Safeguarding Policy

1. Commitment and scope

We are committed to protecting children and adults at risk from harm, abuse and neglect in connection with our service. Safeguarding is treated as everyone's responsibility, not as a specialist function held by one person.

This policy reflects the duties arising under the Children Act 1989 and 2004, the Care Act 2014 and the safeguarding conditions attached to private hire licensing. It applies to directors, office staff, employed and self-employed chauffeurs and partner operators.

Reports go to the designated safeguarding lead, who decides whether a referral is made, makes it, and keeps the safeguarding record. A concern reaches the lead through the WhatsApp client service desk on +44 7775 554848 and the contact page at executive-chauffeurs.uk/contact. The desk is instructed to pass a safeguarding report straight to the lead, at once and without triaging it or pressing the person reporting for more detail. Where the lead is unavailable, or is the subject of the concern, the report goes to another director by the same route.

2. Who we mean

A child is anyone under the age of eighteen, regardless of how mature they appear or of whether they are travelling on a business booking.

An adult at risk is any person aged eighteen or over who has care and support needs, is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect, and as a result of those needs cannot protect themselves. That includes someone temporarily impaired through illness, medication, alcohol, injury or acute distress.

Vulnerability in our work is often situational rather than permanent: a passenger who has been unwell on a long flight, a lone traveller late at night, or someone plainly distressed at the end of a difficult day.

3. Safer recruitment

Every chauffeur holds a current private hire driver licence, granted only after the licensing authority is satisfied that they are a fit and proper person. That process includes an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check with a barred list check.

We verify the licence before allocating work and again at renewal, take up references, and require immediate notification of any charge, caution, conviction or licensing action arising during an engagement.

Safeguarding briefing is included in induction and refreshed at least annually. It covers recognising concerns, appropriate boundaries, the reporting route and the rule that a concern is passed on rather than investigated by the person who noticed it.

4. Unaccompanied children

Bookings for unaccompanied passengers under the age of eighteen are accepted only where they are made by a parent, guardian, school or company with authority to do so, and where the arrangements are confirmed in writing in advance.

The confirmation records who is handing the child over, who is receiving them at the destination, a contact number for both, and what the chauffeur should do if the receiving adult is not present. The chauffeur does not leave a child anywhere unless a named adult takes responsibility for them.

Children travel in the rear of the vehicle in an appropriate restraint, and the journey is not diverted, extended or altered on the child's instruction. Any change is confirmed with the booking adult through the client service desk.

5. Recognising a concern

• —A passenger who appears frightened, distressed or confused, or who is not permitted to speak for themselves.
• —A passenger, particularly a child or a young person, who appears to be under the control of another passenger.
• —A disclosure of abuse, exploitation or harm made to the chauffeur during a journey.
• —Visible injury with an explanation that does not fit, or a passenger who seems reluctant to reach the destination.
• —A booking pattern suggesting exploitation, such as repeated late-night movements of young people between addresses by a third party.
• —A passenger too incapacitated to get themselves safely from the vehicle to a place of safety.

6. What to do

If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999. This overrides every other consideration, including passenger confidentiality, the terms of the booking and the client relationship.

Where there is no immediate danger, listen without pressing for detail, do not promise confidentiality, do not question the person and do not attempt to investigate. Record what was said and observed, in the words used, as soon as the journey allows, and report to the designated safeguarding lead the same day.

The safeguarding lead refers concerns to the local authority safeguarding team or the police as appropriate, and to the authority that licenses our operation where the licence conditions require it. The decision to refer does not rest with the chauffeur, but the decision to report to the lead is not optional.

Do not leave a passenger who cannot get themselves to safety. Stay with them and contact the desk, which will contact the venue, the named contact for the booking or the emergency services.

Anyone outside the business who is worried about a passenger, a child or an adult at risk in connection with one of our journeys can tell us through the WhatsApp client service desk on +44 7775 554848 and the contact page at executive-chauffeurs.uk/contact, and can also contact the safeguarding team at the relevant local authority, or the police on 101 for a non-urgent report and on 999 in an emergency. We would far rather receive a concern that turns out to be nothing.

7. Allegations against our people

An allegation against a chauffeur or member of staff is reported immediately to a director, who will refer it to the local authority designated officer or the police where the threshold is met, and to the authority that issued the licence concerned.

The person concerned will not carry passengers while the matter is being considered. That step is a precaution rather than a finding, and it is taken in every case rather than judged individually.

Where a person is dismissed or removed from work because they have harmed a child or an adult at risk, or would have been had they not resigned, we make a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service as the law requires.

8. Records, confidentiality and review

Safeguarding records are kept securely, separately from routine booking data, and are accessible only to the safeguarding lead and directors. They are retained in line with our Privacy Policy and the expectations of the referring authority.

Sharing information to protect someone from harm is lawful under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Data protection is never a reason to withhold a safeguarding referral, and a chauffeur should never delay a report while considering it.

This policy is reviewed at least annually, after any significant incident, and whenever licensing safeguarding requirements change. Concerns about the policy itself can be raised with a director or through the WhatsApp client service desk on +44 7775 554848 and the contact page at executive-chauffeurs.uk/contact.