Reporting breaches

§1

Purpose of the Procedure

1. The purpose of the procedure is to determine safe, internal information channels for reporting violations of generally applicable law to the extent specified in the Act on the Protection of Whistleblowers of 14 June 2024 (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 928) and internal regulations in force at Wikpol Sp. z o.o. z o.o.
2. The purpose of the procedure is also to determine how to protect whistleblowers.
3. This whistleblowing procedure (hereinafter referred to as the “Procedure”) sets out the rules for reporting irregularities resulting from actual or likely illegal acts or omissions that constitute or may constitute a breach of European Union law and national law within the established internal reporting channels by the authorised person.

§2

Definitions

1. Wikpol Sp. z o.o. – hereinafter referred to as the Legal Entity.
2. Whistleblower – an employee, including a former employee, candidate, former candidate, as well as an intern, volunteer, contractor, subcontractor, customer or other person disclosing breaches through the available channels of reporting irregularities occurring in the Legal Entity.
3. Information channels – internal organizational and technical solutions used to report irregularities to the Legal Entity.
4. Commission for Notification of Breaches – Commission appointed by the Legal Entity, whose tasks include, in particular, following up and investigating the Notification, hereinafter referred to as the Commission.
5. Representative for Notification of Breaches – a person appointed by the Legal Entity, whose tasks are specified in this procedure for disclosing breaches in the structure of the Legal Entity, hereinafter referred to as the Representative.
6. Follow-up – activities consisting in verifying the Notification and further communication with the Whistleblower, including conducting an investigation according to specific modes, requesting additional information regarding the Notification and providing feedback related to it.
7. Investigation proceedings – proceedings conducted in connection with the submitted notification according to specific procedures referred to in § 9 of the present Procedure.
8. Retaliation – actions or omissions that lead to the deterioration of the Whistleblower’s situation and were taken in connection with the disclosure of irregularities by this person.
9. Feedback – providing the Whistleblower with information on planned or undertaken follow-up actions and the reasons for such actions.
10. Notification – information about the act or omission identified by the Whistleblower as a violation of the law, procedures and ethical standards in force in the Legal Entity, reported with use of the available information channel regarding:

• • corruption;
  • public procurement;
  • financial services, products and markets;
  • counteracting money laundering and terrorist financing;
  • product safety and compliance;
  • transport safety;
  • environmental protection;
  • radiological protection and nuclear safety;
  • food and feed safety;
  • animal health and welfare;
  • public health;
  • consumer protection;
  • privacy and protection of personal data;
  • security of networks and ICT systems;
  • financial interests of the State Treasury of the Republic of Poland, local government units and the European Union;
  • the internal market of the European Union, including public competition and state aid rules as well as corporate taxation;
  • constitutional freedoms and human and citizen rights – occurring in relations between individuals and public authorities and not related to the areas indicated in items 1–16.

§3

Protection of the Whistleblower

1. The procedure is aimed at protecting the Whistleblower against possible retaliation, in particular of a repressive, discriminatory or other types of unfair treatment that may result from such a Notification.
2. The Whistleblower who made the Notification in good faith shall be protected. The Notification may not result in retaliation or other undesirable actions against the Whistleblower, and in particular:
   1) refusal to enter into an employment relationship;
   2) termination or dismissal without notice of the employment relationship;
   3) failure to conclude a fixed-term or indefinite-term employment contract after the termination of a probationary employment contract, or failure to conclude another fixed-term or an indefinite-term employment contract after the termination of a fixed-term contract—if the whistleblower had a reasonable expectation that such a contract would be concluded with them;
   4) reducing the amount of remuneration for work;
   5) withholding promotion or being passed over for promotion;
   6) omission when granting work-related benefits other than remuneration or reducing the amount of such benefits;
   7) transfer to a lower position;
   8) suspension in the performance of work or official duties;
   9) transfer of a whistleblower’s existing responsibilities to another employee;
   10) a prejudicial change in their place of work or working time schedule;
   11)negative evaluation of work performance or negative feedback regarding their work;
   12) the imposition or application of a disciplinary measure, including a financial penalty, or any similar measure;
   13) ) coercion, intimidation or exclusion;
   14) mobbing;
   15) discrimination;
   16) unfavourable or unfair treatment;
   17) suspension from participation or exclusion from selection for training aimed at improving professional qualifications;
   18) unjustified referral for medical examinations, including psychiatric evaluations, unless specific provisions allow for the referral of an employee for such examinations;
   19) actions that hinder future employment in a particular sector or industry based on an informal or formal sectoral or industry scheme;
   20) causing financial loss, including economic loss or loss of income;
   21) causing other intangible damage, including the violation of personal rights, particularly harm to the whistleblower’s good name.
3. The personal data of the Whistleblower enabling the identification of the Whistleblower shall not be disclosed to the general public except with the Whistleblower’s prior, voluntary, express and written consent.
4. The person designated to receive notifications, immediately after its receipt, anonymizes the Whistleblower’s data and assigns a case number in accordance with the order of notifications in the Register of Notifications. The Notification Number will be used as an identifier for the case reported by the Whistleblower.
5. The information channel used to submit the Notifiction should be reserved only for the attention of the Representative, and in case of their absence – an authorized person.
6. The Whistleblower, in the event of retaliation, shall immediately notify the Representative for Notification of Breaches of this fact.
7. Whistleblowers making a Notification in bad faith or making a frivolous Notification or a Notification that is in fact abusive shall not be subject to the protection provided for in the present Procedure.
8. It is hereby agreed that anonymous notifications will not be considered.

