Whistleblowing Hotline

Have you encountered unethical, illegal, or suspicious behaviour within or on behalf of the Creative Dock Group? 

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Do not hesitate to blow the whistle and contact our whistleblowing hotline at: 

whistleblowing@creativedock.com

+420 777 130 878

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Whistleblowing Policy

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This document describes principles of Notification and investigation of allegations of illegal conduct and the protection of Whistleblowers.

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Terms and Abbreviations

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INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS

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Responsibility and competence

1. The Whistleblowing officer receives and handles Notifications submitted by Personnel, Associates or by a person carrying out a volunteer activity, apprenticeship or traineeship in CreativeDock Group.
2. The role of Whistleblowing Officer is primarily performed by the Head of Legal.
3. The Notification shall contain the name, surname and date of birth or other information from which the identity of the Whistleblower can be inferred; the information concerning the identity of the Whistleblower shall be presumed to be true. The Notification need not contain the particulars referred to in the first sentence if it is made by a person whose identity is known to the Whistleblowing officer.

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Status of the Whistleblowing officer

1. The position, knowledge, skills, abilities and qualities of the Whistleblowing officer must not give rise to any doubt that he or she is acting properly and impartially.
2. The Whistleblowing officer shall not be instructed or otherwise influenced in such a way as to impede or jeopardize the proper performance of their duties. The Whistleblowing Policy does not impact a senior manager's or superior officer's ability and responsibility to oversee the relevant person's activities. It still requires impartiality and confidentiality when handling information related to the Notification.
3. If the Whistleblowing officer has any potential bias due to their relationship with the Whistleblower or the information in the report, they should immediately pass the Notification to Internal Audit for processing.
4. If the Notification cannot be forwarded to Internal Audit for processing, the Whistleblowing officer shall inform the Whistleblower of this fact and inform them of their right to submit the Notification through the external Notification system under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice.

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RECEIVING AND HANDLING NOTIFICATIONS

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Receiving Notifications

The Whistleblowing officer shall receive the Notification in writing, orally or through the CreativeDock website. At the request of the Whistleblower, the Whistleblowing officer shall receive the Notification in person within a reasonable period of time, but no longer than 14 days from the date on which the Whistleblower so requests. If the time limit cannot be met for reasons attributable to the Whistleblower, the Whistleblowing officer shall note this fact in the file.

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Handling Notifications

1. The Whistleblowing officer shall inform the Whistleblower in writing of the receipt of the Notification without delay, but not later than 7 days from the date of receipt of the Notification. The first sentence shall not apply if the Whistleblower is not known to the Whistleblowing officer, if it is clear that such action would reveal the identity of the Whistleblower, or if the Whistleblower has so requested.
2. The Whistleblowing officer will evaluate the validity of the information in the Notification and notify the Whistleblower in writing about the outcome within 30 days of receiving it. For complex cases, either factually or legally, this period can be extended by up to 30 more days, but not more than twice. The officer must notify the Whistleblower in writing about any extension and its reasons before the original deadline. The rules in paragraph 1, sentence 2, shall apply similarly.
3. If the Notification does not contain all the necessary information or data, the Whistleblowing officer shall invite the Whistleblower to complete it. The Whistleblowing Officer will not ask for personal information to be completed if it is clear that it is an anonymous submission. 
4. If the assessment of reasonableness does not reveal an infringement, the Whistleblowing officer shall, within the time limit referred to in paragraph 2, inform the Whistleblower that no infringement was revealed and that the Whistleblower has the right to submit a Notification to the Ministry of Justice.
5. If during the assessment a potential violation is found, the Whistleblowing officer should, while keeping the identities of the Whistleblower and the person mentioned in Article 7(2)(a) to (h) confidential, promptly suggest actions to management of CreativeDock Group to prevent or address the violation. 
6. The Whistleblowing officer shall inform the Whistleblower in writing of the outcome of the investigation.
7. If a Notification to be received and dealt with by the Whistleblowing officer reaches another person or organizational unit of CreativeDock Group, it must be forwarded to the Whistleblowing officer for handling without delay, in a manner that ensures the confidentiality of the content of the Notification and the identity of the Whistleblower. At the same time, all information relating to the Notification must be deleted from the document file and the file, if possible.
8. If the Whistleblowing officer receives a submission that is outside their area of responsibility, it shall be immediately forwarded to the relevant organizational unit of CreativeDock Group. Before forwarding the submission, the Whistleblowing officer shall inform the submitter that the submission is not a Notification under the Whistleblower Protection Act and that the provisions in question do not apply. The Whistleblowing officer shall disqualify or otherwise conceal information and personal data from which the identity of the applicant can be inferred, unless the applicant consents to the forwarding of such information and data.
9. This regulation is without prejudice to the obligation to report criminal offenses and misdemeanors under current legislation.

