Spaggiari - Reports (Whistleblowing)

Courtesy translation. In case of discrepancies, the Italian version prevails.

Whistleblowing legislation aims to protect those who report breaches of national or EU legislative provisions of which they have become aware and which are attributable to a given company. To this end, Legislative Decree (D.Lgs.) 24/2023 places certain obligations on employers in order to ensure the effectiveness of the protection granted to workers and third parties.

TO SUBMIT AN INTERNAL REPORT CLICK HERE https://spaggiari.whistleblowing.it/

What can be reported?

Conduct, acts or omissions that harm the public interest or the integrity of the company and that consist of:

unlawful conduct pursuant to Legislative Decree (D.Lgs.) 231/2001 or breaches of the related Organisation and Management Model and of the procedures contained therein;
conduct contrary to the ethical principles and rules of conduct laid down in the Code of Ethics and Conduct, in company procedures and/or in company regulations;
offences falling within the scope of EU or national acts relating to the following sectors: public procurement; financial services, products and markets and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; product safety and compliance; transport safety; protection of the environment; radiation protection and nuclear safety; food and feed safety and animal health and welfare; public health; consumer protection; protection of privacy and personal data and security of network and information systems;
acts or omissions that harm the financial interests of the Union, as set out in the Whistleblowing Decree;
acts or omissions concerning the internal market, as set out in the Whistleblowing Decree;
acts or conduct that defeat the object or purpose of the provisions of Union acts in the sectors indicated in points 3), 4) and 5).

What are the reporting channels?

Gruppo Spaggiari Parma has set up several reporting channels, which can be accessed by following the rules set out below.

internal (within the work context, through a dedicated platform or in paper format by postal service);
external (ANAC, the Italian National Anti-Corruption Authority);
public disclosure (through the press, electronic means or means of dissemination capable of reaching a large number of people);
report to the judicial authority.

How to choose the reporting channel?

As a priority, reporting persons are encouraged to use the internal channel and, only where certain conditions are met, may make an external report or a public disclosure.

1 – Reporting persons can use the external channel by reporting to ANAC when:

within the work context, activation of an internal reporting channel is not mandatory, or the channel, even if mandatory, is not active or, even if active, does not comply with the requirements of the law;
the reporting person has already made an internal report and it has not been followed up;
the reporting person has reasonable grounds to believe that, if they made an internal report, it would not be effectively followed up or that the report itself could give rise to a risk of retaliation;
the reporting person has reasonable grounds to believe that the breach may constitute an imminent or manifest danger to the public interest.

2 – Reporting persons can make a public disclosure directly when:

the reporting person has previously made an internal and an external report, or has made an external report directly, and no feedback has been provided within the established time limits on the measures envisaged or taken to follow up the reports;
the reporting person has reasonable grounds to believe that the breach may constitute an imminent or manifest danger to the public interest;
the reporting person has reasonable grounds to believe that the external report may entail a risk of retaliation or may not be effectively followed up owing to the specific circumstances of the case, such as those in which evidence may be concealed or destroyed or in which there is a well-founded fear that the person who received the report may be in collusion with the perpetrator of the breach or involved in the breach itself.

What is the internal channel set up by Gruppo Spaggiari Parma?

TO SUBMIT AN INTERNAL REPORT CLICK HERE https://spaggiari.whistleblowing.it/

The internal reporting arrangements must guarantee (including through encryption tools) the confidentiality of the identity of the reporting person, of the person involved, of any other person mentioned, and of the content of the report and of the related documentation.

