FAQ

A whistleblower is a person who, due to the information they have, reports various irregularities that have occurred or are occurring in a given work environment. The purpose of whistleblowers is therefore to report all types of improper procedures consisting of both action and omission, which are contrary to applicable regulations. A whistleblower acts in the common interest and is always guided by good faith, and their report is based on factual grounds. They do not make the disclosure in order to gain benefits.

The Whistleblower Directive is the common name for the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons reporting on breaches of Union rights. This Directive imposes on entrepreneurs and institutions the obligation to implement a system for handling reports submitted by whistleblowers and rules related to the protection of reporting persons against retaliatory actions. The Directive on the protection of whistleblowers in Poland will enter into force on 17 December 2021.

The draft act on the protection of persons reporting violations of the law went further than the EU directive. It does not include the criterion of the number of inhabitants, which means that the vast majority of local governments will have to develop procedures for whistleblowers. Such an obligation will also apply to organizational units of municipalities and counties if they employ more than 50 employees. The draft assumes that the act will enter into force after 14 days from the announcement! Which means that by that time local governments are obliged to implement mechanisms for reporting irregularities for the purpose of receiving reports, maintaining a secure register of reports, developing and implementing channels for receiving reports.

The whistleblower has the right to report disturbing phenomena and ethical doubts occurring at the workplace. These include, among others: corruption and theft, sexual harassment, activities threatening health or life, threats, bribery, violation of the principles of fair competition, failure to comply with the principles of occupational hygiene, security of public finances and other incidents.

In the event that the whistleblower has not received a response to the reported violation within the specified time, the response is incomplete or untrue, he or she has the right to make an external report to the appropriate body (National Labor Inspectorate, Prosecutor's Office, Tax Office, etc.). If reporting to state institutions does not bring the expected effect, the whistleblower may make a public disclosure through, among others, social media, television, press or trade unions.

Using our secure whistleblower channel, you can report any irregularity occurring in the selected work environment completely anonymously and confidentially. After filling in the reporting form, the whistleblower will receive a report ID and an individual password for the correspondence box, which should be remembered or written down (generated pdf file), because this data cannot be recovered. This is because each report is encrypted and all metadata from attachments is deleted. The message can only be read by the recipient of the report, who uses individual access to the dedicated reporting platform. Using the appropriate password, they decrypt the received message and respond to the whistleblower using the same correspondence channel.

In accordance with applicable regulations, we first check whether the received report qualifies for consideration in the channel for reporting irregularities. We assign a separate number to each report, and the whistleblower receives a unique code with which they can track the status of their report.

The whistleblower will receive a response confirming receipt of the report within 7 days of its receipt by the recipient of the reports. Using the verification code, you can send additional information or receive a response to the report. However, the report should be considered within 90 days - of which the whistleblower will also be informed. This response will also be available after logging in with the verification code.

In addition to the basic information entered in the text fields on the form, you can also attach multimedia files (photos, documents, recordings) to prove any irregularities.

The system server is configured so that, on the one hand, it does not create contact logs (does not record data on transmissions to it), and on the other hand, it anonymizes the data transmitted by the whistleblower (removes information identifying the sender). It is not possible to access the whistleblower's personal or location data, nor the IP number of their computer or smartphone.

The system provides additional encryption of the report content on the whistleblower's device (browser) in a way that is readable only to the Recipient of reports designated in the office. The report is transferred to the server in encrypted form, with an identifier and password assigned to it. It is not possible to read the report on the server. The server does not perform any encryption or decryption operations of reports. The process of encrypting and decrypting the report file is based on AES-256 algorithms, which are used worldwide to conceal information and are considered a standard in cryptography due to their security.

The report created by the Whistleblower with any documents is transferred to the server and only then is an email with this report created. The email with the report is sent by the server to the Report Recipient responsible in the office for receiving reports, authorizing themselves as the sender and hiding the real sender. The Report Recipient, while processing the report, verifies it and then decides on further follow-up actions.

A whistleblower’s report is handled by an impartial, dedicated Report Recipient, designated and appropriately trained and located in the organisation receiving the report.

When sending a report, the whistleblower receives a report identifier and a password generated for him/her from the system. Using these, he/she can read the response from the Recipient of the reports on the website, related to his/her report, while still remaining anonymous.

A response from the Recipient of reports concerning the Whistleblower's report should be provided within a period of no more than 90 days, in accordance with the provisions of the Whistleblower Protection Directive. In justified cases, this period may be extended, of which the person making the report should be informed.

The whistleblower has the option of re-contacting and sending additional information to the server, using the previously received, system-generated, individual report identifier and password. In this way, the whistleblower can continue secure and anonymous correspondence with the Recipient of the report.