Whistleblowing Report

The eustream, a.s. (”Eustream”) company promotes a fair, transparent and competitive environment to be established with an emphasis on the ethical principles of conduct. Pursuant to the requirements of Act No. 54/2019 Coll. on the Protection of Whistleblowers and on Amendments to Certain Acts (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”), Eustream has established an internal system for receiving, recording, and investigating whistleblowing reports on the misconduct harmful to the society.

Misconduct harmful to the society shall be understood as an act that is a criminal offense, misdemeanor, or other administrative offense, as well as other act with a negative impact on society (hereinafter referred to as the “misconduct harmful to the society”).

Submitting a Whistleblowing Report

A whistleblowing report means the reporting of facts of which the natural person has become aware in connection with their employment relationship or another equivalent relationship and which relate to misconduct harmful to the society.

A qualified whistleblowing report means a whistleblowing report which may contribute or has contributed to the clarification of serious misconduct harmful to the society or to the detection or conviction of its perpetrator.

The whistleblowing report can be submitted by an employee or a third party (for example, a customer or supplier); it can be anonymous or non-anonymous.

Whistleblowing reports are received through the following channels:

An e-mail message sent to the address eticka.linka@eustream.sk. Submission of whistleblowing reports via e-mail is possible continuously;
By sending the report by post delivered to the address of the Company's registered office: eustream, a.s., Votrubova 11/A, 821 09 Bratislava − in this case, the envelope shall be clearly marked “Ethical Line - Do Not Open!”.

The whistleblowing report can also be submitted through external channels, or through another authority competent to receive reports pursuant to Section 2 (g) of the Act.

Whistleblower

A whistleblower means a natural person who, in good faith, makes a whistleblowing report to the authority competent to receive whistleblowing reports, or to the employer.

A whistleblower shall also include a natural person who, in good faith:

Makes a whistleblowing report and their employment relationship or another equivalent relationship has been terminated, if such person has become aware of information about the misconduct harmful to the society during such employment relationship or another equivalent relationship;
Makes a whistleblowing report and their employment or other equivalent relationship has not yet come into existence, if such person has become aware of information about the misconduct harmful to the society during the selection procedure or in the context of pre-contractual relations;
Made a whistleblowing report anonymously and their identity was revealed;
Has disclosed information about the misconduct harmful to the society, which has come to their knowledge during the selection procedure or in the context of pre-contractual relations, and such person’s employment relationship or another equivalent relationship has not yet come into existence, or during the employment relationship or another equivalent relationship or after the termination of the employment relationship or another equivalent relationship on the grounds that
- Such person has made a whistleblowing report via the internal system for the investigation of whistleblowing reports and has not been notified of the outcome of the investigation, or no appropriate measures have been taken, and has subsequently made such whistleblowing report to an authority competent to receive whistleblowing reports and has not been notified of the status of the investigation or the outcome of the investigation in due course;
- Has made a whistleblowing report to an authority competent to receive whistleblowing reports and has not been notified of the status of the investigation or the outcome of the investigation in due course;
- There is a reasonable concern that the misconduct harmful to the society may constitute an imminent or obvious threat to the public interest; or
- There is a reasonable concern that such person would be subject to a retaliation if they made the whistleblowing report to an authority competent to receive whistleblowing reports or, in the specific circumstances of the case, there is a threat that the authorities competent to receive whistleblowing reports would fail to ensure an impartial and independent investigation of the facts set out in the whistleblowing report.

Prohibition of Retaliatory Measures

No person shall threaten to retaliate or actually retaliate against

A whistleblower;
A close person of the whistleblower;
A natural person – entrepreneur or a legal person which the whistleblower controls, in which the whistleblower has an interest, in which the whistleblower holds an office as a member of a body of the legal person, or for which the whistleblower performs an employment activity;
A natural person – entrepreneur or a legal person which controls the legal person in which the whistleblower has an interest or in which the whistleblower holds an office as a member of a body of the legal person;
A person who provided assistance to the whistleblower in relation to the whistleblower report;
A person responsible or a person involved in the performance of the tasks of the person responsible.

