Internal reporting office for whistleblower protection
of ZIEGRA Eismaschinen GmbH
The company has set up an internal reporting office for employees, which can be contacted personally by e-mail or by post.
Who is protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act?
The Whistleblower Protection Act transposes the provisions of the EU Whistleblower Directive into German law, with the aim of protecting people who have gained knowledge of violations of statutory provisions or other binding regulations in the course of their professional activities and report them against reprisals. Whistleblowers should thus be able to disclose grievances without fear of reprisals (Section 1 HinSchG).
Internal reporting offices
In order to give companies the opportunity to organize and review compliance issues themselves, the Whistleblower Protection Act makes it mandatory for companies with 50 or more employees to set up internal reporting offices. European legislators hope that internal reporting channels will be used so that companies can resolve compliance issues at an early stage and authorities will only have to take action in individual cases.
Reporting office - contact details
An external service provider has been commissioned by ZIEGRA Eismaschinen GmbH for the legally required whistleblower reporting office. The reports are managed by Indorf Consulting and UKAL Arbeitssicherheit, represented by:
| Rainer Indorf / confidentially | Uwe Koch / confidentially |
|---|---|
| Indorf Consulting | UKAL occupational safety |
| Bremer Straße 51 | Im Schwalenkamp 24 |
| 27299 Langwedel | 32020 Salzhemmendorf |
| Landline: 04235 - 9919410 | Landline: 05153 - 963047 |
| Mobile: 0172 - 2448380 | |
| E-Mail: hinweis@indorfconsulting.de | E-Mail: uwe.koch@gukal.de |
Both companies already advise our company on IT security and data protection issues and UKAL-Arbeitssicherheit already provides the external data protection officer at ZIEGRA Eismaschinen GmbH.
If a whistleblower is unable to report a report to internal reporting offices or does not receive the legally required feedback, they can also contact the external reporting offices of the authorities at any time.
Reporting channels:
By telephone to one of the two companies using the contact details given above
In person with one of the two contact persons after contacting them by telephone or e-mail
After making contact, an appointment can be arranged at a neutral and confidential location.
Establishing contact by e-mail
Information will only be exchanged (digitally) after consultation via confidential (encrypted) channels
Data protection must be observed when contacting us by e-mail or submitting information. Please do not provide us with details of names or other sensitive data in the first notification e-mail, as standard e-mailing does not comply with data protection regulations.
Secure transmission options can be provided for the exchange of sensitive information after contact has been established and initial discussions have taken place.
Anonymous reporting
Anonymous reporting does not have to be made possible in Germany. The disadvantage here is also that a potential whistleblower cannot be informed and no further explanatory questions can be asked about the details of the alleged compliance violation. In our opinion, this also makes it more difficult to clarify and permanently rectify unlawful actions and / or legal violations.
In principle, however, you have the option of submitting a report by telephone without disclosing your personal data. We would like to remind you that the transmission of your own telephone number must be deactivated for this. However, in this case you cannot be informed about the processing of a report.
Confidentiality requirement
The principle of confidentiality and the prohibition of reprisals are at the heart of the protection of whistleblowers under the law. Therefore, please consider open communication with the whistleblower office. Your information will remain confidential and matters can be clarified more quickly. Your information will be treated confidentially in any case and your personal data will be protected at all times.
Both whistleblowers (those who report something) and any suspects/accused persons (until final clarification) enjoy confidentiality. The procedure has been agreed with the Data Protection Officer.
Your identity will only be disclosed with your explicit consent, or possibly on the basis of requests from the investigating authorities.
The reporting process
The report can be made in person, by telephone or by e-mail. Once the report has been received, the whistleblower will be informed by those responsible at the reporting office that the report has been received. This feedback is provided within 7 days. Further discussions may then take place or information on the violation may be exchanged. Protective measures for the whistleblower and the whistleblower's rights can also be discussed again. After considering all the information pertaining to the report, those responsible at the reporting office will decide whether the report is a report under the Whistleblower Protection Act. In this case, the report will be forwarded to the company in order to process the report within the company structures. This is generally done by the client of the reporting office, i.e. the person responsible (the management) of the company, ZIEGRA Eismaschinen GmbH. The whistleblower decides whether their identity is disclosed to those responsible at ZIEGRA Eismaschinen GmbH.
However, we would like to point out at this point that the nature of a report, the information that may be reported or other details of a report could allow conclusions to be drawn about the person making the report.
Due to the special protection afforded to whistleblowers by the law, however, this circumstance should be viewed less critically.
Of course, the person responsible at ZIEGRA Eismaschinen GmbH will always consult legal counsel and, if necessary, the competent law enforcement authority in the event of criminal matters.
External reporting office
As an employer, in addition to setting up our internal reporting office, we are also obliged to inform you about the external reporting office set up by the German authorities at the Federal Office of Justice. We hereby comply with this obligation. The address of the external reporting office is: Federal Office of Justice, Adenauerallee 99 - 103, 53113 Bonn, Telephone: +49 228 99 410-40
An external reporting office has been set up at the Federal Office of Justice, which can be used to submit reports. You can find further information on the Whistleblower Protection Act, reports and other useful information at: https://www.bundesjustizamt.de/DE/MeldestelledesBundes/MeldestelledesBundes_node.html.
False reports
A deliberately false report can have consequences under criminal law. The protection of the whistleblower only applies if the report was not abusive, grossly negligent or even deliberately false. In such cases, it is still possible to take action against the reporting person and, for example, assert claims for damages. According to § 38 HinSchG, the person making the report is obliged to compensate the damage in such cases.
Content of the whistleblower report
Please describe the incident to be reported as precisely as possible, as this is the only way we as the reporting office can check whether it is a report under the Whistleblower Protection Act.
The W-questions are helpful: What, Who, When, How, Where, Frequency).
Frequently asked questions
What can be reported?
Incidents in connection with activities at ZIEGRA Eismaschinen GmbH that are punishable by law (clear violations of the law) and, in special cases, subject to fines (e.g. danger to life and limb) can be reported. Violations of the law in countries outside the EU are not taken into account.
What cannot be reported?
General complaints, suggestions for improvement, criticism and information on the content offered by ZIEGRA Eismaschinen GmbH cannot be reported or processed here. Issues that are already publicly known are also not suitable for processing on the basis of the Whistleblower Protection Act.
Who is entitled to report?
Employees of ZIEGRA Eismaschinen GmbH are entitled to repor
Information and advice
If you wish to be informed about the results of the investigation, please indicate this in your report. The whistleblowing office will also be happy to inform and advise you in a personal meeting. Please contact us directly. Please do not make any public postings on social media or elsewhere.
