Whistleblowing - REPORTING (Legislative Decree 24/2023)
In accordance with Legislative Decree March 10, 2023, n. 24, POGLIANO BUSBAR SRL incorporates in Italy Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 23, 2019, concerning the protection of persons reporting violations of Union law. In line with international best practices, the company has adopted the “Whistleblowing” procedure for managing reports.
Simultaneously, we have implemented this web portal to ensure the confidentiality of the whistleblower’s identity in the reporting process, entrusting the service to Lumina Fiduciaria SPA, a Fiduciary Company authorized by the Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) as established by Law 1966/39.
Who can make a "whistleblowing" report?
The decree defines a “reporting person” as the individual who makes the report or public disclosure of information about violations acquired within the scope of their work context.
The “reporting parties” protected by the decree include:
- Employees of public administrations, independent administrative authorities, economic public entities, private law entities subject to public control, in-house companies, public law entities, or public service concessionaires;
- Subordinate workers in the private sector, including those whose employment relationship is governed by Legislative Decree June 15, 2015, no. 81, or Article 54-bis of Legislative Decree April 24, 2017, no. 50, converted, with amendments, by Law June 21, 2017, no. 96;
- Self-employed workers, including those mentioned in Chapter I of Law May 22, 2017, no. 81, as well as holders of a collaboration relationship under Article 409 of the Code of Civil Procedure and Article 2 of Legislative Decree no. 81 of 2015, who carry out their work for public or private sector entities;
- Workers or collaborators who carry out their work for public or private sector entities providing goods or services or carrying out works for third parties;
- Freelancers and consultants providing their services to public or private sector entities;
- Volunteers and interns, both paid and unpaid, who perform their activities for public or private sector entities;
- Shareholders and individuals with administrative, managerial, control, supervision, or representation functions, even if such functions are exercised de facto, for public or private sector entities.
The protections provided for the reporting party also apply:
- To the so-called facilitators (those who provide assistance to the worker in the reporting process);
- To individuals in the same work context as the reporting person or who have filed a complaint with the judicial or accounting authority, or the person who has made a public disclosure, and who are connected to them by a stable emotional or familial bond within the fourth degree;
- To colleagues of the reporting person or the person who has filed a complaint with the judicial or accounting authority or made a public disclosure, who work in the same work context as the reporting person and who have a regular and ongoing relationship with that person;
- To entities owned by the reporting person or the person who has filed a complaint with the judicial or accounting authority or made a public disclosure, or for which these individuals work, as well as to entities operating in the same work context as the aforementioned individuals.
What are the protections guaranteed to the whistleblower?
The protection also applies:
What can be reported?
The decree defines “report” as the written or oral communication of information about “violations,” defined as behaviors, acts, or omissions that harm public interest or the integrity of public administration or private entities, and consist of:
- Administrative, accounting, civil, or criminal offenses;
- Unlawful conduct relevant under Legislative Decree 231/2001, or violation of organizational and management models;
- Offenses falling within the scope of Union or national acts listed in the annex to the decree, or national acts implementing Union acts listed in the annex to Directive 2019/1937, even if not listed in the decree’s annex for the following sectors: public procurement; services, products, and financial markets; prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; safety of food, feed, and health and welfare of animals; safety and conformity of products; transport safety; public health; protection of privacy and personal data; environmental protection; radiological protection and nuclear safety; consumer protection; safety of networks and information systems;
- Acts or omissions harming the financial interests of the European Union (Article 325 TFEU);
- Acts and omissions related to (Article 26, paragraph 2 TFEU) the free movement of goods, persons, services, and capital in the internal market, including violations of Union rules on Competition, State Aid, and Corporate Taxes.
- Acts or behaviors undermining the object and purpose of EU provisions in points 3, 4, and 5.
The decree defines “retaliation” as any behavior, act, or omission, even if only attempted or threatened, carried out in connection with the reporting, filing of a complaint to the judicial or accounting authority, or public disclosure, and that causes or may cause unjust harm to the reporting person or the person who filed the complaint, directly or indirectly.
Privacy
All personal data will be processed in accordance with the current Privacy Regulation (meaning EU Regulation 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 27, 2016, regarding the protection of individuals concerning the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data (GDPR), Legislative Decree no. 196/2003, Legislative Decree no. 101/2018, as well as any other legislation on the protection of personal data applicable in Italy, including the measures of the Guarantor), fully respecting the rights and fundamental freedoms, with particular attention to the confidentiality of the identities involved and the security of the processing.
For further details, download the Lumina Fiduciaria Privacy PDF.
