Whistleblowers

PROCEDURE FOR REPORTING LEGAL VIOLATIONS AND TAKING FOLLOW-UP ACTIONS AT CHEMA-ELEKTROMET WORKERS' COOPERATIVE IN RZESZOW

General rules

§ 1

This Procedure specifies the methods, principles, and procedures for receiving reports of legal violations made by whistleblowers and for taking follow-up actions in connection with these reports, applicable at Chema - Elektromet Workers' Cooperative in Rzeszow (hereinafter referred to as Chema).
The reporting process implemented at Chema allows whistleblowers to submit reports through specially established channels, in a manner that ensures protection against retaliation actions that may result from the report.
Whistleblowers who submit reports in bad faith, false reports, or knowingly and intentionally provide misleading information when submitting a report are not protected.
The terms used in the Procedure mean:
1. anonymous – a report made by a person whose identity cannot be identified;
2. retaliatory action – direct or indirect action or omission in a work-related context caused by the report or public disclosure, which violates or may violate the whistleblower's rights, or causes or may cause unjustified harm to the whistleblower, including unjustified initiation of proceedings against the whistleblower;
3. follow-up action – action taken by an authorized Chema employee to assess the veracity of the information contained in the report and to counteract the legal violation subject of the report, in particular through an investigation, initiation of control or administrative proceedings, filing of charges, action to recover financial resources, or closure of the procedure carried out under the internal procedure;
4. information about a legal violation – information, including reasonable suspicion, about an existing or potential legal violation that occurred or is likely to occur at Chema, where the whistleblower participated in the recruitment process or other negotiations preceding the conclusion of a contract, is or was employed, or in another legal entity with which the whistleblower maintains or maintained contact in a work-related context, or information about an attempt to conceal such a legal violation;
5. feedback – information on planned or taken follow-up actions and the reasons for such actions provided to the whistleblower;
6. work-related context – past, present, or future work-related activities based on an employment relationship or another legal relationship constituting the basis for the provision of work or services, or holding a function at Chema, or serving, within which the information about the legal violation was obtained, and there is a possibility of experiencing retaliatory actions;
7. legal violation – action or omission that is contrary to the law or aims to circumvent the law;
8. person assisting in making the report – a natural person who assists the whistleblower in reporting or public disclosure in a work-related context and whose assistance should not be disclosed;
9. person concerned by the report – a natural or legal person, or an organizational unit without legal personality, to whom the law grants legal capacity, who is indicated in the report or public disclosure as a person who committed a legal violation or as a person associated with the one who committed the legal violation;
10. person associated with the whistleblower – a natural person who may experience retaliatory actions, including a co-worker or a person close to the whistleblower, i.e., spouse, ascendant, descendant, sibling, relative in the same line or degree, person in an adoptive relationship and their spouse, as well as a person in a cohabiting relationship;
11. whistleblower – a natural person who reports or publicly discloses information about a legal violation obtained in a work-related context, including:

employee;
temporary employee;
person performing work on a basis other than an employment relationship, including under a civil law contract;
entrepreneur;
proxy;
shareholder or partner;
member of the body of a legal person or an organizational unit without legal personality;
person performing work under the supervision and direction of a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier;
intern;
apprentice;
volunteer;
officer as defined in Article 1(1) of the Act of February 18, 1994, on the Retirement Benefits of Police Officers, Internal Security Agency, Foreign Intelligence Agency, Military Counterintelligence Service, Military Intelligence Service, Central Anticorruption Bureau, Border Guard, Marshal's Guard, State Protection Service, State Fire Service, Customs and Tax Service, and Prison Service and their families;
soldier as defined in Article 2(39) of the Act of March 11, 2022, on the Defense of the Homeland;

public disclosure – making information about a legal violation public;
internal report – written communication of information about a legal violation;
external report – oral or written communication to the Ombudsman or a public authority regarding a legal violation.

Definition of violation of law

§ 2

A legal violation is an action or omission that is contrary to the law or aimed at circumventing the law, concerning:

corruption;
public procurement;
services, products, and financial markets;
counteracting money laundering and terrorist financing;
product safety and compliance with requirements;
transport safety;
environmental protection;
radiological protection and nuclear safety;
food and feed safety;
animal health and welfare;
public health;
consumer protection;
privacy and personal data protection;
security of network and information systems;
financial interests of the Treasury of the Republic of Poland, local government units, and the European Union;
the internal market of the European Union, including public law principles of competition and state aid, as well as taxation of legal entities;
constitutional freedoms and rights of individuals and citizens – occurring in relations between individuals and public authorities and unrelated to the areas listed in points 1–16.

