WHISTLEBLOWING

 

Reporting breaches of national or European Union regulatory provisions that harm the public interest or the integrity of TGR S.r.l.

 

Why you need to report offences

Reporting breaches of regulatory provisions, meaning any conduct, act or omission that harms the public interest or the integrity of the Company, shows you are doing your civic duty.

Reporting breaches that you have become aware of due to your job should not be viewed as “snitching” but rather a means for safeguarding corporate and individual interests. For this reason, the law guarantees the confidentiality of a whistleblowing and his or her identity, providing special protection measures.

 

The new rules introduced by Italian Legislative Decree  24/2023

In implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 (EU Whistleblowing Directive), Italian Legislative Decree no. 24 of 10 March 2023 was enacted concerning "the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law and containing provisions concerning the protection of persons who report breaches of national regulatory provisions". This Legislative Decree came into force on and after 15 July 2023 and applies to individuals working in the public and private sectors.

Individuals entitled to submit a report

The following individuals may submit a report under the provisions of the aforementioned Legislative Decree:

  1. a) Employees and, more generally, employed workers.
  2. b) Independent contractors, workers under a continuous contractual relationship for one or more projects, professionals and consultants, volunteers and trainees, also whenever unremunerated, working for the company.
  3. c) Shareholders/Owners and persons with administrative, management, control, supervisory or corporate representation duties.

The persons listed may make reports, benefiting from the protections provided under the aforementioned Legislative Decree, whenever any one of the following circumstances shall come about:

- Before the start of the legal relationship, whenever the report refers to information gathered during the selection process or at other pre-contractual stages.

- During the probationary period.

- During the legal relationship.

- After the legal relationship has ceased, whenever the report refers to information gathered over the period of the relationship.

 

 

Subject of the report

The report shall concern information on breaches of national or Union regulatory provisions committed or which, on the basis of tangible factors, may be committed, damaging the public interest or the integrity of the Company with which the whistleblower has a legal relationship.

Within the meaning of said Legislative Decree, such matters include conduct, acts or omissions that regard:

  • Administrative, financial reporting and civil or criminal offences.
  • Relevant unlawful conduct within the meaning of legislative Decree 231/2001, or breaches of the Organisation and Management Models provided thereunder.
  • Offences falling within the scope of European Union or national laws relating to the following areas: public procurement; financial services, products and markets and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; product safety and compliance; transport safety; environmental protection; radiation protection and nuclear safety; food and feed safety and animal health and welfare; public health; consumer protection; privacy protection and protection of personal data and security of networks and information systems.
  • Acts or omissions that affect the financial interests of the European Union.
  • Acts or omissions concerning the internal market, such as competition and state aid infringements.
  • Acts or conduct which undermine the object or purpose of the provisions of EU laws.

 

For the purposes of reporting, please consider the following factors:

  • Reasonableness

At the time of reporting, the whistleblower submitting the report shall have reasonable and well-founded grounds to believe that the information on the breach reported is true and falls within the objective scope within the meaning of the Legislative Decree.

  • Subject matter
  • The report shall contain a description of the breach and it may be supported by suitable documentation and information that enable an investigation to be conducted.
  • Reports shall be clear, detailed and they shall be disregarded whenever based on rumour and general circumstances that do not enable the facts to be understood, events to be verified or whenever they are supported by unsuitable or inadequate documentation.
  • Information on reportable breaches shall not include information that is manifestly unfounded or in the public domain.
  • The report may not be used for disputes, claims or requests related to a personal interest of the whistleblower, which exclusively concern the person’s individual employment relationships or those with their direct line managers.
  • Anonymous reports, whenever substantiated, shall be treated as routine reports and the benefits offered by statutory provisions and protections provided for whistleblowers shall not apply.

Protection measures shall apply whenever an anonymous whistleblower may subsequently be identified and suffers acts of retaliation.

Without prejudice to the exclusions and application of the rules under section 1(2) and (3) of said Legislative Decree.

