Whistleblowing
WHAT IS WHISTLEBLOWING?
Whistleblowing is a courageous and responsible act of reporting illegal, unethical, or improper conduct within an organization. Whistleblowers are individuals who, through their determination and integrity, play a vital role in exposing harmful or illegal activities, thereby contributing to the improvement of the Foundation as a whole.
WHY IS WHISTLEBLOWING IMPORTANT AND MANDATORY?
Whistleblowing is a fundamental pillar of transparency and accountability. Thanks to the courage of whistleblowers, fraud, abuse of power, discrimination, corruption, and other improper practices that would otherwise remain hidden are brought to light. This process helps ensure that organizations operate ethically and comply with laws and regulations.
HOW DOES THE WHISTLEBLOWING PLATFORM ON LINK DIRETTO WORK?
The platform (which is entirely separate from the Foundation’s own IT systems and tools), accessible from the internal communication portal and the Foundation’s website via the URL https://segnalazioni.d34health.qdpitalia.it/#/, was designed to be a secure, confidential, and protected environment for reporting. The identity of whistleblowers is protected by guaranteeing their anonymity, and the platform complies with the GDPR. In three simple steps, you can:
- Report: Use the online system to submit a detailed and accurate report, with the option to add documents, images, or evidence if necessary;
- Request an evaluation: Our attorney will review the report and determine the appropriate course of action;
- Transparency: You receive regular updates on the status and progress of the investigations.
PROTECTION AGAINST RETALIATION
Individuals protected under the Decree who believe they have been subjected to retaliation should notify ANAC through the Authority’s official website so that it may conduct the investigations mandated by law. External reports may be submitted by accessing the dedicated service on the Authority’s official website (https://www.anticorruzione.it/-/whistleblowing).
WHO CAN FILE A REPORT
- employees, whether they currently have an employment relationship, are in the recruitment and/or pre-contractual phase (if information about violations was obtained during that phase), or have terminated their employment relationship (if information about violations was obtained during the course of the employment relationship itself);
- self-employed individuals who carry out their work at the Foundation;
- employees, independent contractors, and consultants who work for the Foundation;
- volunteers and interns, both paid and unpaid;
- persons with administrative, managerial, supervisory, or representative functions, even if such functions are exercised de facto.
FEATURES AND CONTENTS OF THE REPORT
Reports must be well-founded and made in accordance with the general principle of good faith, and must be as detailed as possible to allow for the verification of the facts. They must contain a clear and complete description of the reported facts, as well as—if known or ascertainable—the circumstances regarding the time and place in which they occurred, the identifying information of the individuals directly involved, and any other individuals who may be able to provide information regarding these circumstances. The reporter is required, if possible, to provide any documentation and all information useful for verifying the validity of the report.
WHAT CANNOT BE REPORTED
- disputes, claims, or requests related to a personal interest of the reporting person or the person who filed a complaint with the judicial authorities, which pertain exclusively to their individual employment or public service relationships, or that relate to their employment or public service relationships with their superiors;
- reports of violations related to national security, as well as reports concerning procurement contracts involving defense or national security aspects, unless such aspects fall under the relevant secondary legislation of the European Union;
- communications containing information about private life, unless they are related to the workplace in connection with any illegal acts or violations of internal policies;
- complaints filed in accordance with current secondary sector regulations, handled as part of the procedures for addressing such complaints;
- news that is clearly unfounded, information that is already entirely in the public domain, as well as information obtained solely on the basis of unreliable rumors or hearsay (so-called "office gossip").
Reports made in bad faith or containing defamatory content will result in the loss of the protections provided by the Decree for the reporter and may lead to disciplinary action.
Access to the platform is “without registration,” meaning it is completely anonymous and does not require the provision of contact information: in this case, to view the responses from the report administrator or any requests for additional information or clarification regarding the reported facts, the reporter must access the platform on their own initiative, using only the unique access code automatically generated by the system upon completion of the report submission.
IMPORTANT: If the reporter intends to identify themselves within the report, they must review the privacy notice provided pursuant to Article 13 of EU Regulation 2016.
CONFIDENTIALITY OBLIGATION
The Foundation ensures the confidentiality of the whistleblower, as provided for in Article 12, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Decree, according to which the identity of the whistleblower and any other information from which that identity may be directly or indirectly inferred may not be disclosed, without the express consent of the whistleblower, to persons other than those authorized to receive or follow up on reports, who are expressly authorized to process such data in accordance with applicable data protection laws. These measures also apply to the person who is the subject of the report and to all those involved in the report.
PROHIBITION ON RETALIATION
Pursuant to Article 17 of the Decree, whistleblowers and the individuals referred to in Article 3, paragraph 5, of the Decree may not be subject to any retaliation, which may include, by way of example, dismissal, demotion, unilateral and unjustified modification of the contract regarding work hours and/or place of work, or the imposition of unfounded disciplinary sanctions.
Any confirmed occurrence of the situations described above will be sanctioned by the Foundation in accordance with the Sanctioning System governing the Reporting System pursuant to Legislative Decree 24/2023, and may also result in the filing of civil and criminal actions as provided by law.
RETAINING DOCUMENTATION
Documentation related to reports is retained for the time necessary to process them and, in any case, no longer than five years from the date the outcome of the report is communicated, in compliance with the confidentiality obligations established by the Decree and the principles set forth in the GDPR (Art. 14, paragraph 1) within the designated IT platform.
The departments involved from time to time in verifying the validity of a report ensure, each within its area of responsibility, the traceability of data and information and are responsible for the retention and archiving of the documentation produced, so as to allow for the reconstruction of the various stages of the process itself.
SANCTIONS
If the reports are found to be substantiated, the sanctions provided for by the internal disciplinary system will be applied to the individuals identified as having committed the violations, without prejudice to any criminal and/or civil and/or administrative and/or accounting consequences.
Furthermore, anyone who files a report and/or facilitates a report that is clearly unfounded is subject to disciplinary action, without prejudice to any other criminal, civil, administrative, or accounting consequences. Such individuals will also be excluded from the protections provided for in Article 19 of Legislative Decree 24/2023.
In addition to the consequences mentioned above, please note that the Decree provides that ANAC may directly impose administrative fines in the following cases:
- In the event of proven retaliation against the whistleblower, obstruction or attempted obstruction of the report, or a breach of the duty of confidentiality, a fine ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 euros shall be imposed on the person responsible for such conduct;
- In the event that an internal reporting channel is not established, internal procedures are not adopted or do not comply with the Decree, or an investigation into received reports is not conducted, a fine ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 euros shall be imposed on the person(s) responsible for such omissions;
- In the event of a judgment—including one at the first instance—finding that the reporting party is civilly liable for willful misconduct or gross negligence, a fine ranging from 500 to 2,500 euros may be imposed.
The Foundation reserves the right to seek recourse against the responsible party should it be ordered to pay any of the aforementioned penalties.
Acceptance of Terms
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