General information for whistleblowers
All employees are expressly encouraged to approach the manager responsible for them or Corporate Compliance if they perceive a lack of clarity regarding the rules in force, have questions in this respect or notice that the conduct of somebody working for the enterprise or of one of our business partners is dishonourable or conflicts with regulations. This procedure can prevent a small problem becoming a big issue. Questions and information to the responsible manager or Corporate Compliance should be made openly.
This whistleblower system is also the complaints procedure within the meaning of the German Supply Chain Duty of Care Act (“LkSG for short). This should enable people to inform about human rights and environment-related risks and violations of human rights and environmental duties arising from the economic actions of our company in its own business field or of a direct supplier to our company.
What is the objective of the whistleblower system?
We prefer open communication in such matters. The first persons to approach are executive staff members. However, employees may approach the Corporate Compliance with questions or a hints at any time.
We also accept anonymous hints and requests where whistleblowers prefer not to disclose their identity.
We follow up all hints and do not tolerate any prejudicial treatment of persons who provide them. This also applies where hints prove to be unjustified or unsubstantiated upon closer examination, unless such hints contain deliberately or grossly negligently false information. If you provide an anonymous hint, it is technically impossible to identify you if the information you provide does not permit conclusions to be drawn as to your identity.
Purpose of the whistleblower system for employees
With the aid of the whistleblower system, the whistleblower can
- ask questions about compliance regulations and compliance issues, or
- inform the enterprise online about matters indicating possible breaches of regulations or dishonourable conduct (e.g., corruption, violation of human rights or environmental regulations) on the part of the enterprise and/or its employees, about weaknesses in procedures, areas of risk and possibilities for improvement.
- provide information about human rights and environment-related risks and violations of human rights or environmental duties in our supply chain.
Why can the whistleblower system be used to ask questions as well?
Our integrity and compliance with regulations affects everybody. Severe breaches of regulations and dishonourable conduct can jeopardize the enterprise as a whole or individual jobs. For this reason, all employees are urged to keep their eyes open, to address irregularities indicating a breach of regulations, a violation of the law or dishonourable conduct, and to request advice in case of doubt about their own conduct or that of their colleagues.
It is our aim to detect potential weak points at an early point in time and to improve matters in good time. How and in what form useful information reaches us is ultimately irrelevant. A question asked can also reveal a need for improvement.
What happens to my hint or to my request?
Your hint or your request is initially received by “person handling the case”. This position is performed by BayWa r.e. AG Corporate Compliance and Corporate HR.
The case manager will first assess
- whether it is a request seeking advice which can be answered immediately, and will send you a corresponding response via the communication channel you selected. In an individual case it might be necessary for the cases manager to pose further questions in order to correctly understand and respond to your request.
- Whether it is a hint of possible misconduct, a weak point or potential for improvement that requires further assessment. The case manager will initiate further appropriate measures in accordance with the relevant procedures provided for within the enterprise.
How am I protected if I submit a hint or a request?
The exchange of information via the whistleblower system takes place completely in encoded form. It is not possible for unauthorized persons to view the contents.
When submitting your hint or your request, you can choose to remain anonymous or to provide your contact data. If you wish to remain anonymous, it is not possible to identify you unless the information you provide permits conclusions as to your identity.
The whistleblower is subject to the special protection regulations of the Whistleblower Protection Act, provided that, at the time of the hint, the whistleblower had sufficient grounds to assume that the informed he or she was reporting was true and that the information concerned violations that fall under the area of application of the Whistleblower Protection Act (criminal offences, certain administrative offences), or, at the time of the hint or disclosure, the whistleblower had sufficient grounds to assume that this was the case.
The whistleblower shall not be protected if the hint deliberately or grossly negligently contains incorrect information (false report). In this case, the whistleblower shall be required to compensate for the damage incurred (Article 38 Whistleblower Protection Act).
How can I communicate with the case manager or receive information about the outcome of the proceedings?
If you wish to receive a response to your hint or request without disclosing your identity, then mark the box “accept queries” on the input screen. The system will allocate a process “token” to your request. You will also be asked to determine a password. The response to your hint or request will be provided digitally so that you can then access it using your password and the “process token”. If you lose these access data, access is no longer possible. In that case you will have to submit a new hint.
After verifying matters, the case manager will inform you about the further sequence of events, insofar as possible. If you do not activate the “accept queries” box, it will not be possible to inform you.
Can I transmit files or images together with information?
Yes, it is possible to attach files or images to information. However, for security reason, only some file formats are permitted (PDF or image formats).
Please note that files or images usually contain hidden data (so-called meta data) which may contain information about the creator of the file or, in the case of images, often the coordinates of the location where the image was taken. You should delete this meta data if you want to protect your anonymity. If you need help to do this, you will find simple instructions online.
Will I receive confirmation of receipt?
What do I have to do if I want to have a personal meeting?
If you wish to have a personal meeting, kindly mark the box “personal meeting requested” as well as the box “accept queries” so that the case manager can contact you to arrange the details. Please provide a brief description in the input box as to where and how you would be able to attend a personal meeting.
What happens if my hint or request concerns a matter in which I myself broke the rules or was involved in misconduct?
If your hint or your request about the discovery of a breach of the rules means that you incriminate yourself, this will not protect you subsequently against the appropriate measures under employment law or against possible consequences under criminal law. However, when deciding such matters, the contribution by a person whose information leads to the discovery of breaches of the rules and to the prevention of further risks, can be taken into account.
Will my hint or my request be stored?
Yes.
Messages you dispatch will be stored within the whistleblower system, as will an assessment of the significance of the hint. In addition, communication with you will be stored within the system, as will the processing comments of the case manager , any measures implemented, and conclusions drawn during the further handling of the case.
Insofar as personal data is processed within this procedure, this will take place within the framework of data protection regulations. The automatic communication of stored data to third parties is not supported technically and does not take place.
Are the employees concerned informed about my hint or my request?
Can the manager responsible for me obtain access to my hint or request if he or she insists?
Do I have to expect that my hint or my request will trigger an investigation?
Yes.
The enterprise is under an obligation to investigate all alleged breaches of compliance in a reasonable manner. For this reason, all hints about misconduct, weak points and potential for improvement, and if appropriate queries requesting advice, are verified accordingly. Otherwise any hint you submit would be futile.
If you provide detailed information about the matter concerned or attach documents to your hint, you should be aware that this might ultimately enable your identity to be discovered.
Can third parties such as external investigation authorities view my hint or request, or conduct further research into the results?
Yes.
Within the context of their investigative powers, government authorities have access to all information within the enterprise. Within the context of investigative procedures, on the basis of court orders, these authorities are entitled to demand the surrender of all documents and materials within the enterprise that relate to a certain matter, and may also conduct a search.
In individual cases, this includes any information on a certain matter within the whistleblower system.
What is the relationship with the “external reporting point” like?
People who intend to report information about a violation of the rules covered by the Whistleblower Protection Act can choose whether to report to an internal reporting point within the company (i.e. via the whistleblower system) or an external reporting point. The Federal Administration has set up a point for external hints within the Federal Ministry of Justice.
If a violation reported internally is not remedied, the whistleblower is free to turn to an external reporting point.
However, to be able to start processing the hints as quickly as possible, please report to the internal reporting point first of all.