- In accordance with EU Directive No 2019/1937 of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report infringements of the EU law (hereinafter referred to as the EU Directive), valid as of 17 December 2021, and in accordance with Act No. 171/2023 Coll., on the protection of whistleblowers, FERT a.s., Petra Bezruče 447/14, 392 01 Soběslav, as an obliged entity as per Article 8 of the EU Directive, has introduced the following methods and rules for reporting infringements.
- The company, as an obliged entity, has developed an internal regulation to address the above issues. The regulation establishes an internal notification system as a set of procedures for receiving notifications, their registration and processing, protection of the whistleblower’s identity and protection of the information stated in the report.
- Anyone – a whistleblower who becomes aware of a violation of the EU rights in connection with his/her work or similar activities (the EU Directive) may submit a report on a potential illegal activity that has taken place or might take place,
- in writing electronically at the following e-mail address: whistleblowing@fert.cz
- in paper form to the address FERT a.s., Petra Bezruče 447/14, 392 01 Soběslav, in an envelope marked with text “Whistleblowing – do not open”
- or in person to the competent employee (no later than within 14 days of the whistleblower’s request)
- by telephone, either to the company or to the Ministry of Justice
- The whistleblower shall be advised of the rights and obligations arising on him/her from law, and a report shall be drawn up on the provision of the advice. The whistleblower is expected to act in public interest and in good faith, believing that the report submitted by him/her is based on credible facts and evidence. If a whistleblower deliberately makes a false report, he/she commits an offence punishable by a fine of up to CZK 50,000.
- If the whistleblower agrees, the oral notification shall be audio-recorded or taped.
- Only the competent person named below may access the report submitted, and that person may not provide information which might compromise or jeopardise the purpose of the report. The competent person shall evaluate the credibility of the report submitted and notify the whistleblower that the report has been received under Section 12(2) and on results of the evaluation of the credibility of the report as per Section 12(3) and of the adoption of appropriate measures to remedy or prevent the unlawful situation in connection with the report submitted. Unless the report is identified as justified, the competent person shall, without undue day, inform the whistleblower in writing that, on the basis of the facts stated in the report and all the circumstances known to him/her, the competent person does not suspect that an infringement has been committed or that the report is based on false information, advising the whistleblower of the right to lodge a report with a public authority. If the report is found to be justified, the competent person shall propose measures to remedy the infringement to the company. The obliged entity shall immediately inform the competent person of the measure adopted, and the competent person shall notify the whistleblower in writing in that respect without undue delay.
- The company shall not accept reports submitted by persons who do not carry out work or similar activities according to the aforesaid Act for the company.
- The whistleblower’s identity constitutes protected data; the competent person is subject to the duty of non-disclosure. Pursuant to Act No. 171/2023 Coll., the whistleblower is entitled to protection against retaliation. The Ministry of Justice provides information on its website regarding how the whistleblower may proceed in the case of retaliation.
- A form can be used for submitting a report, or the method of submitting a report may be agreed with the competent person.
Contact data of the person in charge of receiving and processing reports:
Lucie Pokorná
+420 734 883 663
whistleblowing@fert.cz
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