Whistleblower Protection Act
Information about our whistleblowing protection platform
Due to the Whistleblower Protection Act of July 2, 2023, we offer our employees, suppliers and customers a “whistleblowing” wwhistleblower system via our homepage as a new service. You can also provide information about legal or ethical grievances or misconduct in our company. These can be submitted with your name or anonymously.
This includes, for example, violations of applicable law or company policies, such as the misuse of data as well as corruption or violations of occupational safety regulations.
The report may concern behavior by all employees and/or third parties (external business partners or service providers) that does not comply with or violates legal regulations, company guidelines or operational regulations.
The whistleblower system can be used if other means through superiors or other contacts have failed and/or you fear disadvantages for yourself if the violation is discovered. This will allow you to submit a confidential, protected report in the future.
What can you do?
If you witness something wrong or if you only hear about such situations in passing, or if you are pressured into a certain action by a colleague or superior, you can submit a trustworthy and protected report using various reporting channels. You can do this anonymously or by providing your contact details.
Which external reporting procedures exist?
As a whistleblower, in accordance with Section 7 (1) page 1 of the Whistleblower Protection Act, you can generally choose whether you contact our internal reporting office or an external reporting office (listed below).
In cases in which effective internal action can be taken against the violation, and you do not have to fear reprisals, you should preferably contact the reporting office set up by us in accordance with Section 7 (1) page 2 of the Whistleblower Protection Act with your report.
If an internally reported violation has not been remedied, you are free to contact an external reporting agency.
External reporting offices relevant to our industry are set up a
- Federal Office of Justice
- Federal Cartel Office
- Federal Institute for Financial Services Supervision (BaFin)
- EU Commission
- European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
- European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)
How can the report be submitted?
Use our online platform “Whistleblower Protection System” from our external service provider MKM Compliance GmbH. You can choose whether you submit the report anonymously or provide information about yourself voluntarily.
By clicking on the button you will go directly to the whistleblower system.
Go to MKM Whistleblowing System
How will my report be processed?
We have selected MKM Compliance GmbH (Leipziger Platz 9, 10117 Berlin, Germany) as our partner for operating the platform. Every incoming report is first received and processed by MKM’s compliance employees. The content of the report, including the persons named there, is always treated confidentially and then only passed on to the OBO management for further processing. If the report was not submitted anonymously, the identity of the whistleblower will only be passed on to the management if he/she has not consented to further use of his/her name. If the report is submitted anonymously, it is impossible to draw any conclusions about the whistleblower’s identity.
In the case of anonymous reports, the legislator does not stipulate any obligation to process the information reseived. OBO therefore reserves the right not to provess anonymous reports. However, every serious report will be examined and processed.
If the whistleblower provides personal information, OBO will only release the registered information, including the names of those affected, to other places if this is enforced by courts or authorities or if the person concerned has consented. If the report is submitted anonymously, it is not possible to reveal the identity of the whistleblower, even if requested by the public prosecutor.
Best regards
OBO-Werke GmbH