Retaliatory measures are the acts defined in Section 2 (l) of the Act, such as dismissal, immediate termination of employment, transfer to a lower position, reduction in wages, non-award of a bonus, coercion, intimidation, etc.

The right to protection against retaliation cannot be waived.

Whistleblower Protection (Sections 3, 5 and 12 of the Act)

When making the whistleblowing report concerning serious misconduct harmful to the society, the whistleblower may submit a request to the prosecutor or a relevant administrative authority for protection. If protection is granted, the whistleblower has the status of a protected whistleblower.

In the event that Eustream was delivered notification by the competent authority that a certain person is a protected whistleblower, Eustream may take a legal action or issue a decision in an employment relationship against the whistleblower, to which the whistleblower has not given consent, only with the prior consent of the Whistleblower Protection Office. If such consent was not granted, the legal action or decision shall be null and void.

The consent of the Whistleblower Protection Office shall not be required where the employment-related measure awards a claim or if the employment-related measure relates to a termination of an employment relationship which is the result of a legal fact that is not within the discretion of Eustream.

At the same time, the law also provides protection to the whistleblower in the form of suspension of the effectiveness of an employment-related measure that has already been taken. If the whistleblower believes that an employment-related measure has been taken against them in connection with the whistleblowing report, with which the whistleblower disagrees, the whistleblower may apply to the Whistleblower Protection Office, within 15 days of the date on which the whistleblower became aware of the employment-related measure, to suspend such employment-related measure.

A whistleblower who has made a qualified whistleblowing report and a person in respect of whom an employment-related measure has been suspended shall be entitled to legal aid pursuant to Act No. 327/2005 Coll. on the provision of legal aid to persons in material, need and on amendments to Act No. 586/2003 Coll. on advocacy. and on amendments to Act No. 455/1991 Coll. on trade entrepreneurship (Trade Act), as amended, as amended by Act No. 8/2005 Coll.

Internal System for the Investigation of Whistleblowing Reports

Eustream has issued a methodological instruction “Internal System for the Investigation of Whistleblowing Reports in eustream, a.s.”, which regulates the details of:

The procedure for submitting whistleblowing reports on misconduct harmful to the society;
Investigation of whistleblowing reports and the powers of the person responsible in the investigation of whistleblowing reports;
Observation of the non-disclosure obligation in respect of the identity of the whistleblower and the identity of the person concerned;
Recording of whistleblowing reports;
Notification of the whistleblower of the outcome of the investigation of the whistleblower’s whistleblowing report;
Processing of the personal data included in the whistleblowing report;
Taking measures to remedy deficiencies identified in the investigation of whistleblowing reports and communication with the whistleblower about such measures;
Taking measures against hindering whistleblowing.

Pursuant to the law, Eustream:

Shall acknowledge receipt of a whistleblowing report within seven days of receipt;
maintains confidentiality of the identity of the whistleblower and the identity of the person concerned;
Investigates the whistleblowing reports and notifies the whistleblower of the outcome of the investigation, as well as the action (if any, taken as a result of the investigation of the whistleblowing report) to the whistleblower within 90 days of acknowledgement of receipt of the whistleblowing report or, unless the receipt of the whistleblowing report has been acknowledged, within 90 days of the expiry of the period of seven days after the receipt of the whistleblowing report;
Keeps records of whistleblowing reports for three years from the date of delivery thereof.

A referral of a case for handling pursuant to the relevant legal regulations shall also be deemed an investigation of the whistleblowing report.

Person Responsible

In Eustream, the person responsible, who fulfills the tasks of the employer within the meaning of the law is the Head of the Risk Management and Internal Audit organizational unit, who is under the direct management authority of the Company's Board of Directors.

Processing of Personal Data

Information on the processing of the personal data of the whistleblower, or other natural persons, whose personal data are necessary for handling the whistleblowing report, can be found in the section https://www.eustream.sk/en/impressum/personal-data-protection/ in Whistleblowing agenda.

Provision of Advice by the Whistleblower Protection Office

The Whistleblower Protection Office provides advice and consultations in connection with reporting misconduct harmful to the society.

Contact information:
Úrad na ochranu oznamovateľov
Námestie slobody 29, 811 06 Bratislava
Infoline: 0800 221 213