An infraction or violation is any conduct previously typified by legislation as illicit, imbued with guilt, that is, committed by the agent with deceit or, at least, guilt when the Law so provides. It is the disrespect for a norm or rule, for an obligation or right of another.
The Whistleblower Protection Act applies when one of the following offenses occurs:
(a) the act or omission contrary to the rules contained in the European Union acts referred to in the Annex to Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council, to national rules implementing, transposing or complying with such acts or to any other rules contained in legislative acts implementing or transposing them, including those providing for criminal offences or misdemeanors, concerning the following matters:
(i) Public procurement;
(ii) Financial services, products and markets and prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism;
(iii) Product safety and compliance;
(iv) Transportation security;
(v) Environmental protection;
(vi) Radiation protection and nuclear safety;
(vii) Food and feed safety, animal health, and animal welfare; (viii) Public health;
(ix) Consumer protection;
(x) Privacy and personal data protection and network and information systems security:
(b) acts or omissions contrary to and detrimental to the financial interests of the European Union pursuant to Article 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), as specified in applicable Union measures;
(c) acts or omissions contrary to the rules of the internal market pursuant to Article 26(2) TFEU, including competition and state aid rules, and corporate tax rules ;
d) Crimes of violent crime, especially violent and highly organized, and also the crimes foreseen in article 1, no. 1, of Law no. 5/2002, of January 11
e) Contrary to the end of the rules in paragraphs a) to c).
In addition to the aforementioned infractions, whistleblowers may use the Reporting Channel to report any other infractions that have any connection with Fimel.
To enable a full investigation, you should describe in detail what happened, how, when, where and with whom it happened. A report should always be sent only when you are really sure. The content may be supplemented with evidence and/or facts that help in the analysis and resolution of the infraction.
The reporting channel should be only and only for infractions or violations. Fimel has a complaints book available on the website: www.fimel.pt, or you can make your complaint to the email fimel@fimel.pt.
Whistleblower is anyone who reports or publicly discloses an infraction based on information obtained in the course of their professional activity, regardless of the nature of this activity and the sector in which it is carried out. They can be
- Employees;
- Members of management;
- Service providers, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers, as well as any persons acting under their supervision and direction;
- Trainers, trainees, paid or unpaid, and volunteers;
- The fact that the complaint or public disclosure of an infringement is based on information obtained during a professional relationship that has ended, as well as during the recruitment process or other pre-contractual negotiation phase of an established or unestablished professional relationship, does not preclude the consideration of a natural person as a whistleblower.
Yes, when you submit a report, you can choose to remain anonymous.
Only the person responsible for the complaints and the team involved in the internal handling of the complaint will know about it. In computer terms, the information is encrypted so it is not possible to access it improperly. Externally it is only possible to consult complaints if you are in possession of the ID and password. All the conditions for the whistleblower may be consulted in the Whistleblower Portal, under the tab "Regulatory Norms".
The whistleblower may only use the external whistleblowing channel in the following situations:
The infraction constitutes a crime or misdemeanor punishable by a fine of more than €50,000
The Whistleblower may publicly disclose an infraction only when:
- the whistleblower believes that the breach may constitute an imminent or manifest danger to the public interest, that the breach cannot be effectively known or resolved by the competent authorities, or that there is a risk that acts of retaliation will be carried out in the event of external whistleblowing; or
- has filed an internal complaint and an external complaint, or directly an external complaint, without appropriate action having been taken within the legally established time limits.
The report may not be handled in the most appropriate way.
No.
1- Legal persons, including the State and other legal persons governed by public law, employing more than 50 employees and, irrespective of that, entities falling within the scope of the European Union acts referred to in Part I.B and II of the Annex to Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council, hereafter referred to as obliged entities, shall have internal reporting channels.
2 - Obliged entities that are not governed by public law and that employ between 50 and 249 employees may share resources regarding the receipt of complaints and their follow-up.
3 - The provisions of the previous numbers are applicable, with the necessary adaptations, to branches located in the national territory of legal entities with head offices abroad.
4- The State shall have at least one internal denunciation channel in each of the following entities:
a) Presidency of the Republic;
b) Assembly of the Republic;
c) Each ministry or governmental area
d) Constitutional Court
e) Superior Council of the Judiciary;
f) Superior Council of the Administrative and Fiscal Courts;
g) the Audit Court;
h) Attorney General's Office;
i) Representatives of the Republic in the autonomous regions.
5 - The autonomous regions shall have an internal denunciation channel in the regional legislative assembly and an internal denunciation channel for each regional secretariat.
6 - Local authorities that employ 50 or more workers but have fewer than 10,000 inhabitants are not required to have whistleblowing channels.
7 - Local authorities may share complaint channels for the receipt of complaints and their follow-up.
Internal reporting channels allow secure submission and tracking of reports in order to ensure completeness, integrity and preservation of the report, confidentiality of the identity or anonymity of the complainants and confidentiality of the identity of any third parties mentioned in the report, and to prevent access by unauthorized persons.
The Fimel has an internal team responsible for receiving complaints, which acts independently and impartially through the channel for whistleblowing. This team, belonging to the industrial management and Human Resources
Fimel provides its whistleblowing channel through the following link https://www.denuncias.fimel.pt/inicio, which is available on the website: www.fimel.pt, or directly to the member of the company assigned for this purpose.
Complaints can be made through the channel made available for this purpose https://www.denuncias.fimel.pt/inicio, by e mail to fimel@fimel.pt or in person.
Yes, as long as it is supported by a written document signed by the complainant.
Yes, as long as it is supported by a written document signed by the complainant.
The report should be as complete as possible, containing what or who we are reporting, where, when and how it happened, followed by a detailed description of the facts being reported.
In the whistleblower portal you will have an interactive form available to make your report. If your complaint is made in person, we have a form available for you to fill out for this purpose.
You can track your report through the reporting portal, using the key code assigned to you. This way you will be able to access your report and analyze its status.
If the complaint was made by another means, you will have to request information in the same way.
Yes, within 7 days, the whistleblower will be notified of the receipt of the report.
According to the information obtained, and if the reported facts are true, the member responsible for the processing shall initiate the necessary steps to stop the infringement in progress. The investigation must be concluded within a maximum period of 3 months (including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays), as of the date of receipt. Within this timeframe the complainant will receive the conclusions relating to their complaint.
Yes.
The members of the reporting team only keep the data that is strictly necessary for handling the report. They are kept and stored confidentially.
The Whistleblower Protection Act provides that Fimel must keep a record of complaints and retain them for at least 5 years, and this period may be longer in cases where there are ongoing legal or administrative proceedings.
Contact with the team can be through the platform, by phone and/or email.
On the platform, under the "Whistleblower Protection Policy" tab.
You can request them at Fimel, or through the Diário da Républica's direct site: https://dre.pt.
The standards are available on the company's intranet. You can access this network through the quality manager, or by email request.
You can do this by emailing fimel@fimel.pt, or to any member of the company's management and/or human resources department.
Through our website https://www.denuncias.fimel.pt/inicio.