Definition
The expression WHISTLEBLOWER refers to an employee of an administration who reports violations or irregularities committed to the detriment of the public interest to the bodies entitled to intervene.
Reporting (so-called whistleblowing), from this perspective, is an act of manifestation of civic sense, through which the whistleblower contributes to the emergence and prevention of risks and situations detrimental to the administration to which he or she belongs and, by extension, to the collective public interest.
Whistleblowing is the procedure aimed at encouraging whistleblowing and protecting, precisely because of its social function, the whistleblower.
The main purpose of whistleblowing is to prevent or solve a problem internally and in a timely manner. Whistleblowing is based on balancing the public administration's or private companies' need to encourage reports of wrongdoing or alleged wrongdoing with the need to protect employees who report these wrongdoings.
Specifically, public employees who report wrongdoing cannot be subjected to disciplinary action and are protected against retaliatory action. In the private sector, companies are required to provide the same protections in their organizational models.
1. NORMATIVE SOURCE AND NATURE OF THE INSTITUTE
Find the normative references, always up to date at this link
2. PURPOSE AND AIMS OF THE DOCUMENT
The purpose of this document is to remove factors that may hinder or discourage the use of the institute, such as doubts and uncertainties about the procedure to be followed and fears of retaliation or discrimination.
3. OBJECT OF THE REPORT
There is no exhaustive list of crimes or irregularities that may constitute the subject of whistleblowing. Reports that concern conduct, risks, crimes or irregularities, whether committed or attempted, detrimental to the public interest are considered relevant.
Whistleblowing does not concern grievances of a personal nature of the whistleblower or claims/complaints that fall under the discipline of the employment relationship or relations with the hierarchical superior or colleagues, for which reference should be made to the discipline and procedures under the competence of the Personnel Service.
4. CONTENT OF REPORTS
The whistleblower must provide all the useful elements to enable the competent offices to proceed with the due and appropriate checks and investigations to verify the validity of the facts reported.
Anonymous reports, i.e., lacking elements that make it possible to identify their author, even if delivered through the methods provided for in this document, will not be taken into consideration within the scope of the procedures aimed at protecting the public employee who reports wrongdoing, but will be treated in the same way as other anonymous reports and taken into consideration for further verification only if they relate to facts of particular gravity and with a content that is adequately detailed and circumstantiated. The requirement of truthfulness of the reported facts or situations remains in place to protect the whistleblower.
5. METHODS AND RECIPIENTS OF REPORTING
The Entity provides its employees and contractors with a software application accessible to employees through the Internet. The software application guarantees absolute confidentiality and encryption of the data of the reporter and the report, as they are accessible only by the receiving party.
6. ACTIVITIES OF VERIFICATION OF THE MERITS OF THE REPORT
The management and verification of the merits of the circumstances set forth in the report are entrusted to the Whistleblowing Manager, who does so in accordance with the principles of impartiality and confidentiality, carrying out any activity deemed appropriate.
To this end, the Whistleblowing Manager may rely on the support and cooperation of the competent corporate structures and, if necessary, of control bodies external to the Entity/Company
7. FORMS OF PROTECTION OF THE WHISTLEBLOWER
A) Obligations of confidentiality on the identity of the whistleblower and removal from the right of access of the report
With the exception of cases in which liability for libel and slander can be established under the provisions of the Criminal Code or the Civil Code and cases in which anonymity is not enforceable by law, (e.g., criminal, tax or administrative investigations, inspections by supervisory bodies) the identity of the whistleblower is protected in any context subsequent to the report.
Regarding, in particular, the context of disciplinary proceedings, the identity of the whistleblower may be disclosed to the disciplinary authority and the accused only in cases where:
- there is the express consent of the whistleblower;
- the contestation of the disciplinary charge is based, in whole or in part, on the report and the knowledge of the identity of the reporter is absolutely essential to the defense of the accused, provided that this circumstance is deduced and substantiated by the latter at the hearing or through the submission of defense briefs.
B) Prohibition of discrimination against the whistleblower
With respect to the employee who makes a report under this procedure, no form of retaliation or discriminatory measure, direct or indirect, affecting working conditions for reasons directly or indirectly related to the report is permitted or tolerated.
8. LIABILITY OF THE WHISTLEBLOWER
This procedure is without prejudice to the criminal and disciplinary liability of the whistleblower in the event of slanderous or defamatory reporting under the Criminal Code and Article 2043 of the Civil Code.
Any forms of abuse of this policy, such as reports that are manifestly opportunistic and/or made for the sole purpose of harming the whistleblower or other parties, and any other hypothesis of improper use or intentional instrumentalization of the institution that is the subject of this procedure, are also a source of liability in disciplinary and other competent venues.