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Recording and retention of Notifications

1. The Whistleblowing officer shall keep an electronic record of data on Notifications received, to the extent of
   a) the date of receipt of the Notification,
   b) the name, surname, date of birth and contact address of the Whistleblower, or other information from which the identity of the Whistleblower can be inferred, if known to the Whistleblowing officer,
   c) a summary of the content of the Notification and identification of the Concerned Person, if known,
   d) the date of completion of the assessment of the validity of the Notification by the Whistleblowing officer and its outcome,
   e) preventive or corrective measures proposed and taken.
2. The Whistleblowing officer shall keep the Notification and the documents relating to the Notification for 5 years from the date of receipt of the Notification.
3. Only the Whistleblowing officer shall have access to the records referred to in paragraph 1 and to the Notifications and documents kept pursuant to paragraph 2.

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Processing of personal data

1. The processing of personal data in connection with the Notification is not subject to the obligation to assess the impact of the processing on the protection of personal data.
2. Personal data is processed according to the generally applicable data protection regulations.
3. A request for access to personal data relating to a Notification shall be forwarded by the person in charge of the personal data protection agenda to the relevant person for processing.
4. If the Whistleblowing officer finds that no information is held in connection with the Notification or that an exemption from the obligation to provide such information applies, the request shall be deferred without further delay.
5. The obligation to notify a personal data breach to the data subject, while maintaining confidentiality under this Whistleblowing Policy, shall also apply to the Whistleblowing officer.

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PROTECTION FROM RETALIATION AND THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE WHISTLEBLOWING OFFICER AND OTHER PERSONS

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Protection of the Whistleblower and other persons

1. Retaliatory measure means an act or omission in connection with the work or other similar activity of a Whistleblower, which was triggered by a Notification and which is likely to cause harm to the Whistleblower or to a person referred to in paragraph 2(a) to (h); where these conditions are met, a retaliatory measure is in particular
   a) termination of the employment relationship or non-renewal of the fixed-term employment relationship,
   b) removal from a management position,
   c) the imposition of a disciplinary measure or disciplinary penalty,
   d) a reduction in salary, wages or remuneration or the refusal of a bonus,
   e) transfer or reassignment to another job or post,
   f) negative performance review,
   g) restriction of professional development,
   h) change of working or service hours,
   i) interference with the right to protection of personality.

2. Subject to the reprisal measure may not be neither the Whistleblower nor
   a) a person who has provided assistance in ascertaining the information contained in the Notification, filing the Notification or assessing its validity,
   b) a person who is close to the Whistleblower,
   c) a person who is an employee or colleague of the Whistleblower,
   d) a person controlled by the Whistleblower,
   e) a legal entity in which the Whistleblower has an interest, a person controlling it, a person controlled by it or a person controlled by the same controlling person as the legal entity,
   f) a legal entity of which the Whistleblower is a member of an elected body, a controlling person, a controlled person or a person controlled by the same controlling person,
   g) the person for whom the Whistleblower performs work or other similar activity, or
   h) a trust of which the Whistleblower or a legal entity referred to in point (e) or (f) is a founder or a beneficiary or whose assets are to be substantially increased by the Whistleblower or a legal entity referred to in point (e) or (f) through contract or will.

