What exactly is Whistleblowing and why should you care?
Find out what is behind the term „Whistleblowing“ and why you should care! Otherwise, the Whistleblower Protection Act does not have a long history in the Czech Republic, but the new legislation brings changes. This is an opportunity to move in the right direction.
Many employees are afraid to report wrongdoing because they don’t know how to speak up, to maintain anonymity, or they fear the consequences, and sometimes they don’t even know they should report something. Our company wants to remove these barriers.
The basis is transparent communication with whistleblowers and ensuring their anonymity. That is why we have introduced a secure Internal Notification System for submitting notifications of possible illegal actions in accordance with Act No. 171/2023 Coll., on the Protection of Whistleblowers.
What kind of illegal act can this be?
It is an illegal act of a natural or legal person that the whistleblower learned about in connection with work or other similar activity performed for the company, which has occurred or is expected to occur, i.e. only actions that:
a) has elements of a criminal offence,
b) has the characteristics of an offense for which the law stipulates a fine
rate, the upper limit of which is at least 100,000 CZK,
c) violates Act No. 171/2023 Coll., on the protection of whistleblowers, or
d) violates another legal regulation or regulation of the European Union in the area of:
• financial services, statutory audit and other verification services, financial products and financial markets,
• corporate income taxes,
• preventing the legalization of proceeds from criminal activity and the financing of terrorism,
• consumer protection
• compliance with product requirements, including their safety,
• traffic safety, transport and road traffic,
• environmental protection,
• food and feed safety and protection of animals and their health,
• radiation protection and nuclear safety,
• economic competition, public auctions and public procurement,
• protection of internal order and safety, life and health,
• protection of personal data, privacy and security of electronic communications networks and information systems,
• protection of the financial interests of the European Union, or
• the functioning of the internal market, including the protection of economic competition and state aid according to European Union law
All notifications will be assessed objectively, impartially and confidentially by the relevant person Bc. Jana Opálkova, economic director of the company, e-mail: oznameni@moraviastamping.com, mobile: +420 778 478 449.
Internally, we have issued an internal directive that sets out the rules for using the notification system. The aim is to define the exact procedure for submitting and processing notifications and to prevent abuse of this tool, while the company reserves the right to ignore, for example, vulgar suggestions. All employees will be familiarized with the content of this directive in detail.
How can a notification be made?
Filing a notice is easy and you have several options to choose from:
- Electronically: Send your notice to the specified e-mail address oznameni@moraviasstamping.com or fill out the online form: OPEN FORM
- Written notice by mail: Send your notice by mail. Mark the envelope in a visible place with the inscription DO NOT OPEN and address it to the hands of the relevant person Bc. Jana Opálková to the address of MORAVIA Stamping a.s., Nádražní 336, 742 45 Fulnek;
- Telephone line: Call the special telephone line reserved for announcements +420 778 478 449. You can record your announcement on the answering machine at any time in the form of a voice message. Relevant person min. once a day he listens to all messages, records them in writing and, if necessary, contacts the notifier in order to complete or clarify the details of the notification. The relevant person will always attend to you personally on the phone on working days between 14:00 and 15:30.
- In person: Arrange a personal meeting on phone +420 778 478 449 with the relevant person. The face-to-face meeting will take place discreetly at an agreed upon location at a specific time, and you may make your announcement verbally.
If the Notifier submits the Notification in a way other than the one mentioned above, the company cannot guarantee, or exclude disclosure of the Notice and identity of the Notifier to employees or third parties other than the Relevant Person.
By submitting a Notification, the Notifier is not released from the obligation to notify the competent authority active in criminal proceedings of suspicions of the commission of criminal offenses for which there is a mandatory notification obligation according to § 368 of the Criminal Code.
Who can file a notification?
The whistleblower can only be:
• employee of MORAVIA Stamping a.s.,
• an employee of the Employment Agency who was assigned to perform work at MORAVIA Stamping a.s.,
• a natural person working for MORAVIA Stamping a.s. on the basis of an agreement on work carried out outside the employment relationship (agreement on the performance of work, agreement on work activities),
• a natural person working for the company MORAVIA Stamping a.s. volunteer activity (help provided by volunteers, volunteer service, various interest activities),
• a natural person working for the company MORAVIA Stamping a.s. professional practice or internship,
• applicant for employment, volunteering, professional experience or internship
regardless of whether the person performs the relevant work for MORAVIA Stamping a.s. performed or performs, or applied for it (successfully or unsuccessfully). Other persons are excluded from the possibility of submitting a notification.
Notification content
The content of the notification, the scope and quality of the information submitted can positively influence the way the notification is investigated. Therefore, the notification must contain minimum basic data, including the identification data of the notifier.
