INFORMATION FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS

thyssenkrupp Group Services Gdańsk

At thyssenkrupp Group Services Gdańsk integrity, compliance with the law and internal regulations are of highest priority. To ensure that these values are upheld and potential risks arising from violations are avoided or minimized, it is crucial that misconduct is identified, clarified, and remedied at an early stage. To this end, tk encourages you to report suspected misconduct. Every indication of a potential misconduct are treated seriously and lead to an investigation following an objective and transparent process without any bias. thyssenkrupp Group Services Gdańsk therefore makes available to whistleblowers in compliance and under protection of the Polish Whistleblowing Act, an internal information system that enables whistleblowers to submit reports.

Individuals who report misconduct to thyssenkrupp Group Services Gdańsk are now additionally protected by the  Polish Act on Protection of Whistleblowers dated 14 June 2024 (officially published in the Polish Journal of Laws No. 2024, item 928) (Ustawa z 14 czerwca 2024 r. o ochronie sygnalistów, Dz.u. 2024.928) (“Whistleblowing Act”) transposed the Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of EU or Polish laws.

Since the 25 September 2024 entities with more than 50 employees need to implement the according measures, especially the activation of a reporting channel and establishment of investigation procedures that guarantee, among others, the confidentiality of the report and the protection of the whistleblower against disclosing its identity and any retaliation resulting from the report. 

A detailed description of the thyssenkrupp Group Services Gdańsk´s whistleblowing rules of procedure can be found here.

1. Who can inform about a violation?

The whistleblower is any natural person who submits the report or makes a public disclosure of information on violations acquired in the context of his or her work. This includes but is not limited to:

·          staff with an employment relationship

·          self-employed workers

·          freelancers and consultants, suppliers, customers

·          volunteers and trainees

·          shareholders or owners of company shares persons with administrative, management, supervisory or representative functions

·         any person working for or under the supervision and direction of contractors, subcontractors and suppliers.

2. What can be reported?

Violations of applicable laws listed in the Polish Whistleblower Protection Act:

a. corruption,

b. public procurement,

c. financial services, products, and markets,

d. combating money laundering and financing of terrorism,

e. product safety and compliance with requirements,

f. transport safety,

g. environmental protection,

h. radiological protection and nuclear safety,

i. food and feed safety,

j. animal health and welfare,

k. public health,

l. consumer protection,

m. privacy and personal data protection,

n. network and information systems security,

o. the financial interests of the Polish State Treasury, local government units and the European Union,

p. the EU internal market, including competition and state aid rules, as well as corporate taxation,

q. constitutional freedoms and human and civil rights – occurring in relations between individuals and public authorities and unrelated to the areas listed in points a- above,

and/or internal regulations can be reported through a variety of channels. Even indications or suspicions of violations can be reported and will be treated seriously. Therefore, in this document “violations” will refer to both actual and potential violations.

3. Who is responsible for dealing with reports?

thyssenkrupp AG has established Compliance Investigations Department (CO/L&C-INV) with its autonomous and specifically trained personnel as “Reporting Administrator” to support thyssenkrupp Group Services Gdańsk with the tasks of receiving reports and conducting investigations. The respective Compliance Investigation Officers are impartial, independent, are not bound by instructions with regard to investigations and sworn to secrecy. Incoming reports, that can also be submitted anonymously, are treated confidentially and whistleblowers are protected by all appropriate means against any disadvantages resulting from a report.

Whistleblowers may submit a report through various channels described below. The Reporting Administrator together with the tk Group Function Internal Auditing (“CO/AUD”) and the Compliance Manager, will agree on adequate investigation procedures and propose adequate measures to thyssenkrupp Group Services Gdańsk, if necessary.

4. How can I submit a report?

An open communication culture is an essential component of well-functioning compliance. Employees must be able to address potential violations openly, anonymously and, above all, at an early stage. To this end, we offer different channels which can be used to report any misconduct concerning issues listed in the Whistleblowing Act and any violations of the Polish Penal Code.

For this purpose, thyssenkrupp Group Services Gdańsk makes a number of internal whistleblowing channels available which are set out below:

4.1 thyssenkrupp Electronic Whistleblowing System (BKMS)

The Compliance Whistleblowing System of thyssenkrupp can directly be accessed under https://www.bkms-sys-tem.net/bkwebanon/report/clientInfo?cin=20TYK11&c=-1&language=pol

In addition to the Compliance Whistleblowing System, violations regarding the International Framework Agree-ment (thyssenkrupp internal HR violations) can also be reported to representatives on the International Committee and the Labor Relations department at thyssenkrupp AG under https://www.bkms-system.net/framework-agreement

4.2 Telephone Hotline

thyssenkrupp contact via the following telephone number selecting Polish language (automated telephone dia-log):

Phone: +48 22 152 3361

Access PIN: 4541

4.3 Contacts within thyssenkrupp Headquarters

thyssenkrupp Headquarters can be reached via the following contact details:

thyssenkrupp AG,

Compliance, Department Investigations

thyssenkrupp Allee 1,

45143 Essen, Germany

4.4 Contacts within thyssenkrupp Group Services Gdańsk

If you work for thyssenkrupp, you can also contact your compliance manager responsible for your company directly. A detailed list of contacts is available on the intranet. 

Please note: If a face-to-face meeting is requested, it will be organized within 7 days. If the report is submitted orally, with prior consent of the whistleblower, the report is documented in a secure, durable and accessible format, or by a transcript of the conversation. The whistleblower may be given the opportunity to verify, rectify and confirm the minutes of the meeting by signing them.

More information on the submission of reports to thyssenkrupp can be found here: Submitting a report (thyssenkrupp.com) 

4.5 External Reporting Channels

We encourage whistleblowers to use our internal reporting channels. Whistleblowers also have the option to submit their report to an external reporting channel:  

·         in paper form – to the correspondence address of the Whistleblower Team, with the note “Report of a violation of the law” on the envelope:

Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich

Al. Solidarności 77;

00-090 Warszawa

·          in electronic form – via the designated online form available on the Ombudsman's website at: www.gov.pl/web/sygnalisci, which ensures the confidentiality of report

·         in verbal form – via a recorded telephone hotline at (22) 20-98-499. The hotline operates on days and at times designated by the Team;

·         Alternatively, whistleblowers may choose to report with other authorities competent in specific areas, such as Consumer and Competition Protection Office (Urząd Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów), Personal Data Protection Office (Urząd Ochrony Danych Osobowych), Police or Prosecutor Office (Policja, Prokuratura), European Public Prosecutor's Office, in the event that the events affect the financial interests of the European Union.

5. Data Protection

While carrying out internal investigations, it will be ensured that the applicable data protection laws are complied with. Detailed information on the subject can be found here:

Information on the processing of the whistleblower's personal data

Information on the processing of personal data of other participants in the whistleblower process.