Whistleblowing

Information on Whistleblower Protection

Pursuant to Act No. 171/2023 Coll., on the Protection of Whistleblowers (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”), effective as of August 1, 2023, which was enacted in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 23, 2019, on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law, KES – Kabelové a Elektrické Systémy, spol. s r.o. (hereinafter “KES”), as an obligated entity, is required, among other things, to designate a responsible person and establish an internal reporting system (hereinafter “IRS”) to receive reports, establish rules governing the methods of reporting, the handling of reports, ensuring the protection of the identity of the whistleblower and other individuals, the protection of information contained in the report, and communication with the whistleblower. At the same time, KES is required to ensure that this information is published in a manner that allows for remote access.

 

KES Contact Person

The designated KES representative responsible for receiving and handling reports pursuant to Section 9(1) of the Act is Bc. Martin Fajkoš—Head of the Human Resources Department, email:whistleblowing@kes.cz, tel. +420 727 942 638.

 

KES Internal Notification System

Who can be a whistleblower?

A whistleblower is defined as any individual who files a report within the limits of and in compliance with all the conditions of the Act, through the VOS. Such a whistleblower is subsequently protected against retaliatory measures.

Pursuant to Section 9(2)(a) of the Act, KES has excluded the acceptance ofreports from any person who does not perform work or any other similar activity for it as defined in Section 2(3)(a), (b), (h), or (i) of the Act (i.e., dependent work performed under a basic employment relationship, military service, volunteer work, professional internship, or internship).

What should the notice include?

• first name, last name, and date of birth, or other information from which the identity of the reporter can be determined;
• information about possible unlawful conduct that has occurred, is occurring, or is expected to occur, involving a person for whom the whistleblower, even indirectly, has performed or is performing work or other similar activities, or a person with whom the whistleblower has been or is in contact in connection with the performance of work or other similar activities, and which falls within the scope of the Act (Section 2(1)), including the identification of the persons against whom the report is directed;
• any evidence and supporting information on which the report is based.

How can a notification be made or filed?

It is recommended that you fill out the Report of Possible Unlawful Conduct form (downloadable form); alternatively, you may submit a report in free form. However, the report should always include the minimum required information—see above.

Notifications may be submitted:

a) electronically:

• by filling out the form (download the form);
• by sending an email towhistleblowing@kes.cz;

b) in paper form:

• by filling out the form (download the form);

• by mail to the following address: KES – Cable and Electrical Systems, Ltd., Popinecká 983/30, 739 32 Vratimov;

c) by phone:at +420 727 942 638;

d) in person:by prior appointment, either in person or by phone (if the whistleblower requests it, the relevant KES representative is required to accept the report in person within a reasonable time, but no later than 14 days from the date of the whistleblower’s request) – location for in-person submission: KES – Cable and Electrical Systems, Ltd., Popinecká 983/30, 739 32 Vratimov, office of the Head of Human Resources.

What are the deadlines for processing notifications?

• Upon receipt of the report, the reporter will be notified of its receipt by the relevant KES official no later than 7 days after it is filed; This does not apply if the whistleblower has expressly requested that the relevant KES representative not notify them of the receipt of the report, or if it is clear that notifying the whistleblower of the receipt of the report would result in the disclosure of the whistleblower’s identity to another person;
• The whistleblower will be notified of the results of the investigation and assessment of the report by the relevant KES official within 30 days of confirmation of receipt of the report (in factually or legally complex cases, this period may be extended by up to 30 days, but no more than twice); This does not apply if the whistleblower has expressly requested that the relevant KES official not notify him or her of the receipt of the report, or if it is evident that notifying the whistleblower of the assessment of the report would result in the disclosure of the whistleblower’s identity to another person;
• The date of receipt of a notification is deemed to be the date on which the notification was delivered to the relevant KES representative (date of delivery by mail); for email notifications, the date of receipt is the date of sending as indicated in the email addressed to the specified addresswhistleblowing@kes.czand sent to the relevant KES representative; for notifications submitted verbally or by telephone, the date of the notifier’s communication with the relevant KES representative is considered the date of receipt of the notification.

 

 

How will the notification be processed?

• If, while assessing the merits of a report, the relevant KES official determines that the report does not fall under the Act, the official shall notify the reporter of this in writing without undue delay.
• If the report is deemed justified, the relevant KES official will propose measures to the employer to prevent or remedy the unlawful situation. If the obligated entity does not adopt the measures proposed by the relevant KES official, the KES will take other appropriate measures to prevent or remedy the unlawful situation. The obligated entity shall immediately notify the relevant KES official of the measures taken, and the relevant KES official shall notify the whistleblower in writing without undue delay; This does not apply if the whistleblower has expressly requested that the relevant KES official not notify him or her of the receipt of the report, or if it is evident that notifying the whistleblower of the measures taken would result in the disclosure of the whistleblower’s identity to another person.
• If the report is not deemed to be well-founded, the relevant KES official shall, without undue delay, notify the reporter in writing that, based on the facts stated in the report and the circumstances known to the official, it has found no grounds to suspect that an unlawful act has been committed, or has determined that the report is based on false information, and shall inform the reporter of their right to file a report with a public authority.

How is the protection of personal data ensured?

The relevant KES representative processes the personal data of whistleblowers and other affected individuals identified in the report, which is necessary to fulfill the legal obligations applicable to the controller (KES) pursuant to Article 6(1)(c)of the GDPR. All information, including the personal data of the reporter and other data subjects, will be processed exclusively separately from other information within secure data files and data storage systems and will be accessible primarily only to the authorized KES representative for the entire retention period. The retention period is limited to the time strictly necessary, with a minimum of 5 years from the date the report is received; thereafter, personal data will be anonymized or destroyed, unless otherwise required by law.

 

The company notes that protection against retaliatory measures does not apply to a person who has knowingly made a false report. Such conduct also constitutes an administrative offense, for which a fine of up to 50,000 CZK may be imposed.