Legal notice content:
• Identification data of the whistleblower – name, surname, date of birth, or other data from which the identity of the whistleblower can be deduced, for example the employee’s personal number; the notification does not have to contain these data if it was submitted by a person whose identity is known to the Relevant Person,
• contact details of the notifier – details on which the notifier prefers to be contacted by the Relevant Person and informed about further steps and the result of processing the notification (e.g. delivery address, e-mail address),
• a true description of the illegal act – the area of the illegal act, verifiable information about the illegal act, identification of the persons to whom the notification is directed, if their identity is known, etc.,
• identification (attachment) of evidence – documents supporting the alleged facts, e.g. documents, identification of witnesses, etc.
• date, signature of the notifier
What is not a notification
It is not possible to report knowingly false facts, such behavior may be sanctioned. A whistleblower who knowingly submits a false report is responsible for his actions towards the person affected by the report (employee, etc.), who may invoke claims from the right to the protection of personality, e.g. compensation for damage or unjust enrichment. The whistleblower may also be liable for committing a misdemeanor, in more serious cases a criminal offense (e.g. criminal defamation, false accusation). Filing a knowingly false report is an offense according to § 23 of Act No. 171/2023 Coll., on the protection of whistleblowers, for which a fine of up to 50,000 CZK can be imposed.
The company will also not deal with harassing (malicious) notices, notices containing derogatory terms or anonymous notices.
Protection of the whistleblower and other affected persons
The whistleblower is guaranteed identity protection. Only the Relevant Person has access to notifications. The whistleblower and other affected persons are protected against retaliation.
Retaliation is the conduct of MORAVIA Stamping a.s. or its omission in connection with the whistleblower’s work with the Company, which was caused solely in response to the notification made and which may cause harm to the whistleblower or other protected data subjects; when these conditions are met, the retaliatory measure is in particular:
a) termination of the employment relationship or non-extension of the employment relationship for a fixed period,
b) cancellation of the legal relationship established by an agreement on the performance of work or an agreement on work activities,
c) dismissal from the position of a senior employee,
d) imposing a disciplinary measure,
e) reduction of salary or remuneration or non-granting of personal allowance,
f) transfer or transfer to another job,
g) job evaluation or job report,
h) failure to enable professional development,
i) change of working hours,
j) requiring a medical opinion or an occupational medical examination,
k) termination or withdrawal from the contract, or
l) interference with the right to the protection of personality.
In addition to the whistleblower, other protected affected persons cannot be subjected to retaliation, i.e.:
a) the person who provided assistance in ascertaining the information that is the content of the notification, submitting the notification or assessing its reasonableness,
b) a person who is a close person in relation to the whistleblower (relative in the direct line, sibling, spouse or partner, persons in law, persons who live together permanently, other close persons for whom harm suffered by one of them, the other reasonably felt it was her own harm),
c) a person who is an employee or colleague of the whistleblower,
d) a person controlled by the reporting party,
e) a legal entity in which the notifier has a stake, a person controlling it, a person controlled by it or a person who is controlled by the same controlling person with this legal entity,
f) a legal entity whose elected body the notifier is a member of, a controlling person, a controlled person or a person controlled by the same controlling person,
g) the person for whom the informant performs work or other similar activity,
h) is the founder or a trustee, or in relation to which the declarant or a legal entity pursuant to letter e) or f) is a person who substantially increases the assets of the trust fund by contract or acquisition in case of death.
A measure that is based on honest and legitimate reasons of MORAVIA Stamping a.s., which is not related to the submitted notification, but which may nevertheless cause harm to the notifier or the protected persons concerned, is not considered a retaliatory measure.
However, protection cannot be granted to a person who knowingly submitted a false report and did not act in good faith, but with the intention of harming MORAVIA Stamping a.s. or the person against whom the report is directed.
Notification to the Ministry of Justice
The notifier is also entitled to submit a Notification through the external notification system managed by the Ministry of Justice https://oznamovatel.justice.cz, or to submit a notification directly to the relevant public authority that has supervisory authority in the matter.
Protection of personal data
When processing personal data in connection with the submission of a notification, the company as administrator will proceed in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the General Data Protection Regulation („GDPR“) and Act. No. 110/2019 Coll., on the processing of personal data, and other generally binding legal regulations of the Czech Republic regarding the protection of personal data. Familiarize yourself with the „Information on the processing of personal data“ on our website Privacy policy – MORAVIA Stamping a.s.
More information can be found in Act No. 171/2023 Coll., on the protection of whistleblowers
Unfair/illegal activity notification form.
By clicking on the text below this paragraph, a Google form will open for you to fill in your notification. Filling in personal or contact information is optional. However, please keep in mind that adding more information can help to resolve your case more quickly and efficiently.
Open form
Or contact us on our phone number:
+420 778 478 449