Procedura internă privind protecția avertizorilor în interes public
Scop general: This procedure is developed in order to implement the provisions of Law 361/2022 on the protection of whistleblowers in the public interest.
The purpose of the procedure is, on the one hand, to protect persons within REINERT who report, in good faith, facts that involve violations of the law, in accordance with the provisions of Law no. 361/2022, and on the other hand, creating and maintaining a work environment in which REINERT employees are able to warn about possible abusive practices or bad administration/violations of the law with the certainty that the warnings will be treated seriously.
Scop specific: This procedure describes the actions taken and the flow of documents starting with the receipt and registration of a warning in the public interest, until its resolution. This procedure encourages REINERT employees and partners to report information regarding any actual or potential violations of the law, as defined in this procedure.
1. Scope of the procedure
This procedure applies to all REINERT employees and collaborators, regardless of their employment, to all activities and in all departments.
2. Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this procedure, the terms and expressions below have the following meanings:
- external reporting – the oral or written communication of information regarding violations of the law carried out through the external reporting channels represented by:
- a) the public authorities and institutions that, according to the special legal provisions, receive and resolve reports regarding violations of the law, in their field of competence;
- b) The National Integrity Agency, hereinafter referred to as the Agency;
- c) other authorities and public institutions to which the Agency submits the reports for competent resolution.
- designated person – the person responsible for receiving, recording, examining, taking subsequent actions and resolving reports, who will act impartially and who will be independent in the exercise of these duties.
subsequent actions – any action taken by the recipient of an internal report or by the competent authority in order to resolve the report and, where appropriate, to remedy the reported violation.
3. Reference documents:
a). Law no. 361/2022 on the protection of public interest whistleblowers, with subsequent amendments and additions;
b). The provisions of art. 325 and art. 26 paragraph 2 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
4. Process description
4.1 Persons who may be whistleblowers
Whistleblowers are people who make reports and who have obtained information about violations of the law, in a professional context. The category of these persons includes, at least, the following:
- REINERT workers;
- persons carrying out an independent activity, within the meaning of art. 49 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and have contracts with;
- shareholders and persons who are part of the administrative, management or supervisory body of REINERT, including non-executive members of the board of directors, as well as volunteers and paid or unpaid interns;
- any person who works under the supervision and direction of the natural or legal person with whom a contract has been concluded with REINERT and/or REINERT’s subcontractors and suppliers.
- persons whose employment relationships have not yet begun and who make reports through internal or external reporting channels or publicly disclose information regarding violations of the law obtained during the recruitment process or other pre-contractual negotiations or if the employment relationship or the report service has ceased.
- public procurement, services, products and financial markets;
- prevention of 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;
- protection of private life and personal data;
- security protection of networks and computer systems;
- violations that affect the financial interests of the European Union, as mentioned in art. 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and how they are detailed in the relevant measures of the European Union;
- violations related to the internal market, referred to in art. 26 para. (2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, including violations of the European Union rules on competition and state aid, as well as violations related to the internal market in terms of acts that violate the rules on corporate taxation or mechanisms whose purpose is obtaining a fiscal advantage that contravenes the object or purpose of the law applicable to corporate taxation, which represents disciplinary violations, misdemeanors or crimes, or which contravenes the object or purpose of the law.
- the name and surname of the public interest whistleblower;
- the contact details of the public interest whistleblower;
- the professional context in which the information was obtained;
- the person concerned, if known;
- description of the act likely to constitute a violation of the law within an authority, public institution, any other legal entity under public law, as well as within the legal entity under private law;
- the evidence in support of the reporting;
- date and signature.
- reporting that does not include the name, surname, contact details or signature of the whistleblower in the public interest is examined and resolved to the extent that it contains indications of violations of the law.
4.2 Scope of Reports
The reports must concern one of the following violations of the law, respectively facts that consist of an action or inaction that constitute non-compliance with the legal provisions provided in annex no. 2 of Law no. 361/2022, which concern areas such as:
The reporting will include, at least, the following:
4.3. Internal reporting channels within REINERT
Persons who report violations of the law, which have occurred, or which are likely to occur within REINERT, have the following methods of internal reporting:
By email to the address avvosvor@reinert-romania.ro
By phone, at number 0740 309 631
In writing, through the postal services at the address REINERT, Mun. Oradea, str. Petre P. Carp, no. 18, Bihor county, with the mention “Attention Responsible Whistleblowers in the public interest”;
In person, by being present at the REINERT headquarters (with prior appointment made at the email address avvosvor@reinert-romania.ro or at the phone number 0740 309 631). Reporting in this case will be done directly to the Designated Person. The designated person will draw up a record of the report subject to the consent of the whistleblower in the public interest. The appointed person offers the whistleblower in the public interest the opportunity to verify, rectify and express his agreement regarding the minutes of the conversation, by signing it. If the whistleblower does not agree to the recording, he will use the other reporting methods or he will be able to report in writing, on paper, to the appointed person.
