Whistleblowing

INTERNAL “WHISTLEBLOWING” CHANNEL ACTIVATION 

(D. Lgs. 24/2023)

 

In compliance with the Legislative Decree 24/2023, we hereby announce that our internal whistleblowing channel for reporting possible wrongdoing noted in the workplace has been activated. The channel will be managed by the Head of our Legal Department.

The service can be accessed by phoning and making an appointment at the following number: 051869554.

Alternatively, a report can be sent by ordinary mail in the following way. The report must be placed in two sealed envelopes: the first envelope must contain the whistleblower’s contact details, and the second the subject of the report (a description of the facts and copies of relevant documents). Both envelopes must then be sealed in a third envelope marked “CONFIDENTIAL: FOR THE HEAD OF WHISTLEBLOWING ONLY” on the outside.

The channel can be used by anyone who has had relations with the company, so not only workers, but also co-workers, consultants, professionals, partners, directors, supervisory bodies and other third parties.

Reports regarding the breach of national or European Union laws the whistleblower has become aware of in the work context, and which may harm the public interest or integrity of OMP are considered extremely important.

More specifically, any report will certainly be assessed if it refers to unlawful acts in the field of: public procurement; services, products and financial markets; financing terrorism and the prevention of money laundering; product safety and compliance; environmental protection; consumer protection; privacy and personal data protection; network and information system security; breaches of European provisions that harm the Union's financial interests, the internal market, and/or which frustrate the object or purpose of provisions stipulated in acts of the Union in the above-mentioned areas; and breaches of national provisions that constitute administrative, accounting, civil or criminal offences.

 

Reports must not be made on the basis of mere suspicion or news heard from third parties or which, in any case, lack factual elements or unequivocal documents to back them up.

 

It is particularly important that the report includes the following elements:

 

• a detailed description of the events that have occurred and the manner in which they came to the whistleblower’s attention;
• date and place where the facts occurred;
• whistleblower’s contact details;
• name and role of the people involved or elements that allow them to be identified;
• names of any other persons who can comment on the facts being reported;
• reasons why the facts reported constitute a breach;
• references to any documents that confirm the accuracy of the facts reported;
• indications of any private interest of the whistleblower(s) related to the report;
• any other information that may provide useful feedback on the existence of the reported facts.

The confidentiality of the report, the identity of the whistleblower, the person reported, and any other persons mentioned in the report as facilitators or persons informed of the facts, is guaranteed until the conclusion of the proceedings initiated as a result of the report. These safeguards shall not be granted in the case of reports regarding disputes, claims or requests linked to a personal interest of the whistleblower concerning their individual employment relationship only. In these cases, recourse should be made to the various procedures established by the company. The aforementioned safeguards are also excluded from reports concerning breaches encountered outside the work context or based on rumour and not on facts learned directly by the whistleblower.

Reports made with the purpose of harming the reported person or with wilful misconduct or gross negligence, and which prove to be manifestly unfounded, are also not permitted and will be sanctioned. Cases such as this, constitute the crime of slander and/or defamation for the whistleblower and would therefore have criminal consequences.

The whistleblower may make an external report, but only in the case of one of the following conditions: the whistleblower has already made an internal report but it has not been followed up; the whistleblower has reasonable grounds to believe that, if they were to file an internal report, it would not be followed up effectively or might entail the risk of retaliation; the whistleblower has reasonable grounds to believe that the breach may constitute an imminent or obvious danger to the public interest. The external reporting channel has been set up by the National Anti-Corruption Authority ANAC, and can be accessed at the website www.anticorruzione.it. Finally, a report with public disclosure is also allowed and the same protection measures can be guaranteed if the whistleblower: has previously made an internal and external report or has previously made an external report directly, under the conditions and in the manner laid down in this Procedure, and within the prescribed time limits, no reply has been received regarding the measures established or adopted to follow up the report; the whistleblower has reasonable grounds to believe that the breach may constitute an imminent or obvious danger to the public interest; the whistleblower has reasonable grounds to believe that the external report may entail the risk of retaliation or may not be effectively followed up due to the specific circumstances of the case, such as where evidence may be concealed or destroyed or where there are reasonable grounds to fear that the recipient of the report may be in collusion or involved with the perpetrator of the breach.

Internal and external reports and any related documentation will be retained for as long as it takes to process the report and, in any case, for no longer than five years following the date on which the final result of the reporting procedure is communicated.

 

 

O.M.P. OFFICINE MAZZOCCO PAGNONI S.R.L.