SINTRA

Whistleblowing

What it is and how to use it

WHAT IS WHISTLEBLOWING?

The term “whistleblowing” refers to the reporting, often anonymous, of unethical or illegal activities committed within an organization, whether public or private. The concept comes from the English expression “to blow the whistle,” which evokes the idea of ​​a referee or policeman who draws attention to illegal or unauthorized activities in order to stop them.

In the legal field, whistleblowing refers to a set of rules that aim to protect those who report crimes, violations of legal provisions, or, more generally, irregular conduct in the workplace, from the possible retaliation they could suffer as a result of their reports.

In Italy, there are various regulations that govern such ‘reports’ (for example, in the financial products and markets sector, for anti-money laundering or terrorism prevention purposes, in relation to transport safety or environmental protection). This regulation was lastly integrated and amended by Legislative Decree 24/2023 (the “Decree”) in implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons reporting breaches of Union and national law (the “Directive”; together with the national provisions implementing the same and the sectoral provisions that govern or, in any case, concern the reports, the “Whistleblowing Regulations”).

In compliance with the provisions of the Decree, Sintra has implemented the following internal reporting channels:

Telematic reporting channel (with the possibility of making oral reports)

link to the platform

WHAT CAN BE REPORTED?

Reports will be considered valid if they concern acts or omissions that harm the public interest or the integrity of the public administration or private entity and consist of:

  1. administrative, accounting, civil or criminal offences;
  2. unlawful conduct relevant pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/2001, or violations of the organizational and management models provided for therein;
  3. offences falling within the scope of European Union or national acts relating to the following areas: public procurement; financial services, products and markets and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; product safety and compliance; transport safety; environmental protection; radiation protection and nuclear safety; food and feed safety and animal health and welfare; public health; consumer protection; protection of privacy and personal data and security of network and information systems;
  4. acts or omissions which harm the financial interests of the Union;
  5. acts or omissions relating to the internal market;
  6. acts or behaviours which frustrate the object or purpose of the provisions of the Union acts

It is recalled that reports must be made in the public interest or in the interest of the integrity of the public administration or private entity.

The reasons that led the person to report, denounce or publicly disclose are irrelevant to his or her protection.

WHAT CANNOT BE REPORTED?

As established by the Decree, the following are the types of reports that will not be considered valid and, therefore, discarded:

  1. disputes, claims or requests related to a personal interest of the reporting person or of the person who has filed a complaint with the judicial authority which relate exclusively to their individual employment or public employment relationships, or which are inherent to their employment or public employment relationships with hierarchically superior figures.
  2. reports of violations where they are already mandatorily regulated by the European Union or national acts indicated in Part II of the Annex to the Decree or by the national acts which constitute the implementation of the European Union acts indicated in Part II of the Annex to Directive (EU) 2019/1937, even if not indicated in Part II of the Annex to the Decree.
  3. reports of breaches relating to national security, as well as procurement relating to defence or national security aspects, unless such aspects are covered by relevant secondary legislation of the European Union

WHAT ARE THE FURTHER REPORTING CHANNELS AVAILABLE TO A REPORTER?

In addition to using the internal reporting channels made available by Sintra, a whistleblower can:

  1. use the ANAC “external” reporting channel (link) when:
    1. the mandatory activation of the internal reporting channel is not foreseen within the work context, or this, even if mandatory, is not active or, even if activated, does not comply with what is required by law; 
    2. has already made an internal report and it has not been followed up;
    3. has reasonable grounds to believe that if he or she were to make an internal report, it would not be followed up effectively or that the report itself could lead to a risk of retaliation;
    4. there are reasonable grounds to believe that the infringement may constitute an imminent or manifest danger to the public interest;
  2. directly make a public disclosure when:
    1. has previously made an internal and external report or has directly made an external report and no feedback has been given within the established timeframes regarding the measures envisaged or adopted to follow up on the reports;
    2. there are reasonable grounds to believe that the infringement may constitute an imminent or manifest danger to the public interest;
    3. there is reasonable cause to believe that the external report may entail the risk of retaliation or may not have an effective follow-up due to the specific circumstances of the specific case, such as those in which evidence may be hidden or destroyed or in which there is a well-founded fear that the person receiving the report may be in collusion with the perpetrator of the violation or involved in the violation itself.
  3. File a complaint with the judicial or accounting authorities.  

REASONABLENESS OF THE REPORT

At the time of reporting or reporting to the judicial or accounting authority or making a public disclosure, the reporting or reporting person must have reasonable and well-founded grounds to believe that the information on the reported, publicly disclosed or reported violations is true and falls within the scope of the legislation.

PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA

At the following link you can consult the privacy information prepared by Sintra in relation to the management of reports sent through internal channels: Whistleblowing Information

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