Internal reporting

§ 3

An internal report may be made in writing in the following ways:

by mail to the address: Chema – Elektromet Workers' Cooperative, ul. Przemysłowa 9, 35-105 Rzeszow,
in person by placing the report in the mailbox located in the staircase of the Chema building at ul. Przemysłowa 9,

Reports should be submitted in a sealed envelope with the note "legal violation report," which is then immediately forwarded to the person referred to in § 4 sec. 1.
To ensure efficient handling of reports, it is recommended to submit them using the report form, which is attached as Annex No. 1 to this Procedure.
Anonymous reports will not be accepted.
The report should describe the event in detail. In the report referred to in sec. 1, the following should be included in particular:

indicate the person(s) concerned by the report;
indicate the subject of the violation;
provide the date and place of occurrence or duration;
disclose evidence supporting the report (if the reporting person has such evidence);
provide the data of the reporting person, including their status and personal information;
provide the data of persons assisting in the report and persons associated with the reporter, if they are employed at Chema;
indicate whether the reporter consents to the disclosure of their identity;
indicate the address to which confirmation of the report should be sent, as referred to in § 6 sec. 1.

The dates of occurrence or duration referred to in sec. 5 pt. 3 are not indicated in the case of a potential legal violation that is likely to occur.

§ 4

The entity authorized to receive reports at Chema is a designated employee with written authorization from the Management Board – Head of the Organizational-Legal Department.
If the report is received by an unauthorized employee, that employee is obliged to:

not disclose information that could lead to identifying the reporting person or the person concerned by the report;
immediately forward the report to the authorized employee without making any changes to it.

The entity authorized to handle reports at Chema and take follow-up actions, including verifying the report and further communication with the reporter, including requesting additional information and providing feedback to the reporter, is the Commission.
The Commission consists of persons designated by the Management Board for the given report who have written authorization from the Management Board to perform the above tasks.
In carrying out the tasks mentioned above, authorized persons are obliged to treat all reports with due seriousness and diligence in a confidential manner, and impartiality and objectivity must be observed in handling them.

§ 5

Internal reports may be submitted in particular by:

Chema employees;
former Chema employees;
persons applying for employment at Chema;
interns;
persons performing work for the employer on a basis other than an employment relationship.

Upon receipt of the report, the authorized person forwards the report to the Management Board.
The Management Board appoints a commission to review the report.
The report is recorded in the internal report register maintained by the authorized person. The template for the report register is attached as Annex No. 2 to this Procedure.

Follow-up

§ 6

The employee authorized to receive reports, as mentioned in § 4 sec. 1, informs the reporting person of the receipt of the report immediately, but no later than within 7 days from the date of receipt. The confirmation is sent to the address provided in the report unless the reporter has not provided a contact address to which the confirmation should be sent.
The template of the confirmation for the reporter of the receipt of the legal violation report is attached as Annex No. 3 to this Procedure.
The Commission immediately conducts a preliminary verification of the report to assess the validity of the allegations contained in the report and to counteract the legal violation subject to the report, especially when, due to the subject of the report, the legal violation could seriously disrupt the functioning of Chema or endanger the life or health of employees and users of Chema's services.

§ 7

To determine the validity of the allegations in the report, the Commission may ask the reporting person for explanations or additional information regarding the submitted legal violation report. For this purpose, the Commission uses the contact details provided by the reporting person.
Refusal to provide explanations or additional information, as mentioned in sec. 1, does not suspend the further proceedings, including the investigation process.

§ 8

The Commission decides to conduct:

an internal investigation, including the identification of evidence (from documentation, witnesses) on which the reporting person bases their report, or

refrains from carrying out the actions referred to in item 1 if at least one of the circumstances referred to in sec. 3 occurs.

The actions referred to in item 1 should not last longer than 2 months from the date of the legal violation report.

The Commission informs the Management Board, the reporting person, and the employee concerned by the report of the decision to refrain from taking follow-up actions within 7 days of the report or 7 days from the initiation of follow-up actions, providing the findings of the preliminary verification of the report.
The Commission refrains from conducting an internal investigation if:

the report does not concern information about a legal violation;
the matter has already been the subject of a previous report, and the new report does not contain significant new information regarding violations compared to the previous internal report;
the report is obviously unreliable or it is impossible to obtain the information necessary to conduct an investigation.

In the cases referred to in sec. 3, the Commission records this fact along with the justification in the register mentioned in § 5 sec. 4.

