Frequently Asked Questions

You should speak up about anything that doesn't feel right.

We want everyone we work with to feel confident reaching out to us with any concerns they have or questions they might be facing.

We'd encourage you to speak up in any of the following situations:

• you witness or experience poor practices
• you're concerned that something isn't safe
• you aren't sure how to respond to an offer of gifts or entertainment
• you are concerned about improper agent approaches
• you are worried about doping
• you've made a mistake or aren't sure what to do
• you're worried someone needs some additional support
• you witness bullying or harassment

You can speak up to whoever you feel most comfortable speaking with at the club (for example your coach, line manager or a member of our Legal, Player Care, Safeguarding or HR teams) or you can speak up via the webform or phone lines available on this site.

Whether you speak up in person to your coach, line manager or other speak up contact (for example, a member of our Legal, Player Care, Safeguarding or HR teams) or via the webform or phonelines available on this website, you can expect the following:

• Your concern is taken seriously.

• You are treated with dignity and respect.

• You are not required to identify yourself (though we encourage this in the interests of proper investigation).

• Your communication is confidential (Please see 'Will my report be shown to anyone else' for more info).

• Your incident report sent to the individuals deemed appropriate within Southampton FC.

• Your report will be handled in accordance with our internal investigatory procedures.

• Your concern is addressed wherever possible and you are kept informed during the investigation.

• You are contacted when the investigation is complete and informed as to whether the findings are substantiated or unsubstantiated.

• You will not be retaliated against for good faith reporting.

Convercent is an organization dedicated to building best in class ethics and compliance solutions. They help our employees and other stakeholders to share concerns or incidents, while easily maintaining anonymity, fostering an atmosphere where every voice is heard.

If you are an SFC employee, you will also engage with Convercent when viewing new policies and procedures and undertaking compliance e-learning.

All Speak Up reports are dealt with on a need-to-know, confidential basis and are routed to the individuals within the Club who need to see these to investigate and manage the report. 

There may be circumstances where it is appropriate for us to share information, disclosed via Speak Up channels, with other people or external parties. This could include where we are legally required to notify law enforcement or regulators.

We will always operate on a need-to-know basis and, where we need to share information externally, we will aim to keep those who speak up informed, though this may not always be possible.

In all instances, every effort will be made to ensure that the information you share when speaking up is kept confidential and communicated on a need-to-know basis only. Below are the different levels of anonymity you may select when speaking up via this page:

• Remain completely anonymous: You will not reveal your name or contact information. Your identity is completely protected on the incident report.

• Remain anonymous toward the club: You are comfortable revealing your name and contact information to Convercent, but not to the club. Convercent may contact you confidentially to gather additional information about the report but will not reveal your identity at any time to the club.

• Share my name and information: You do not care about anonymity. You choose to reveal your name and identity to both the club and to Convercent.

All reports submitted are routed to only specific individuals within Southampton FC who are responsible for reviewing and evaluating the specific category of information that you provided. All genuine concerns raised will then be investigated in line with our Speak Up policy and internal procedures and you will be kept up to date with the progress of this investigation. It may not always be possible to share full details of our investigation or the outcome but we will ensure you are supported and have the opportunity to ask questions. 

For more information please see our Speak Up policy

You will not be disadvantaged or retaliated against because of any good faith reporting. 

Forms of retaliation could include (where the action is a result of you speaking up):

• being passed over for promotion
• being dropped from the team
• negative PDR/evaluation
• not being included in team events/conversations

If at any time you believe you have been subject to retaliation for raising a concern or for participating in the investigation of a concern raised, please immediately contact the Legal team (you can do this via the Speak Up channels if you prefer) so this can be properly investigated. Anyone found to have engaged in retaliation will be subject to disciplinary action.