3. The Notification and the conduct of the Whistleblower or the person referred to in paragraph 2(a) to (h) in connection with the discovery of information which subsequently becomes the subject of the Notification shall not be considered a breach of a contractual or legal obligation, except where the conduct in connection with the discovery of such information constitutes the commission of a criminal offense; this shall not apply unless the Whistleblower or the person referred to in paragraph 2(a) to (h) had reasonable grounds for believing that the Notification was necessary to disclose the breach referred to in Article 1(2).

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Authorisation of the Whistleblowing officer

1. In assessing the validity of the Notification, the Whistleblowing officer shall be entitled to
   a) require proof of the identity of the Concerned Person or of a Person involved in the investigation by producing an identification card,
   b) require the disclosure of information and the production or access to documents, audiovisual and digital recordings and other items that may be relevant to the Notification,
   c) make electronic images, extracts, copies or copies of documents produced or made available,
   d) to make copies of audiovisual and digital recordings submitted or made available,
   e) to make an audio or visual recording of their oral speech with the consent of the Concerned Person or a person involved in the investigation,
   f) enter any premises in CreativeDock Group that may be related to the Notification.
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2. In the course of the investigation, the Whistleblowing officer is further entitled to request an oral explanation from the Concerned Person or from the Person involved in the investigation, which they may refuse to give; the Whistleblowing officer shall inform them of this fact. The Whistleblowing officer shall draw up a record of the course and content of the explanation or make an audio or visual recording. The record shall be signed by the Whistleblowing officer and the person who gave the explanation. This shall be without prejudice to the obligation of confidentiality under this Whistleblowing Policy.
3. The Whistleblowing officer shall furthermore be entitled to require CreativeDock Group staff to provide a written professional opinion on the factual and legal issues related to the Notification within a reasonable period of time, without prejudice to the obligation of confidentiality under this Whistleblowing Policy.

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Obligations of the Whistleblowing officer

1. The Whistleblowing officer shall carry out their activities in person.
2. The Whistleblowing officer shall act impartially in the exercise of their activities.
3. The Whistleblowing officer shall maintain the confidentiality of the identity of the Whistleblower and of the person referred to in Article 7(2)(a) to (h), as well as of any information that could lead to the disclosure of their identity; this shall not apply if the Whistleblower or the person referred to in Article 7(2)(a) to (h) gives their written consent to a procedure that could jeopardize confidentiality. This is without prejudice to Article 4(4).
4. The Whistleblowing officer may disclose the identity of the Concerned Person to a necessarily wide range of other persons where this is necessary for the proper investigation of the information contained in the Notification or for the design or imposition of preventive or remedial action.
5. The Whistleblowing officer shall also maintain the confidentiality of information the disclosure of which could undermine or jeopardize the purpose of the Notification, in particular the proper investigation of the information contained in the Notification and the prevention or remedying of the infringement.
6. Information and personal data about which confidentiality is maintained is not provided by the Whistleblowing officer.
7. The Whistleblowing officer shall submit a written report on their activities for the preceding calendar year to the CreativeDock Group Chief Executive Officer by 1 March of the following calendar year. Unless such a procedure breaches confidentiality under this Whistleblowing Policy, the report shall at least indicate
   a) total number of Notifications,
   b) the number of Notifications that have been forwarded to another Whistleblowing officer for investigation, including the reasons,
   c) the number of Notifications that have been forwarded to the competent public authority,
   d) the number of ongoing investigations,
   e) number of completed investigations,
   f) the number of Notifications for which the information contained therein could not be investigated, including the reasons,
   g) the deficiencies identified, the preventive or corrective measures proposed and the preventive or corrective measures taken.

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Obligations of other persons

1. The Concerned Person and the person involved in the investigation shall be obliged to allow the Whistleblowing officer to exercise their authority, unless otherwise provided for in this Whistleblowing Policy. 
2. Confidentiality under this Whistleblowing Policy shall be maintained by any person who gains access to protected information or personal data.
3. The Chief Executive Officer shall publish the report referred to in Article 9(7) in a manner allowing remote access within 15 days of its submission by the Whistleblowing officer.