Whistleblower Protection Policy
Fimel creates this Policy following the publication of Law No. 93/2021, of December 20 ("Whistleblower Protection Act"), which establishes the need to create an internal reporting channel. Given the obligation provided for in the new Whistleblower Protection Act, Fimel has proceeded to create the aforementioned channel for whistleblowing and has established the rules that must be complied with by any and all persons related to Fimel. It is Fimel's concern to ensure that its employees, or any other person who becomes aware of the practice of an infraction, feel they can submit their complaints to this entity.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Policy, we highlight the following definitions:
The Reporting Channel and Infractions
The Whistleblower Protection Act applies when there is one of the following offenses:
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 enforcing such acts or to any other rules contained in legislative acts implementing or transposing them, including those providing for criminal offenses or administrative offenses, concerning the following matters:
(i) Public procurement;
(ii) Financial services, products and markets and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing;
(iii) Product safety and compliance;
(iv) Transport 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) Protection of privacy and personal data and network and information systems security:
b) Acts or omissions contrary to and detrimental to the European Union's financial interests pursuant to Article 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), as specified in applicable European Union measures;c) Os atos ou omissões contrárias às regras do mercado interno, nos termos do artigo 26.º, n.º 2, do TFUE, incluindo as regras de concorrência e auxílios estatais, bem como as egras de fiscalidade societária ;
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) Opposed to the end of the rules in (a) to (c).
In addition to the aforementioned violations, whistleblowers can use the Reporting Channel to report any other violations that have any connection with Fimel.
To whom this Policy applies
This Policy applies to all Fimel employees. Employees are understood to mean:
- The workers;
- Members of management;
- Service providers, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, as well as any persons acting under their supervision and direction;
- Trainers, interns, 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.
Voluntariness and primacy of the internal whistleblowing channel
Considering that an internal whistleblowing channel is created by this Policy, the whistleblower may only resort to the external whistleblowing channel in the following situations:
(i) The whistleblower does not fall within the subjective scope of application in point 4. of this Policy;
(ii) The whistleblower believes that the breach cannot be effectively resolved internally or that there may be acts of retaliation against the whistleblower;
(iii) The whistleblower has made a complaint and appropriate action has not been taken within the legally prescribed time limits; or
(iv) 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:
(i)the complainant believes that the breach may constitute an imminent or manifest danger to the public interest, that the breach cannot be effectively known or addressed by the competent authorities, or that there is a risk of retaliatory action in the case of an external complaint; or
(ii) has filed an internal complaint and an external complaint, or an external complaint directly, without appropriate action having been taken within the legally established time limits.
Whistleblower Protection
The whistleblower benefits from protection in accordance with the rules on witness protection measures set out in the Code of Criminal Procedure, provided that he/she has made the report in good faith and the information he/she has shared is true. This protection ceases if the whistleblower is found to be in bad faith or to have knowledge that the reported facts are untrue. In such a situation, the corresponding disciplinary procedure may be instituted. Any act of retaliation against the whistleblower is strictly prohibited. Acts of retaliation are understood to mean acts or omissions, as well as threats and attempts, which cause or may cause the whistleblower material or non-material damage. Acts of retaliation include, by way of example only, suspension of the employment contract, change in working conditions, non-renewal of a fixed-term employment contract, dismissal. Any disciplinary sanction applied to the whistleblower up to two years after the complaint is presumed to be abusive, in accordance with Chapter III, Article 21 of Law 93/2021.
Confidentiality
All complaints are treated confidentially by the team set up for this purpose. The whistleblower may, if they so wish, submit the complaint anonymously, and may not, at any time, be required to reveal their identity, except in cases where the obligation to identify arises from a legal obligation or a court order. In the event of an obligation to reveal the identity of the whistleblower, the whistleblower will receive a written communication indicating the reasons for such disclosure, except in cases where it may compromise ongoing investigations or legal proceedings.
Handling of personal data
Fimel also complies, as regards personal data received in the context of a complaint, with Law no. 58/2019 of 8 August (Personal Data Protection Law), which ensures the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016) and also with Law no. 59/2019 of 8 August (Law on the Protection of Personal Data). No. 59/2019, of August 8, which approves the rules on the processing of personal data for the purpose of prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of criminal offenses or the enforcement of criminal penalties. The members of the team responsible for the complaints will only keep the data strictly necessary for processing the complaint.
Fimel's Channel for Denunciations
Fimel provides its channel for denunciation through the following link "https://www.denuncias.fimel.pt/inicio", which is available on the website: fimel.pt
The team responsible for receiving the complaint
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, has a maximum of seven days (including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) to inform the complainant of the receipt of the complaint.
Upon receipt of the complaint, the team responsible for the complaint keeps the following data:
(i) Name of the whistleblower, if provided;
(ii) Name of the defendant;
(iii) Facts concerning the infraction;
(iv) Date of the complaint.
The team responsible for handling the complaint
As for the handling of complaints, it will be ensured by the same team that received the complaint. The complaints are randomly distributed for processing by one of the team members. When the complaint concerns one of the members, he/she must be removed from the investigation process. The member in charge of handling the complaint will verify the facts reported in the complaint, namely whether they are credible. He or she may request additional information if deemed necessary. According to the information obtained, and if the reported facts are true, the member responsible for processing shall initiate the necessary steps to stop the ongoing infringement. The investigation must be concluded within a maximum period of 3 months (including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays), as of the date of receipt.
The member responsible for handling the complaint shall retain the following data in addition to that already indicated by the member responsible for receiving the complaint:
i) Additional and relevant information obtained during the investigation;
(ii) any measures applied to bring about the cessation of the ongoing infringement; and
iii) Date of conclusion of the investigation.
Communication of research information
The whistleblower may request information on the status of the investigation, and the member responsible for handling it must send the information no later than 15 days (including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) after the conclusion of the investigation.
Preservation of complaints
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.
Policy Review
This Policy shall be reviewed whenever there are any changes likely to have an impact. The revision is preceded by an opinion from one of the members of the Board of Directors.
Policy Disclosure
Fimel makes this Policy available for consultation, within 30 days of its approval by the Board, through its website.