will ask you a number of questions to help make this clear for you.

What if a manager is involved in the issue? Won't they get the report and start a cover-up?

That is why having anindependent Speak Safe service is important. The Fair Way system and report distribution is designed so that implicated parties are not notified or granted access to reports in which they have been named. Fire and Emergency will not get any identifying information if you choose not to proceed further with your enquiry/complaint.

Can I still file an enquiry if I do not have access to the Internet?

If you do not have access to an internet enabled device, you can call the Fair Way phone line  0800 677 697  

Fair Way, Kāpehu and Speak Safe @ Fair Way Disclaimer

General

The Fair Way webform is intended to provide a user with a general tool for collating information relevant to the services noted and forms the basis of any experience or concern that Fair Way may be required to either discuss with the discloser or raise with Fire and Emergency, or in special circumstances another external party.

Please note that:

In addition to this form, experiences or concerns can be raised both verbally and/or via email.

The information requested is general, and it may not address your specific circumstances. Please evaluate its accuracy, currency, completeness and relevance carefully for your purposes.

The information provided does not replace or alter the laws of New Zealand and other official guidelines or requirements.

The information is not professional or legal advice. For this you should seek specific advice relevant to your circumstances from a qualified professional.

Any links to external sites, organisations or people are provided for your convenience only. Fair Way is not responsible for the contents or maintenance of any linked websites, and the fact that we provide a link to an external site does not mean we endorse that site. Fair Way does not accept any responsibility for the way you use this information or the consequences of that use.

Fair Way does not accept any responsibility or liability for any action taken as a result of reading, or reliance placed on Fair Way as a result of having read any part, or all, of the information in this webform. We also do not accept responsibility or liability for any error, inadequacy, deficiency, flaw in or omission from the information in this form.

This webform is designed to be as practicable as possible to complete, to allow your experience, issue and/or concern to be raised.

Any person using the ‘save’ function on this webform should be aware that for security and ongoing privacy reasons all webforms (including those that are saved but not submitted) are purged on a sevenday cycle.

If you save this webform Fair Way does not accept any liability for information that may be lost, corrupted, intercepted or misdirected because your computer had to connect to the internet or you forgot your password.

If you have concerns about the information on this webform, contact Fair Way directly.

Please refer to the following link to view Speak Safe @ Fair Way Privacy Policy ( linked here).

Please note that Fair Way does not investigate all concerns or complaints. Fair Way will investigate complaints of certain types (e.g bullying, sexual harm, harassment, complex personal relationships ). Fair Way can facilitate someone from Fire and Emergency getting in contact with you if you wish to take a complaint of a different nature forward if you give us your permission to pass your name on for them to contact you.

Any user who ignores this disclaimer does so at their own risk.

Speak Safe @ Fair Way

We will only report complaints to the delegated representatives at Fire and Emergency and only after the complainant has provided permission.

For any report to be considered, it must have sufficient information for Fair Way to form a reasonable basis for considering the report to be genuine and to form a reasonable basis for deciding the appropriate resolution pathway. The person raising the issue/concern should, where possible, provide:

Their name (unless reported anonymously)

Location where the issue or complaint arose

Group you belong to within the Fire and Emergency environment

Nature of the issue or complaint (via predetermined categories)

Relevant facts giving rise to the issue or complaint.

Names of the employee(s), volunteer (s) or contractor(s)s) involved.

All information provided must be true and accurate information of the events that have occurred and that led to the issue/complaint.

Anonymous Reporting

People can raise complaints anonymously if they do not want to reveal their identity. Note that anonymous reports may limit the extent of information available for consideration as well as Fair Way’s ability to seek further information from the person making/raising the issue or complaint. People should feel supported and safe in providing information and be able to consent to the limited sharing with Fair Way, noting that Fair Way will not disclose their name unless permission is given. If a person elects to remain anonymous they may decide to provide a discreet email address for communication that doesn’t disclose their identity and enable a level of follow up.

People are encouraged to provide their name to assist Fair Way and Fire and Emergency’s response to the issues raised but if they are not comfortable doing so, Fire and Emergency would rather the issue is raised anonymously than not at all. Please note that while Fire and Emergency will review all concerns that are received, they are limited in their ability to respond to or investigate issues raised anonymously.

The independent Fair Way service does not have jurisdiction to help resolve enquiries/concern for members of the public.  For your enquiry/issue please refer to Complaints | Fire and Emergency New Zealand, or email web.communications@fireandemergency.nz.

By selecting  ‘yes’  (you would like this complaint to remain anonymous), it may limit the ability for your concern to be considered, investigated or resolved. The Fair Way team can talk with you about what this might mean. If you don’t provide your contact details, we will not be able to follow up your concern if further information is needed.

NOTE: You can provide your name and contact details to Fair Way and still be anonymous. Fair Way will not disclose this information to Fire and Emergency. If you decide to provide a private and unnamed email address, Fair Way will be able to follow up on your concerns

We may be unable to help with issues/complaints that have already been raised, please contact the People Branch for further assistance at  casefacilitators@fireandEmergency.nz. 

Any enquiry to this inbox will be answered within 2-3 days.

Please note if you use the below save and complete later function you are responsible for ensuring the security of the link provided. The information of this form is purged (cleared) every seven days, any information not submitted will be lost.

Please ensure you provide details to allow Fair Way to make contact with you.

Thank you for completing this form. Before you press submit, please make sure you have provided all the necessary details. Including your contact details will enable Fair Way to contact you to discuss your enquiry. Your information will not be provided to Fire and Emergency, it will be used by the Fair Way team to contact you and assess your enquiry/complaint.  If we need to inform Fire and Emergency about something in relation to your enquiry we will seek your consent first.

Please click here if you would like to read Fair Way's privacy policy

Before clicking submit below, please ensure you consider providing a phone number to allow Fair Way to make contact with you.