1. Which acts or omissions fall under the scope of whistleblowing legislation?

In the EU Directive on the protection of whistleblowers, as well as in national whistleblowing laws, there is a central concept: Whistleblowing covers acts and omissions that are a threat to the public interest.

The public interest is generally threatened if the act or omission does not solely affect personal interests, but it has a wider societal impact, and it has either a pattern or structural character or it is in other ways serious and significant.

The breaches of European Union Law and national law in the following areas are considered to be threats to public interest:

• Public procurement (government contracts);
• Financial services, products and markets;
• Prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism;
• Product safety and product conformity;
• Safety of means of transport;
• Protection of the environment;
• Nuclear safety;
• Safety of food products and animal feeds, animal health and welfare;
• Public health;
• Consumer protection;
• Protection of privacy and personal data, and security of network and IT systems;
• Fraud and any other illegal activities affecting the financial interests of the Union;
• Internal market (this includes, but is not limited to: competition rules, state aid rules, corporate tax rules).

Breaches of European Union Law and national law in other areas could also fall under the scope of whistleblowing reporting if they threaten public interest (i.e. if the public interest is at stake).

2. How can someone determine if the public interest is at stake in a specific situation?

There is a greater chance that public interest is at stake if:

• many people in the Company and/or the wider community are affected by the act or omission;
• acts or omissions have a pattern or structural character (repeated violations of law);
• acts or omissions are serious and significant;
• acts or omissions are committed by persons who have a higher seniority level in the company.

3. What are some examples of situations in which there is a threat to public interest and for which a whistleblowing report should be submitted?

The following are the examples of situations in which there is a threat to the public interest and for which a whistleblowing report should be submitted:

• You discover that the Company has been making fraudulent charitable donations to organizations that are fronts for money laundering and terrorism financing.
• You find out that the Company is illegally dumping toxic waste into a nearby river, violating environmental regulations.
• You notice that the Company is systematically not adhering to safety protocols, putting numerous employees at risk of serious injury.
• You discover that the Company is intentionally mishandling customer data by illegally selling it to other companies.
• You find out that a senior executive has been embezzling funds received from public bodies for specific research and development projects by creating fake invoices for goods that were never delivered and services that were never rendered.
• You discover that the Company has been falsifying financial statements to mislead investors and inflate stock prices.
• You discover that the company is investing in real estate projects that are being used to launder money that originates from criminal activities.
• You find out that your supervisor is repeatedly giving bribes to external auditors to overlook defects in automotive parts, compromising important safety standards.

4. Who can submit a whistleblowing report (i.e. who is considered a reporting person (whistleblower) under the relevant whistleblowing legislation)?

Reporting person (whistleblower) is a natural person who reports information on breaches acquired in the context of his or her work-related activities. Work-related context means current, past, future or planned professional activities in the public or private sector through which persons acquire information on breaches and within which those persons could suffer retaliation if they reported such information.

The aforementioned definition covers, among others:

• persons having the status of an employee;
• persons having self-employed status;
• shareholders, persons belonging to the administrative, management or supervisory body of an undertaking, including non-executive members, as well as volunteers and paid or unpaid trainees;
• any persons working under the supervision and direction of contractors, subcontractors and suppliers;
• any persons involved in any way in the professional activities of a natural or a legal person.

5. Under what conditions does the person submitting a whistleblowing report qualify for protection granted by the relevant whistleblowing legislation?

Persons submitting a whistleblowing report qualify for protection granted by the relevant whistleblowing legislation provided that:

• they had reasonable grounds to believe that the information on reported breaches of EU or national laws that threaten public interest was true at the time of reporting/disclosure; and 
• such information falls within the scope of the whistleblowing legislation; and
• they reported the irregularity either internally (via the system established by the Company) or externally (by submitting their report to the Ombudswoman), or made a public disclosure (reporting persons are encouraged to first use internal reporting channels and report to the Company).

6. Why should someone raise a whistleblowing report?

Persons who work for a public or private organisation or are in contact with such an organisation in the context of their work-related activities are often the first to know about threats or harm to the public interest which arise in that context. By reporting breaches of European Union or national laws that are harmful to the public interest, such persons act as ‘whistleblowers’ and thereby play a key role in exposing and preventing such breaches and in safeguarding the welfare of society.

7. Will the reporting person who submitted a whistleblowing report be subject to retaliation from the Company?

No. Company is prohibited from initiating vexatious proceedings against the reporting person and subjecting him/her to retaliation, or attempts or threats thereof, because of submitting a whistleblowing report. Retaliation means any direct or indirect act or omission occurring in a work-related context and prompted by internal or external reporting or by public disclosure, including suspensions, lay-offs, dismissals, demotions or withholding of promotion, transfer of duties, change of location of place of work, reduction in wages, change in working hours, withholding of training, a negative performance assessment or employment reference, coercion, intimidation, harassment or ostracism, as well as any other behavior or omission to act which causes or may cause unjustified detriment to the reporting person.

However, it is important to note that the abuse of the right to submit a whistleblowing report is also prohibited and such abuse may be cause for various measures of the Company. You can read more about the question of abuse of the right to submit a whistleblowing report in the next question.

8. What happens in the case of abuse of the right to submit a whistleblowing report?

The Reporting Person shall qualify for protection under the whistleblowing legislation and internal Company rulebook provided that they had reasonable grounds to believe that the reported information on breaches of EU or national laws that threaten public interest was true at the time of reporting and that such information fell within the scope of the relevant whistleblowing legislation and that the report had been submitted pursuant to the provisions of the whistleblowing legislation and relevant internal rulebook. The abuse of the right to report is prohibited and such abuse may, in each case when the reporting person is an employee of the Company, be cause for extraordinary termination of the reporting person's employment contract. Moreover, the Company may, against any person acting as a reporting person who abuse its right to report breaches of EU or national laws that threaten public interest, initiate an action for damages and other similar proceedings against the subject person before the competent court and/or other competent authority.

In order to avoid doubt:

• An abuse shall be considered a situation in which the reporting person submits information which he / she knew to be untrue, or with the intention of acquiring unlawful material gain, or if the reporting is undertaken for the sole purpose of causing harm to the Company;
• An abuse shall not be considered the reporting of a situation in which the reporting person had reasonable grounds to believe in, although that report proved to be inaccurate or unfounded.

9. Can I submit an anonymous report?

If you choose to submit a report anonymously, the relevant whistleblowing legislation will not apply to you, and you will not enjoy protection granted by it. However, persons who have anonymously reported or publicly disclosed information about breaches of EU or national laws that threaten public interest can qualify for protection granted by the relevant whistleblowing legislation under the following conditions:

• they fulfil all the conditions requested from non-anonymous reporting persons set out by the relevant whistleblowing legislation (see question above); and 
• their identity has been subsequently discovered; and 
• they are experiencing retaliation due to submitting a whistleblowing report.

Furthermore, if an anonymous report is submitted, whether there is an investigation depends on the information provided, the details, supporting documentation, and numerous other factors.

10. How can I submit a whistleblowing report?

You can submit a whistleblowing report through SPEAK UP by clicking on the Log a disclosure/suspicion page.

You can also submit a report directly to the facilitator and deputy facilitator for whistleblowing. Facilitator and deputy facilitator for whistleblowing are persons appointed by the Company to receive reports, communicate with the reporting person and undertake the investigation of the claims contained in the whistleblowing report.

The current facilitator and deputy are:

• Facilitator: Anamarija Užbinec (email: anamarija.uzbinec@rimac-group.com); and
• Deputy facilitator: Dominik Kranjčec (email: dominik.kranjcec@rimac-technology.com).