EAPA UK Statement concerning the BBC File on 4 allegations – 12 July 2024

EAPA UK Statement concerning the BBC File on 4 allegations – 12 July 2024

EAPA UK is extremely saddened to read the allegations brought to the public’s attention by BBC News on 12 July 2024 against one of our accredited provider members. As the representative body for the EAP sector, we set out professional standards which we expect our members to adhere to. We take alleged breaches to our standards seriously.

Each accredited provider is required to undertake a verification audit of our standards which is carried out independently. The audit and accreditation process requires that responses to the confidentiality and data protection questions must be positive, and that the auditors are satisfied that the provider’s confidentiality statements pose no cause for concern.

Confidentiality is the central tenet of an EAP service and creates trust from service users. It is at the heart of what we do, and a critical requirement. As such all EAPs must abide by this. It is imperative that users of EAP services can be confident and certain that all calls are fully confidential.

EAPA UK has commenced an investigation to understand from the provider the facts behind the reported allegations and if true, how this was allowed to happen and to get full clarification on the mitigations being put forward to ensure this does not happen again in the future.

It is important that our service users trust that EAP providers do not operate in the way reported and they should be confident that the only limitations to confidentiality are within the confines of safeguarding and UK Law.

It is essential that all EAPA UK members adhere to our professional standards at all times. Failure to do this may result in the members’ verification and/or membership being suspended or removed.

EAPA UK will report on the findings of our investigation once it has been completed.  

If you would like to learn more about the EAPA UK Standards, please follow this link: Resources