In accordance with the Luxembourg law of 16 May 2023 implementing Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (the “Law of 16 May 2023”), LUNEX has implemented an internal reporting procedure to enable individuals, who acquired information in work-related context on any act or omission that is unlawful or goes against the object or purpose of directly applicable Luxembourg or European legal provisions (a “Breach”), to report such Breach (the “Whistleblower(s)”).
Who can make a report?
- employees of LUNEX (whether permanent, temporary, full-time or part-time) (“Staff“);
- trainees of LUNEX;
- former employees of LUNEX and persons whose work-based relationship is yet not begin in cases where information on Breaches has been acquired during the recruitment process or other pre-contractual negotiations;
- current and former employees of LUNEX’s contractors, subcontractors and suppliers and persons involved in pre-contractual negotiations;
- volunteers;
- current and former self-employed workers in business contact with LUNEX;
- corporate governance members (shareholders and members of the LUNEX’s administrative, management or supervisory bodies, including non-executive members);
- facilitators, i.e. natural persons who assist a whistleblower during the reporting process in a professional context and whose assistance should be confidential;
- third parties who are connected with a whistleblower and who are at risk of retaliation in a professional context, such as colleagues or relatives of a whistleblower; and
- legal entities belonging to a whistleblower or for which they work, or with which they have a professional relationship.
What Breaches can be reported?
Whistleblowing is the communication of information about Breaches (the “Report”) by a Whistleblower.
A Report may concern, for example:
- criminal activities;
- a health or safety hazard;
- damage to the environment;
- failure to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation;
- bribery or corruption;
- unauthorised disclosure of confidential information;
- conduct that harms or is likely to harm the financial position of LUNEX, its affiliates, branches or subsidiaries directly or indirectly related to LUNEX or its successors;
- conflicts of interest or unlawful taking of an interest; or
- deliberate concealment of any of the above matters.
Breaches which can be reported do not include work-related personal grievances, which are grievances relating to the current or former employment or engagement of a Whistleblower, which have implications for them personally and do not fall within the definition of Breach. Examples of work-related personal grievances include disputes between members of the Staff and decisions relating to the employment or engagement of a member of the Staff, such as transfer, promotion or disciplinary action.
How to make an internal report?
LUNEX encourages Whistleblowers to make a report about a Breach through LUNEX’s internal reporting channel (an “Internal Report(s)”) and prior to reporting through external reporting channels. The objective is to enable LUNEX to take action to prevent harm to Whistleblowers or damage to LUNEX’s performance or reputation.
The following procedure must be followed by a Whistleblower wishing to make an internal report, as outsourced to the law firm Arendt & Medernach S.A. (the “Service Provider”):
- The Whistleblower should send the internal report in writing to the Service Provider as soon as possible after the Breach occurs or the Whistleblower becomes aware of the Breach or potential Breach, using one of the methods below:
- by e-mail: whistleblowing@arendt.com;
- by post: Arendt & Medernach S.A. c/o Whistleblowing Procedures, 41A Avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg.
The Report can be made in any of the following languages: French, German, Luxembourgish and English.
One of the recipients of internal reports will record the details of the internal report anonymously in a confidential file for monitoring purposes.
- The internal report should be made in writing and should indicate:
- the nature of the Breach;
- the identity of the person(s) concerned;
- the date(s) and time(s) when the Breach was committed or
observed; - the apparent duration of the Breach;
- the names of witnesses (if any) to the Breach; and
- the measures already taken (if any) to prevent or stop the Breach.
Safeguards are put in place at each stage of the procedure to prevent the disclosure of any information that could lead to the identification of a Whistleblower. LUNEX’s internal reporting channel is designed, implemented and managed in a secure manner that ensures the confidentiality of the identity of the Whistleblower and any third party mentioned in a Report, and prevents unauthorised personnel from accessing it.
Through these internal reporting channel, LUNEX undertakes to protect the Whistleblower and to deal with Internal Reports in accordance with the legal provisions and deadlines provided for by the Law of 16 May 2023. In particular, the Whistleblower will receive an acknowledgement of receipt of his/her Internal Report within 7 working days following receipt of the Internal Report.
The Whistleblower will receive feedback in accordance with, and within the deadline, provided for by the Law of 16 May 2023.
LUNEX’s Administration department is responsible for ensuring that the Internal Report is properly followed-up.
Whistleblowers are encouraged to report through the internal reporting channel indicated above in order to ensure that the Internal Report is processed as quickly and efficiently as possible. However, Whistleblowers may also report information about Breaches using the channels and procedures referred to in articles 17 and 19 of the Law of 16 May 2023, after having reported through the internal reporting channel or by reporting directly through external reporting channels.
Important:
This reporting channel only concerns internal reports/whistleblowers within the meaning of the Law of 16 May 2023 and does not constitute a communication channel for other various complaints. For such type of communication, you are invited to use the following email address: hr@lunex.lu.