§ 4

Making Internal Notifications

1. The template of the Notification Form is attached as Appendix 1 to the present Procedure.
2. The Whistleblower reports violations through dedicated information channels in force in the Legal Entity, i.e.:
   1) by sending the Notification form, the template of which can be found at www.wikpol.com.pl, to the e-mail address: sygnalista@wikpol.com.pl
   2) by submitting it in person to the Representative – in this case, the Representative accepts the notification at the request of the applicant by means of a direct meeting organized within 7 days from the date of receipt of the application for such. The Notification is accepted on the Notification Form constituting Appendix 1 to the present Procedure;
   3) by sending it, in a written form, to the following address: Representative for Notification of Breaches Konopnica 208b; 21-030 Motycz
3. The Notification can be:
   1) Confidential – in the event that the Notification contains the Whistleblower’s data. This data is protected against access by unauthorized persons.
   2) Explicit – while the Whistleblower, on their own initiative, expresses the will to reveal their identity. In this case, the basis for disclosure is the express written consent of the Whistleblower.
4. The Notification should include in particular:
   1) contact details, i.e. full name, status;
   2) information whether the notification has been forwarded to an external entity;
   3) a detailed description of the violations along with the circumstances of their occurrence, dates and witnesses, if any;
   4) indication of the preferred method of return contact.
5. An internal Notification may additionally be documented with the collected evidence and a list of witnesses.
6. In the case of an explicit Notification, the Whistleblower should attach the consent referred to in § 3 section 3 of the present Procedure.
7. The person competent to receive notifications is the Representative or an appropriate authorized person.
8. This Procedure does not apply to Notifications submitted anonymously.
9. In the event of receipt of a Notification by an unauthorized person, this person is obliged to immediately forward this Notification to the Representative and submit a confidentiality statement.
10. Notifications are registered in the Register of Notifications, the template of which is set out in Appendix 2 to the present Procedure.
11. Applications shall be considered by the Commission.
12. Confirmation of the receipt of the Notification shall take place within 7 days from the date of its receipt.
13. The notification considered incomplete after the Commission’s analysis may be returned to the Whistleblower for supplementation.
14. Failure to complete the Notification within 7 days of receipt of the request results in the Notification being considered on the basis of the documentation available.
15. The provision of information referred to in section 4 item 4, is to enable contact with the Whistleblower in order to supplement the documentation.

§5

External Notifications and Public Disclosure

1. The Whistleblower may in any case report the breach to a public authority or central authority, bypassing the procedures provided for in this procedure, and in particular when:
   1) no feedback will be provided to the notifier within the applicable timeframe, or if no follow-up action is taken within this timeframe;
   2) the notifier has reasonable grounds to believe that the breach may constitute a direct or obvious threat to the public interest, in particular there is a risk of irreparable damage;
   3) making an Internal Notification will expose the reporting person to retaliation.
2. The Whistleblower may make a public disclosure by making public the information concerning the breach.

   §6

The Panel and organization of the Commission’s work

1. The Commission for Notification of Breaches is appointed by the Legal Entity.
2. The Commission is composed of:
   1) Representative for Notification of Breaches – Chairman of the Commission
   2) Employee from the Administration and Finance Department;
   3) Workers’ Representatives.
3. In the event of the complexity of a Notification, the Chairman of the Commission may appoint experts from among the employees of the Legal Entity for advisory purposes.
4. The Experts do not have the right to vote.
5. The work of the Committee is directed by the Chairman, and in case of their absence by the Deputy, appointed by the Legal Entity from among other members of the Committee.
6. The Committee is responsible for carrying out the formal assessment of the Notification and taking appropriate follow-up actions indicated in § 9 of the present Procedure.
7. In the absence of unanimity, the final conclusions of the Commission shall be adopted by a simple majority, and in the case of an equal number of votes, the vote of the Chairman of the Commission, who will be the last to cast their vote, shall decide.
8. Members of the Committee and experts are required to hold confidentiality statements.
9. In case that the content of Notification indicates that Members of the Commission may be, in any way, involved in the act or omission constituting the subject of the Notification, these Members may not participate in the work of the Commission.