The Report may be submitted in the following ways:

written report through the dedicated platform, accessible at https://spaggiari.whistleblowing.it/ and with a link that can also be found on the Company's website. To guarantee the confidentiality of the reporting person, when the report is submitted the platform will issue the reporting person with a 16-digit numerical code with which they can at any time view – through the portal – the processing status of their report and interact with the Whistleblowing Function. In accordance with Legislative Decree (D.Lgs.) 24/2023, the platform uses encryption tools and specific protocols for the secure and confidential management of the entire process, guaranteeing anonymity and preventing reports from being traced. Dialogue with the Whistleblowing Function will take place on the platform, ensuring confidentiality and
by paper letter sent through the postal service, to the address: Gruppo Spaggiari Parma S.p.A., via F. Bernini 22/A, Parma (PR) - FAO: OdV Whistleblowing Function. In this case, in order to benefit from the guarantee of confidentiality, the Report must be placed in a sealed envelope, the Reporting Person's details in a separate sealed envelope, and both envelopes must then be placed inside a third sealed envelope bearing on the outside the wording “DO NOT OPEN – PERSONAL CONFIDENTIAL – WHISTLEBLOWING”.

How is the report handled?

Gruppo Spaggiari Parma has assigned the so-called Whistleblowing Function to the Supervisory Body (Organismo di Vigilanza, OdV) established pursuant to Legislative Decree (D.Lgs.) 231/2001, which has access to the platform and is responsible for handling reports. Upon receipt of a report, the Whistleblowing Function:

will acknowledge receipt of the report to the reporting person, unless the reporting person expressly requests otherwise or unless it is considered that the acknowledgement would prejudice the protection of the confidentiality of the reporting person's identity;
will maintain communications with the reporting person and request additional information from them, if necessary;
will diligently follow up the reports received;
will carry out the investigation necessary to follow up the report, including through hearings and the acquisition of documents;
will provide feedback to the reporting person within 3 months or, where justified and duly reasoned grounds exist, 6 months from the date of the acknowledgement of receipt of the external report or, in the absence of such acknowledgement, from the expiry of 7 days from receipt;
will communicate the final outcome of the report to the reporting person.

Is there a policy for staff?

Certainly, all Gruppo Spaggiari Parma staff have already been duly informed about the available procedures and how to activate them.

How is the reporting person's confidentiality protected?

The reporting person may decide not to remain anonymous. In this case, the identity of the reporting person cannot be disclosed to persons other than those competent to receive or follow up reports;
The protection concerns not only the name of the reporting person but also all the elements of the report from which the identity of the reporting person can be inferred, even indirectly;
The report is exempt from access to administrative records and from the right of generalised civic access;
The protection of confidentiality extends to the identity of the persons involved and of the persons mentioned in the report until the conclusion of the proceedings initiated as a result of the report, subject to the same guarantees provided in favour of the reporting person.

What is meant by retaliation?

Any conduct, act or omission, even if only attempted or threatened, carried out by reason of the report, the report to the judicial or accounting authority, or the public disclosure, and which causes or may cause, directly or indirectly, unjust damage to the reporting person or to the person who filed the complaint, unjust damage being understood as unjustified damage.

Some examples of retaliatory conduct?

dismissal, suspension or equivalent measures;
demotion or failure to promote;
change of duties, change of workplace, reduction of salary, change of working hours;
suspension of training or any restriction of access to it;
negative performance assessments or negative references;
the adoption of disciplinary measures or other sanctions, including financial penalties;
coercion, intimidation, harassment or ostracism;

To whom does the protection extend?

The protection also applies:

to the facilitator (a natural person who assists the reporting person in the reporting process and who operates within the same work context);
to persons in the same work context as the reporting person, the person who filed a complaint or the person who made a public disclosure, and who are linked to them by a stable emotional bond or by kinship up to the fourth degree;
to colleagues of the reporting person or of the person who filed a complaint or made a public disclosure, who work in the same work context as that person and who have a regular and current relationship with that person;
to entities owned by the reporting person or for which the same persons work, as well as to entities operating in the same work context as those persons.

How do we process data?

Gruppo Spaggiari Parma processes the reporting person's data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For any further information, please refer to the notice available on the Company's website.

TO SUBMIT AN INTERNAL REPORT CLICK HERE https://spaggiari.whistleblowing.it/