Policy di Whistleblowing

Procedure for reporting illegal actions and irregularities

1. TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

  • WHISTLEBLOWING/REPORT > a report is any communication concerning conduct (including omissions) and/or information that may constitute a violation or otherwise improper conduct.
  • WHISTLEBLOWER/REPORTER > individual, internal or external to the company, who reports to the appropriate company bodies, illegal or fraudulent actions carried out against the company itself.
  • REPORTED > individual internal or external to the company, who has behaved or attempted to behave illegally, according to the report submitted.
  • WHISTLEBLOWING COMMITTEE > the WB committee includes: the Managing Director in the role of Chairman, the controller in the role of the Chairman assistant and Committee secretary, and the Human Resources supervisor.

2. INTRODUCTION

Law Decree No. 24 of March 10, 2023, implementing Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament of October 23, 2019, regarding the protection of individuals who report violations of Union law and national laws came into force on July 15, 2023.

This Law aims to promote the cooperation of employees in order to facilitate the detection of corruption phenomena within ENTITIES/COMPANIES, providing for systems that allow employees to safely report any irregularities of which they become aware.

3. AIM AND PURPOSE OF THE POLICY/ PROCEDURE

In the spirit of fully implementing the WHISTLEBLOWING Law, COFRA S.r.l. puts this procedure at the disposal of whistleblowers.

The purpose of this procedure is to provide the WHISTLEBLOWER (the reporter) with clear operational indications about the object, contents, recipients and methods of transmission of the reports, as well as about the forms of protection offered to him/her by the Italian Law.

4. WHISTLEBLOWING

By WHISTLEBLOWING is intended any report, submitted to ensure the integrity of the Company, of illegal conducts based on specific and congruous factual elements, which the recipients have become aware of as a result of the tasks performed.

Reports may also be submitted anonymously; however, COFRA recommends the same to be submitted with names, in order to allow the supervisors to investigate the matter in a more efficient manner.

Reports must be submitted in good faith and must be supported with accurate information so as to be easily verified.

Any misuse or use in bad faith of this reporting tool, such as reporting events for which the reporter is already aware of its groundlessness, i.e., reports with libelous or defamatory content, will result in the application of the Company's sanction system.

5. SUBJECT OF THE REPORT

There is no exhaustive list of facts, situations, violations or irregularities that can be reported.

By way of example, the following may be the subject of reporting:

  • Bribery and fraud
  • Embezzlement and theft
  • Money laundering
  • Discrimination, harassment, mobbing and other labor law issues
  • Violation of health, safety, environmental regulations
  • Disclosure of trade secrets

Reporting may not involve claims related to individual employment relationship with the company.

6. CONTENT OF REPORTS

It is important that the report contains the relevant elements to enable the recipient to make the necessary checks to assess the truth of the reported facts.

The report in summary must contain at least:

  • Generalities of the person making the report, indicating the position or function held in the company
  • A clear and complete description of the facts being reported
  • If known, the circumstances of time and place in which the facts were committed
  • If known, the generalities or other elements (qualification/department) that make it possible to identify the person who committed the reported facts
  • The indication of any other persons who can report on the facts being reported
  • The indication and/or possession of documents that can confirm the truth of such facts

The requirement of truthfulness of the reported facts, for the protection of the whistleblower/reported person, remains in place.

7.REPORTING METHODS AND RECIPIENTS

COFRA S.r.l. makes available to its employees a special form (see below), which makes it easier to report to the recipient. The form can also be found on the intranet where this procedure is also published.

The report can be submitted in the following ways:

  • by sending it to the e-mail address segnalazioneilleciti@cofra.it in which case the identity of the reporter will be known only to the Receiver/Committee, which will guarantee its confidentiality.
  • by postal service to the following address: illicit report k.a. Vito Sernia - COFRA S.r.l. - Via dell'Euro 53 - 76121 Barletta
  • by internal mail using the mailbox that can be found at the marking points located at company’s entry/exit of employees

Reports will be logged and filed in the appropriate register by the recipient/Committee.

Anonymous reports may also be taken into consideration if they are well substantiated, detailed, and able to allow appropriate verification, given the impossibility of requesting any further investigation. In this case, the report may be made only through the postal service and by internal mail.

8. MANAGEMENT OF THE REPORT

The WB Committee is entrusted with verifying the validity of the circumstances represented in the report, in compliance with the principles of impartiality and confidentiality, carrying out any appropriate activity, including the personal hearing of the reporter and any other subject who may report on the same facts.

For this purpose, the WB Committee may avail itself of the support and cooperation of the competent corporate structures and, if necessary, of control bodies outside the company (including the public security forces). If the report proves to be well-founded, the Committee, depending on the nature of the violation, shall:

  • submit a complaint to the competent judicial authority
  • communicate the outcome of the investigation to the person in charge of the relevant area which the author of the violation belongs to, so that the operational measures can be taken to prevent a repeat of the same events.

While notifying the competent administrative body for the adoption of any necessary disciplinary action, the Committee may also, after an initial check, decide to close and file the reported case if it is insufficiently supported by evidence or manifestly unfounded.

9. PROTECTION OF THE WHISTLEBLOWER

With the exception of cases where liability can be established as slander and/or defamation, the identity of the whistleblower is protected in any context after reporting and cannot be disclosed without his/her express consent to all those involved in the handling of the report.

The employee who makes a report pursuant to the Law and to this procedure may not be sanctioned, demoted, dismissed, transferred, discriminated against or subjected to any other organizational measure having direct or indirect negative effects on working conditions as a result of the report. The adoption of retaliatory or prejudicial actions against the whistleblower shall be communicated to ANAC by the interested party.

10. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE WHISTLEBLOWER

The criminal and disciplinary liability of the whistleblower in the event of a slanderous or defamatory report according to the Criminal Code, and/or the civil liability in case of intent or serious negligence shall remain unaffected.

The protections provided by the Law and by this procedure are not guaranteed if one of the above-mentioned responsibilities of the whistleblower is ascertained, even by a judgment of first instance.

Any abuse of this procedure, such as reports that are manifestly opportunistic or made with the sole aim of harming the whistleblower, shall also give rise to disciplinary liability.

Modulo segnalazione illeciti