Whistleblowing reports

Whistleblowing

To send an internal whistleblowing report, you may email segnalazioni@menz-gasser.it or fill out this form.Have a question? Read our whistleblowing FAQs below.

The whistleblowing system is a channel within the company for reporting administrative, accounting, civil law and criminal offences or violations of the company’s organizational models that have been committed in the context of one’s work.

Any person who, in the course of their activities and in the context of their work, learns that, as a result of their office or duties, an offence or violation has been committed that could harm the national public interest or the interests of the private company for which they work, has a duty and opportunity to report the offence or violation to an internal whistleblowing office. The internal whistleblowing office may then take any and all suitable steps to protect the company.

The whistleblowing channel is available to, and may be used by, any subordinate worker, including interns and volunteers, any non-employee worker, including freelancers, professionals and consultants, partners and shareholders and anyone working for the company in an administration, management, control, supervisory or representation role, to report offences or violations.

You can make a written or verbal report using the specific internal channel set up by the company, by sending an email to segnalazioni@menz-gasser.it, and attaching the whistleblowing form prepared by the company to your email, or by requesting a confidential meeting directly with the internal whistleblowing office, which will be scheduled within 5 business days.

You can report the offence or violation externally to ANAC (Italy’s national anti-corruption authority), either in writing on ANAC’s online platform or verbally using its telephone or voice messaging systems or during a direct meeting, but only if: a) the company has not set up an internal whistleblowing channel; b) you have already sent an internal whistleblowing report and it was not acted on; c) you have substantiated reasons to fear that, if you were to make an internal report, it would not be acted on or it would put you at risk of retaliation; or d) you believe that the violation could pose an imminent or clear danger to the public interest.

The internal whistleblowing channel is expressly intended for reporting administrative, accounting, civil law and criminal offences or violations of the company’s organizational model or code of ethics, which put the community’s interests or the company’s interests, assets or operations at risk of damage or harm.

The channel is therefore meant for reporting crimes, offences or violations committed in the context of one’s work. It is meant to protect the company and the victims of the crime, offence or violation. It is not meant for personal complaints. Any personal reports will be forwarded to the relevant offices to be handled.

Examples:

  • An employee reports mobbing by the head of a department. This is a personal matter, so the whistleblowing procedure does not apply. Therefore, the name of the accused party may be disclosed in the subsequent disciplinary proceedings even without the whistleblower’s consent. Since the report in any case refers to a serious ethics and organizational violation, the office will take the appropriate steps to protect the whistleblower and it will forward the report to the HR office.
  • An employee complains about not being promoted. This is a personal matter which does not relate to offences, but rather to assessments that employers may make at their own discretion. The whistleblowing procedure does not apply.
  • An employee reports that the head of their department has ordered them to make a purchase that does not relate to production and which the employee believes is instead for the purposes of bribery (e.g., for a supplier’s holiday). This concerns the company’s interests, so the whistleblowing procedure applies. The whistleblower’s name is protected and kept secret, except in the cases provided for by law.
  • An employee reports that the head of their department has ordered them to dispose of potentially pollutant chemical products in a field behind the plant. This concerns both the company and the community. The whistleblowing procedure applies. The whistleblower’s name is protected. The information is made available to the public authorities.

The company has tasked an autonomous, internal whistleblowing office with managing the whistleblowing channel. The office is staffed with specially trained personnel supervised by an outside professional.

The office receives the whistleblowing reports, manages and sorts them and acts on them, carrying out all the most suitable internal investigation activities in order to verify and respond to the reports, guarantee the whistleblower’s confidentiality, protect the whistleblower from any possible retaliation, and have the company or the competent authorities take any other steps that are useful and necessary for resolving the report or dealing with the offence.

Within seven days of receiving the report, the internal whistleblowing office sends the whistleblower a “notice of receipt of the report”. The office handles the report within three months, informing the whistleblower of how the report will be acted on.

While the report is being handled, the internal whistleblowing office may begin or continue discussions with the whistleblower and may ask for clarifications or additional information on the report.

The whistleblower’s confidentiality is protected for the entire duration of the procedure and throughout all criminal and civil law or disciplinary proceedings resulting from the report. This consists of maintaining the secrecy of the whistleblower’s identity, which is known only to the internal whistleblowing office and which may only be disclosed to those authorized to receive and act on reports, except when it is necessary to disclose the whistleblower’s personal information or with the whistleblower’s express consent.

In internal disciplinary proceedings resulting from the report, the whistleblower’s identity may not be disclosed if the charge is based on assessments that are separate and distinct from the report itself. However, if it necessary to know the whistleblower’s identity in order to defend the accused party, the whistleblower’s identity may be disclosed solely with their consent.

If it is necessary to disclose the whistleblower’s identity, written notice is given, stating the reasons.

The company handles any anonymous reports as if they were mere complaints, without the obligation to act on the reported issues.

The whistleblower’s identity cannot be protected in the event of a false report or false accusations against someone known not to be guilty or that are proved false following an internal investigation. Rather, in the event of a false report or false accusations, the accused party is informed about the fraudulent whistleblower for the accused party’s personal defence in all appropriate venues, and the whistleblower will face disciplinary proceedings.

All the information on the whistleblowing channel can be found on the company bulletin boards, the online message boards and the company’s website.

The whistleblower’s personal data is processed in accordance with the Italian privacy code and in respect of the rights protected by Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Nevertheless, the rights pursuant to articles 15 to 22 of the Regulation (right of access, rectification and erasure, right to be forgotten and right to object) cannot be exercised by sending a request to the controller or by lodging a complaint pursuant to article 77 of the Regulation, if the exercise of these rights could lead to a real and effective risk of revealing the identity of the employee reporting an offence that they learned of in the course of their work.

No reports may be stored longer than necessary to be handled and adequately acted on. Therefore, the report is stored electronically or in hard copy with the internal whistleblowing office for all, and no longer than, the time needed for it to be handled and for the resulting proceedings. The report is stored, after the data has been minimised, for one year, and is, in any case, deleted after one year.

Submit a report