How to make a Whistleblowing report
ACCESS WWW.WB24.IT TU SUBMIT YOUR REPORT
The “whistleblowing” legislation recognizes the right to protection for the whistleblower, regardless of the communication method, expressly favoring the use of the online channel. The company has established the online reporting channel to ensure the whistleblower’s anonymity.
Any reports made through channels other than Lumina Fiduciaria or via other means (such as email, PEC, regular mail, or phone) inherently do not guarantee the whistleblower’s anonymity. Nevertheless, all involved parties will treat the report with the utmost care in accordance with the regulations.
Reports made to non-designated entities, not specifically trained in handling whistleblowing, may compromise anonymity and make it impossible for the company to safeguard the whistleblower’s rights.
How is the whistleblower’s anonymity ensured?
The reporting process is entirely outsourced to Lumina Fiduciaria SPA, a Fiduciary Company authorized by the Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) as established by Law 1966/39.
Lumina Fiduciaria collects reports through the dedicated portal www.WB24.it, which, using encryption technology, separates the personal information of the whistleblower from the report.
The report will, therefore, be treated entirely anonymously in accordance with whistleblowing regulations, while the personal information of the whistleblower will be preserved and kept confidential by the fiduciary company, accessible only in specific cases permitted by law.
What happens after the report?
Within seven days of receiving the report, Lumina Fiduciaria issues a “receipt notice.” The anonymous report is immediately transmitted to the designated office of the reported company.
In this specific case, the report is transmitted to the following individuals:
- Chairman of the Board of Directors
- CEO
- Chairman of the Supervisory Board
- ODV 231
- Committee for the management of “whistleblowing” reports
*Depending on the organizational model of the company subject to the report.
Within the mandatory period of 3 months from the receipt notice, the whistleblower must promptly receive the outcome of the report. The whistleblower can check the “receipt notice,” the outcome of the report, and any communications from the company by accessing the website www.WB24.it anonymously.
The “whistleblowing” regulation allows the whistleblower to make an external report directly to the National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC) https://www.anticorruzione.it/ in the following cases:
- After 3 months from the report through the internal channel, the company has not provided any feedback.
- The internal channel is not active or, if active, not compliant with the decree.
- The whistleblower has reasonable grounds to believe, based on concrete circumstances and information actually obtainable, that making an internal report:
- would not be effectively pursued. This occurs when, for example, the ultimate responsible party in the work context is involved in the violation, there is a risk that the violation or related evidence may be hidden or destroyed, the effectiveness of investigations by competent authorities could otherwise be compromised, or because ANAC would be more suitable to address the specific violation, especially in matters within its competence;
- or this could result in the risk of retaliation (for example, as a consequence of violating the obligation of confidentiality of the whistleblower’s identity).
- The whistleblower has a reasonable belief that the violation may constitute an imminent or evident danger to the public interest. For example, in cases where the violation requires urgent intervention to safeguard the health and safety of individuals or to protect the environment.
The "Whistleblowing" regulations allow the whistleblower to make a public disclosure.
With public disclosure, information about violations is made public through the press or electronic means, or in any case through dissemination methods capable of reaching a large number of people. The legislator naturally takes into account the evolution of mass communication means, including social networks and new communication channels (such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram), which constitute a rapid and interactive tool for transmitting and disseminating information and exchanges between networks of individuals and organizations.
Public disclosure of violations must occur in accordance with the conditions set by the legislator so that the person making the disclosure can then benefit from the protections recognized by the decree.
Therefore, protection will be recognized if at the time of disclosure one of the following conditions is met:
- To an internal report, to which the administration/organization has not responded regarding the measures planned or taken to follow up on the report within the specified timeframe.
- The person has already made an external report directly to the ANAC, which, however, has not responded to the reporter regarding the measures planned or taken to follow up on the report within a reasonable timeframe (three months or, if there are justified and motivated reasons, six months from the date of receipt of the external report or, in the absence of said notice, from the expiration of the seven days from receipt).
- The person makes a public disclosure directly because, based on reasonable and well-founded reasons in light of the circumstances of the specific case, they believe that the violation could represent an imminent or blatant danger to public interest. Consider, for example, an emergency situation or the risk of irreversible harm, including the physical safety of one or more individuals, which requires the violation to be promptly revealed and widely known to prevent its effects.
- The person makes a public disclosure directly because, based on reasonable and well-founded reasons in light of the circumstances of the specific case, they believe that the external report may carry the risk of retaliation or may not have an effective outcome. For example, they fear that evidence may be concealed or destroyed, or that the recipient of the report may be colluding with the violator or involved in the violation itself. Consider, for example, a situation where the recipient of the report, in collusion with the person involved in the violation, proceeds to archive the report in the absence of the necessary conditions.