How to submit a report

On this page you may access the in-company reporting platform that allows you to submit a report in a protected and encrypted way that ensures the identity of the person making the report stays confidential and, likewise, that of any facilitator, the person involved or, however, mentioned in the report, its subject matter and any relevant documentation. The Platform will issue the person submitting the report a receipt advice confirming the report has been successfully submitted.

In all cases:

  • Contact with the whistleblower shall be maintained and any additional information shall be requested via this channel.
  • Thorough investigation follow-up shall be conducted into reports received, after assessing that the basic requirements for accepting the report exist (see above).
  • The report shall be acknowledged within three (3) months from the date of the receipt advice or, whenever no such receipt advice exists, within three (3) months after expiry of the seven-day period from the time of submitting the report.
  • Once the report has been assessed and accepted, an internal investigation will be launched into the circumstances or conduct reported for the purpose of establishing whether such circumstances and/or conduct have occurred. At the end of the investigation, feedback will be given to the whistleblower.

In accordance with the provisions of ANAC (National Anti-Corruption Authority) Guidelines on such matters (Authority resolution no. 311 of 12 July 2023), for conducting the investigation, the contact person appointed by the Company may initiate an exchange with the whistleblower, requesting any clarification, documents and additional information, using the same in-company channel. Whenever necessary, the investigator may also take into evidence documents and documentation from other administrative offices, avail him/herself of their support, involve third parties through interviews and other requests, while always ensuring that the confidentiality of the whistleblower is protected, and the confidentiality of the persons involved and mentioned in the report is not compromised. Whenever, as a result of activities conducted, factors emerge showing that the report is manifestly groundless, it shall be dismissed providing suitable reasons. Whenever, on the other hand, the report is found to have merit, in-company or outside entities/agencies will be activated, each according to their own area of responsibility.

Whenever the whistleblower is not identified, the report shall be considered anonymous and will not benefit from the protections provided.

Protection measures

The whistleblower and the other entitled persons (see specific section further on) will benefit from the protection measures established under Legislative Decree no. 24 of 2023 whenever the general requirements set out above apply (at the time of submitting the report, the whistleblower had founded reason for holding the information on the breaches reported was true and the breach would fall within the objective scope of the Legislative Decree; the report was submitted according to the established procedures). The reasons that led the person to submit the report are irrelevant for the purpose of protection.

The specific protection measures include:

  • Confidentiality: Reports may not be used for any purpose other than for giving adequate follow-up to reports. The identity of the whistleblower - and any other information that may be inferred - may not be disclosed, without the express consent of the whistleblower, to persons other than those authorised to receive or follow up on reports. Maximum confidentiality on the identity of the persons involved and of the persons mentioned in the report shall also be guaranteed until the procedure initiated based on the report in question has been concluded. However, the collection of personal data shall be done by providing appropriate information in accordance with article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, as well as by adopting measures to protect the rights and freedoms of data subjects. Reports and relevant documentation shall be retained, pursuant to Legislative Decree no. 24 of 2023, no later than five (5) years from the date of notifying the final outcome of the reporting procedure, in compliance with the confidentiality obligations referred to in section 12 of said Legislative Decree and Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
  • No retaliation. Individuals that benefit from protection measures may not suffer any retaliation, meaning any conduct, act or omission - including any attempted or threatened conduct, act or omission - perpetrated by reason of the report, which causes or may cause the whistleblower, directly or indirectly, undue harm. The authority responsible for receiving and managing reports concerning acts of retaliation from the whistleblower and other protected individuals is the National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC), whose policies and guidelines may be consulted at (https://www.anticorruzione.it/-/whistleblowing). Acts of retaliation include. but are not limited to, (section 17(4) of Legislative Decree no. 24 of 2023):
  • Dismissal, suspension or equivalent measures.
  • Demotion or non-advancement.
  • Change of work duties, change of workplace, reduction of salary and change of working hours.
  • Cancelled training or any restriction on accessing training.
  • Negative evaluations or negative references.
  • Adoption of disciplinary measures or other penalties, including financial penalties.
  • Coercion, intimidation, harassment or ostracism.
  • Discrimination or otherwise unfavourable treatment.
  • Failure to convert a fixed-term employment contract into an indefinite term employment contract, whenever the worker had a legitimate expectation of such conversion.
  • Non-renewal or early termination of a fixed-term employment contract.
  • Harm, including to the person's reputation, specifically on social media, or economic or financial prejudice, including loss of economic opportunities and loss of income.
  • Blacklisting based on a formal or informal sector or industrial agreement, which may make it impossible for the person concerned to find employment in the sector or industry in the future.
  • Early termination or cancellation of a contract for the supply of goods or services.
  • Cancellation of a licence or permit.
  • Request to submit to a psychiatric or medical evaluation.