§7

The Tasks of the Commission

1. The tasks of the above-mentioned Commission include in particular:
   1) formal assessment of the Notification;
   2) informing the Legal Entity about the impact of the Notification;
   3) conducting explanatory proceedings;
   4) calling to supplement the notification;
   5) carrying out an assessment of the evidence collected;
   6) drawing up, on the basis of the investigation carried out, the minutes of the meeting of the Commission;
   7) sending information about the results of the explanatory proceedings to the Legal Entity;
   8) preparation of feedback addressed to the Whistleblower

§8

The Tasks of the Representative

1. The tasks of the Representative, and in case of their absence – an authorized person, include in particular:
   1) administrative and office service of the Commission;
   2) establishing contact with the Whistleblower in order to inform about the Notification procedure and obtain a supplement to the Notification;
   3) custody over possible retaliation against the Whistleblower, and in the case of Reporting the use of retaliation, immediate action;
   4) drawing up the list of attendance of the meeting of the Commission;
   5) accepting Notifications;
   6) confirming the receipt of the Notifications within 7 days from the date of their receipt;
   7) keeping the Register of Notifications;
   8) notifying the members of the Committee of the date of the meeting;
   9) providing the Whistleblower with feedback on the results of the investigation within a maximum of 3 months from the date of receipt of the Notification of Breach.

§9

Notification circulation procedure

1. The Notification is processed in accordance with the rules set out in the Procedure.
2. Notifications are accepted by dedicated information channels listed in § 4 s. 2 of the present Procedure.
3. The Notification should meet the conditions referred to in § 4 section 4 of the present Procedure.
4. The investigation procedure consists in conducting an internal analysis and considering according to individual modes, i.e.:
   1) internal, consisting in the initiation of an internal investigation procedure by the Commission on the basis of the receipt of the Notification of Breach;
   2) external, consisting in submitting the Notification to external bodies.
5. Notifications shall be dismissed in the event of:
   1) re-notification of the same breach of law;
   2) generality of the Notification, after prior submission of the application form to be supplemented;
   3) lack of evidence of breach of law.
6. In the case of reasonable Notifications, the Legal Entity issues a recommendation covering appropriate corrective or disciplinary actions in relation to the employee or other person, who committed the violation, and a recommendation of possible preventive actions aimed at eliminating similar breaches in the future.
7. The course of the internal investigation should be supported by appropriate documentation, and in the case of external proceedings, as well as redirection, additionally also by the results of the proceedings conducted by an external entity or the competent Commission.
8. After the end of the explanatory proceedings, the Representative is obliged to inform the Whistleblower about the results of the proceedings.
9. After the end of the explanatory proceedings, the Chairman of the Committee is obliged to inform the Legal Entity about the results of the explanatory proceedings.

§10

Storage of Notification documentation

1. The Representative for Notification of Breaches is responsible for handling cases and collecting all documentation regarding Notifications.
2. Documents related to Notifications together with the Register are stored in a lockable cabinet, which is located in a room inaccessible to third parties, locked with a key.
3. The data contained in the Register of Notifications will be stored for a period of 12 months from the date of completion of the follow-up.
4. The Register shall be kept in electronic form.

§11

Access to data

1. The Representative in particular, or an authorized person, have access to the Whistleblower’s personal data.
2. If the Commission chooses the redirection mode, the access to the Whistleblower’s personal data is granted to the relevant Commission operating in the Legal Entity.
3. The Representative is responsible for deleting data stored on a dedicated mailbox.
4. Members of the Committee and experts submit appropriate statements on the processing of personal data of persons related to the Notification and confidentiality statements.

§12

External notifications

1. A Whistleblower may make an external notification without first making an internal notification.
2. An external Notification is received by either the Ombudsman or a public authority.
3. The rules regarding the external notification and the procedure of the Ombudsman and the external authority are regulated in detail in Chapter 4 of the Act of 14 June 2024 on the protection of whistleblowers.

§13

Final Provisions

1. Managers of organizational units are obliged to familiarize all subordinate employees with the provisions of the present Procedure.
2. The Administration and Finance Department shall provide information regarding the Procedure to the employee commencing work, before its commencement.
3. The content of the Procedure was presented to persons performing work for the Legal Entity.