§ 9

The Commission may request the Management Board to allow other Chema employees, whose knowledge, experience, or information in the area covered by the report may contribute to clarifying the matter, to participate in the investigation. These persons may participate in the proceedings based on written authorization issued by the Management Board.
If the circumstances of the case warrant it, the Commission may conduct an investigation, including interviewing employees who are or may be related to the subject of the proceedings and analyzing internal documentation to confront it with the submitted internal report. A record of the employee interviews is prepared and included in the case file.
If the circumstances of the case warrant it, the Commission may – with prior consent from the Management Board – seek expert opinions requiring specialist knowledge, including from an expert, legal advisor, attorney, or specialist in a given field.

§ 10

After conducting the actions referred to in §§ 7–9, the Commission evaluates the collected evidence.
The Commission, taking into account the evidence referred to in sec. 1, prepares a report of the proceedings, which it presents to the Management Board within no more than 2 months from the date of receiving the report. The template of the report is attached as Annex No. 4 to this Procedure.
The report referred to in sec. 2 should include in particular:

a description of the subject of the report;
the person concerned by the report;
the actions taken in the internal investigation and the follow-up actions;
the findings of the facts;
recommended corrective actions.

§ 11

After reviewing the report referred to in § 10 sec. 2, the Management Board takes appropriate measures, adequate to the type of legal violation, including disciplinary actions against employees responsible for the violations and actions to prevent future legal violations.

§ 12

The Management Board provides the reporting person with feedback stating whether a legal violation has occurred or not and informs them of the measures that have been or will be taken in response to the confirmed legal violation. The feedback explains the reasons for the action taken.
The feedback referred to in sec. 1 is provided to the reporting person within 3 months from the date of confirmation of receipt of the report or, in the case of failure to provide confirmation to the reporter, within 3 months from the expiration of 7 days from the date of the report, unless the reporter has not provided a contact address to which the feedback should be sent.

Prohibition of retaliation

§ 13

It is prohibited to take retaliatory actions, attempt to apply them, or threaten to take such actions against the person reporting a violation or public disclosure – in accordance with the Act of June 14, 2024, on the protection of whistleblowers.
It is prohibited to take retaliatory actions against a person who assisted the person reporting the violation in making the report, as well as against a person who is associated with the reporting person.
Engaging in any repressive, discriminatory, or other forms of unfair treatment towards the person reporting a violation will be considered a violation of this Procedure and may result in disciplinary responsibility or termination of the contract binding the person engaging in retaliatory actions with the Employer.
A threat or an attempt to apply the measures specified in sec. 3 above is also considered a retaliatory action due to reporting or public disclosure.
A person reporting a violation in bad faith (i.e., knowing that the violation did not occur) is not entitled to the protection provided for in this Procedure and in the Act of June 14, 2024, on the protection of whistleblowers.
A person who suffered damage due to a report made in so-called bad faith has the right to claim compensation or redress for the violation of personal rights from the person reporting the violation.

Personal Data Protection

§ 14

The personal data of the person reporting the violation and the person concerned by the report are protected by law in accordance with personal data protection regulations. The information clause is attached as Annex No. 5 to this Procedure.
The personal data of the person reporting the violation that allows their identity to be determined is not disclosed to unauthorized persons unless the reporting person consents to its disclosure, except in situations where the disclosure of the reporter's identity is required by applicable law.
Maintaining confidentiality aims to guarantee a sense of security for the reporting person and minimize the risk of retaliatory or repressive actions. The person reporting the violation, whose personal data has been unlawfully disclosed, should immediately notify the Commission of the situation.
Personal data that is not relevant to the handling of the report is not collected, and in case of accidental collection, it is deleted within 14 days of determining that it is not relevant to the case.

External reporting

§ 15

The procedure for making external reports is specified in Chapter 4 of the Act of June 14, 2024, on the protection of whistleblowers.
An external report may be made without prior internal reporting.
An external report involves providing information about a legal violation to the Ombudsman or a public authority.

Final provisions

§ 16

In matters not regulated herein, the relevant provisions of the Act of June 14, 2024, on the protection of whistleblowers shall apply.

§ 17

Employees employed at Chema familiarize themselves with this Procedure, and confirm this fact with their handwritten signature. The declaration in this regard is attached to the employees' personnel files. The declaration template is attached as Annex No. 6 to this Procedure.
In the case of newly hired employees, the Organizational-Legal Department familiarizes the employee with the Procedure before allowing them to commence work.