As part of the proceedings concerning the assessment of said conduct, acts or omissions, it shall be assumed they have been triggered by the report and the burden of proof to the contrary shall be borne by the person who is responsible for such conduct, acts or omissions.

Section 19 of Legislative Decree no. 24 of 2023 provides for the option, for individuals benefitting from protection measures, to notify ANAC (National Anti-Corruption Authority) of any acts of retaliation they believe they have suffered.

 

  • Support measures provided by Third Sector entities registered in the specific list established at ANAC (section 18 of Legislative Decree no. 24 of 2023).
  • Limitations of liability, safeguards for waivers, transactions, and penalties (section 20 et seq. of Legislative Decree no. 24 of 2023).

Specifically, the other guarantees provided include non-punishability for disclosing or disseminating information on breaches (e.g., those under a non-disclosure obligation, other than professional, forensic and medical non-disclosure privilege; those regarding the protection of copyright or the protection of personal data) if, at the time of reporting, reasonable grounds existed for holding that the disclosure or dissemination of information was necessary to make the report and it was submitted in the manner required by law.

For further and specific details, please consult the ANAC website (https://www.anticorruzione.it/-/whistleblowing).

 

Persons entitled to protection measures

In accordance with section 3(5) of Legislative Decree no. 24 of 2023 and without prejudice to the provisions of section 17(2) and (3) of said Legislative Decree on no retaliation, protection measures shall also apply to the following categories of individuals having a certified bond with the whistleblower:

  • Any facilitators, i.e., persons assisting the whistleblower through the reporting process, operating within the same work environment and whose assistance needs to be kept confidential.
  • Persons in the same work environment as the whistleblower and who are linked to the whistleblower by a stable emotional bond or kinship within the fourth degree.
  • The whistleblower's work colleagues working in the same work environment and who have a habitual and current relationship with the whistleblower.
  • The entities owned by the whistleblower, or for which said person works, as well as the entities operating in the same work environment as the whistleblower.

Forfeiture of protections

Unless as provided under section 20 of Legislative Decree no. 24 of 2023 on limitations of liability, whenever the criminal liability of the whistleblower for the crimes of defamation, libel and slander or civil liability, for the same reason, have been ascertained, including under a first instance court ruling, in cases of wilful misconduct or gross negligence, protections shall not be guaranteed and the whistleblower or person submitting a report shall be subject to a disciplinary measure.

ANAC (National Anti-Corruption Authority) outside reporting channel

Whenever the requirements under section 6 of Legislative Decree no. 24 of 2023 are satisfied, it is possible to submit a report via the outside ANAC channel in written or oral form, according to the channels and addresses identified by the Anti-Corruption Authority (https://www.anticorruzione.it/-/whistleblowing), which ensure the guarantees of confidentiality and protection provided under said Legislative Decree.

Specifically, whistleblowers may use the outside (ANAC) channel whenever:

  • Within the work environment, mandatory activation of an in-company reporting channel is not provided or whenever, even if mandatory, it has not been enabled or, although enabled, it fails to comply with statutory provisions.
  • The whistleblower has already submitted an in-company report and it has not been followed up.
  • The whistleblower has reasonable grounds to hold that, if he or she were to submit an in-company report, it would not be effectively followed up or that such report may trigger the risk of retaliation.
  • The whistleblower has reason to hold that the breach may constitute an imminent or manifest threat to the public interest.

 

To send a report click on the link below:

https://whistleblowing.tgrsrl.it/#/