Information management procedure.
1. Receipt and admission of Communications.
The Internal Channel has been integrated into this Internal Information System so that Whistleblowers can submit queries or information on the actions or omissions provided for in section 2 of this Manual, without prejudice to the right of Whistleblowers to resort to any other extrajudicial or judicial complaint mechanisms.
Whistleblowers may also use external channels of communication (Independent Whistleblower
Protection Authority, when established), with the competent authorities and, where appropriate, with the institutions, bodies, offices or agencies of the European Union.
Communications shall be received by the Ethics and Values Committee, which shall communicate to the Reporting Person the corresponding acknowledgement of receipt, within a maximum of seven calendar days following receipt, unless this could jeopardise the confidentiality of the Communication.
The Ethics and Values Committee will verify whether the Communication falls within the scope of application of the Internal Reporting System, in which case it will open the corresponding file, and will proceed to initiate the corresponding proceedings.
Otherwise, if the Communication does not fall within the scope of application of the Internal
Information System, or if any of the grounds for inadmissibility1 provided for in Law 2/2023 are applicable, it will order its immediate closure, notifying the Informant of this.
Alternatively, to archiving, the Ethics and Values Committee may refer the Communication internally where appropriate, in order to provide a solution to the issue raised.
2. Opening of the file.
In the event that proceedings have been opened, the Ethics and Securities Committee may
simultaneously adopt additional urgent measures in order to avoid jeopardising the progress of the investigation or those necessary to protect the Whistleblowers and, where appropriate, the Affected Persons. In order to carry out such actions, the Ethics and Securities Committee shall rely on the relevant departments or functional areas within the Company.[i]
3. Internal Communication Research.
The Ethics and Securities Committee shall respond to the investigation within a maximum of three months from receipt of the Communication or, if no acknowledgement of receipt was sent to the Reporting Person, within three months from the expiry of the seven-day period after the
Communication was made; except in cases of particular complexity requiring an extension of the deadline, in which case the deadline may be extended by up to a maximum of a further three
months, of which the Reporting Person shall be duly informed.
In the development of the internal investigation, the Ethics and Values Committee, the person in charge of the company's legal services (if legal measures should be taken in relation to the facts described in the Communication) and the data protection officer will have direct and exclusive access to the information. The processing of the data by other persons, or even their
communication to third parties, shall be lawful when necessary for the adoption of corrective
measures in the Company or the processing of any sanctioning or criminal proceedings that may
be appropriate, as the case may be.
During the processing of the investigation file, those Affected by the Communication shall have the right to the presumption of innocence, the right of defence and the right of access to their data contained in the file documentation, but not to the identity of the Informant, as well as to the same protection established for Informants, preserving their identity and guaranteeing the
confidentiality of the facts and data of the procedure.
4. Communication and hearing procedures.
Through the hearing process, the Ethics and Securities Committee may communicate with the
Reporting Person and, if deemed necessary, request additional information. Likewise, the Affected Party shall have the right to defend himself/herself, provide information, documentation and make allegations.
The Ethics and Securities Committee shall be obliged to inform the Affected Party of the actions or omissions attributed to it, and of its right to be heard, presenting in writing the arguments,
allegations and evidence that may be appropriate to its rights as soon as the status of the
procedure so permits and, in any event, within a maximum period of one (1) month from receipt
of the Communication. The aforementioned period may be extended, with reasons being given,
when this is deemed advisable.
The Ethics and Values Committee guarantees confidentiality, in any case, and in particular if the
Communication is sent through other reporting channels or to staff members who are not
responsible for its treatment.
5. Conclusions and resolution of the investigation.
On the basis of the proceedings of the internal investigation, the Ethics and Values Committee shall prepare a report and a resolution, which shall contain, at least:
• Brief description of the research.
• Facts established by the investigation.