4.4 External reporting channels – The National Integrity Agency, as well as other public entities that, according to special legal provisions, receive and resolve reports related to violations of the law, in their area of competence.
4.5 Public disclosure – press, professional, trade union or employer organisations, non-governmental organisations, parliamentary committees, etc.
The communication channels described above can also be used for communications sent anonymously, meaning that art. 6 para. 2 of Law 361/2022: “the report that does not include the name, surname, contact details or signature of the whistleblower in the public interest is examined and resolved to the extent that it contains indications of violations of the law.”
4.6. The person designated by internal decision by the REINERT management, in accordance with the provisions of art. 10 points 1 lit. c from Law 361/2022, is Martin Ioana Ancuța.
This will be responsible for informing REINERT employees about the regulations and implementing the provisions of Law 361/2022 both towards REINERT employees and collaborators, and towards public authorities with a control role.
The name of the appointed person, as well as the means of reporting, must be made known to each employee, by posting it on the company’s website and by posting it at the headquarters, in the dining room, in a visible and accessible place.
a). The designated person shall ensure that at all times at least one means of reporting is accessible.
b). The designated person will take the necessary steps to protect the confidentiality of the identity of the whistleblower and any third party named in the report, and to prevent access to the report by unauthorized personnel.
c). The designated person will send the whistleblower in the public interest the confirmation of receipt of the report within no more than 7 calendar days from its receipt.
d). The designated person will investigate the report and decide on the necessary follow-up actions to verify and resolve the report.
e). The appointed person will inform the whistleblower in the public interest about the status of the subsequent actions, within no more than 3 months from the date of confirmation of receipt or, in the event that the receipt of the report was not confirmed, from the expiration of the 7-day period from the date of receipt of the report, as well as, subsequently, whenever developments are recorded in the development of subsequent actions, except in the case where the information could endanger their development.
f). The designated person can request the completion of the report, with a deadline of 15 days. In case of non-fulfilment of the completion obligation, the designated person ranks the reporting.
Reporting ranks when:
– does not contain the elements provided for in art. 6 of Law 361/2022, other than the identification data of the public interest whistleblower, and the designated person requested its completion within 15 days, without this obligation being fulfilled;
– the report is submitted anonymously and does not contain sufficient information regarding violations of the law, which would allow the analysis and resolution of the report, and the appointed person requested its completion within 15 days, without this obligation being fulfilled.
If a person makes several reports with the same object, they are connected, the whistleblower in the public interest receiving only one information. If, after sending it, a new report is received with the same object, without presenting additional information to justify a different subsequent action, it is classified.
The Designated Person may decide to close the procedure if, after reviewing the report, it is determined that it is clearly a minor violation and does not require further follow-up action other than closing the procedure.
The classification solution is communicated to the whistleblower in the public interest, with the indication of the legal basis.
g). The designated person has the obligation to inform the management of REINERT and the whistleblower in the public interest regarding the way to resolve the report.
h). The appointed person has any other obligations provided by the regulations in force for the implementation of the provisions regarding the warning in the public interest.
i). Warnings may be given by any means of communication. In the situation where the whistleblower chooses a transparent reporting method, he assumes the eventual debunking.
j). The designated person verifies the possible irregularities/violations of the law reported in the warning and proposes to REINERT management the necessary legal measures. In the situation where the verification of the notified exceeds the duties/competencies of the Designated Person, the verification will be redirected to the competent structures/bodies.
REINERT encourages the reporting of any violations of the law and ensures appropriate protection of the Public Interest Whistleblower against any retaliation or discrimination.
The person appointed to solve the report has the obligation not to reveal the whistleblower’s identity in the public interest, nor the information that would allow his direct or indirect identification, except for the situation in which he has his express consent. By way of exception, the identity of the whistleblower in the public interest and any other information may be disclosed only if this is an obligation imposed by law, in compliance with the conditions and limits provided by it. In this case, the whistleblower in the public interest is informed beforehand, in writing, about the disclosure of the identity and the reasons for the disclosure of the confidential data in question. The obligation does not exist if information would jeopardize investigations or legal proceedings.
5. Processing of personal data
All personal data processing carried out pursuant to this procedure, including the exchange or transmission of personal data by the competent authorities, is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Law no. 363/2018, as well as the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1.725.