• Conclusions, which may include, as appropriate:
- The declaration of the existence of non-compliance, in which case it may take the
following measures:
o The immediate correction of the non-compliance and the adoption of measures to
remedy the breached right and prevent future breaches, as appropriate.
o Disciplinary measures, which may range from a simple warning or reprimand to
dismissal.
o The transfer to the competent department of the resolution for the adoption, and in
any case application, of the remediation measures that may be necessary, which will
be duly reported to the Ethics and Values Committee.
- The closing of the case, in the event that it is concluded that there has been no noncompliance.
- Referral of the communication to the Public Prosecutor's Office immediately when the
facts could be indicative of an offence or referral to another authority or body that could
be competent to process the communication.
6. Preservation, custody and archiving of the Communication.
The Ethics and Values Committee shall keep an updated record of all Communications received, as well as, if applicable, of internal investigations carried out and actions taken, for the periods of time that, in accordance with applicable data protection regulations, are legally permitted in each case.
Once the Communications have been resolved, the records shall be anonymised as far as possible and, in any case, shall be kept for a maximum of 10 years.
The Internal Reporting System shall not obtain data allowing the identification of the Reporting
Person and shall have appropriate technical and organisational measures in place to preserve the identity and guarantee the confidentiality of the data corresponding to the persons concerned and to any third party mentioned in the information provided, especially the identity of the Reporting Person in case he/she has identified himself/herself.
As regards the Communication covered by the register, it shall be kept up to date at all times and shall include at least the following data:
• Date of receipt of the Communication.
• Means by which the Communication was received.
• Data, if applicable, on the Informant and the Affected Party.
• Summary of the nature of the Communication and the facts on which non-compliance is
found.
• Dates of communication to the Informant and the Affected Party.
• Documentation used in communication research.
• State of research.
The data undergoing processing may be kept in the System only for the time necessary to decide
whether to initiate an investigation into the reported facts.
If it is established that the Communication provided or part of it is not truthful, it shall be
immediately deleted as soon as this circumstance comes to light, unless such untruthfulness could constitute a criminal offence, in which case the Communication shall be kept for the time necessary during the legal proceedings.
In any case, if three months have elapsed since receipt of the Communication and no investigation has been initiated, the Communication shall be deleted, unless the purpose of the retention is to leave evidence of the functioning of the System.
Personal data relating to Communications that do not fall within the scope of the System and are not necessary for the conduct of the investigation and/or are not subject to investigation shall be deleted without delay, with the exception of making them available to Public Administrations or Jurisdictional Bodies, in case they might be necessary for the attention of possible liabilities during the relevant prescription periods. After this, the data shall be physically deleted.
7. Measures for the protection of informants.
Retaliation, including threats of retaliation and attempts of retaliation against individuals submitting a Communication is strictly prohibited.
Retaliation means any acts or omissions which are prohibited by law, or which, directly or indirectly, result in unfavourable treatment that places the persons subjected to them at a particular disadvantage compared to another in the employment or professional context, solely because of their status as whistleblowers, or because they have made a public disclosure.
Actions that constitute retaliation or cause discrimination and are taken within two years of the
completion of investigations shall be null and void and shall give rise, where appropriate, to
corrective disciplinary or liability measures, which may include compensation for damages to the injured party.
A person whose rights have been harmed by its communication or disclosure may, after the expiry of the two-year period, apply to the competent authority for protection, which may, exceptionally and in a justified manner, extend the period of protection, after hearing the persons or bodies likely to be affected. Reasons shall be given for any refusal to extend the period of protection.
Reporting Persons shall not be deemed to have violated any restriction on disclosure of a
Communication and shall not incur any liability of any kind in connection with such Communication or public disclosure, provided that they had reasonable grounds to believe that the Communication or public disclosure of such Communication was necessary to disclose an act or omission relating to violations of occupational safety and health law
[i] 1 Among others: when the facts reported lack any credibility; when they do not fall within the scope of this Manual; when the communication is manifestly unfounded; when the communication contains no new or significant information on violations in comparison with a previous communication; when the information refers to mere matters related to interpersonal conflicts or affecting only the Informant and the Affected Person; when it is hearsay, etc.