Whistleblower Policy
Fastned B.V.
1. Introduction
Fastned B.V. (“Fastned”) is committed to ensuring that Fastned and its management board and
employees act at all times in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and the Fastned
Code of Conduct. Fastned’s Whistleblower Policy aims to enable both employees and external
parties to speak up when they encounter wrongdoing in the context of their work without the risk
of retaliation and with the assurance that all reports are treated confidentially and are promptly
investigated. The following procedure shall be followed to report any breach of the Code of
Conduct, internal policies and procedures, laws and regulations.
2. Procedure
2.1 Who can report a concern?
This policy is applicable to anyone who acquired information on breaches in a work-related
context with Fastned. These persons can have the status of a worker, (sub-)contractor, supplier, shareholder, member of a supervisory body, (un)paid trainee, etc.
2.2 What types of concerns should be reported under this Whistleblower Policy?
A report of suspected irregularities should be substantive, submitted in good faith and related to
one of the following concerns:
- A potential wrongdoing of (European) laws and regulations. In areas such as: anti-money
laundering, consumer protection, environmental protection, transport safety and
compliance, radiation protection and nuclear safety, public health, public procurement,
financial services, protection of privacy, financial interests of the EU, competition law,
State aid rules and corporate tax rules; - A potential wrongdoing regarding the Fastned Code of Conduct;
- Conduct that is corrupt, dishonest, or fraudulent;
- A (potential) danger to the public or employees’ health, safety and security or the
environment; - Theft or fraud against Fastned;
- Purposeful misinformation or false statements to or by management, to internal or
external auditors or public authorities; - Inappropriate accounting, financial reporting practices or internal controls;
- Mismanagement or abuse of authority;
- Conduct that is detrimental to the interests of Fastned.
Please note that in the case of a fraud incident, the specific procedure described in 4.2 of the Fastned Non-Compliance Response Policy will be followed.
2.3 How can a concern be reported?
Fastned provides both an internal reporting and external reporting channel. We strongly recommend reporting through the internal reporting channel first before reporting through the external reporting channel. By reporting through the internal reporting channel, the concern can be addressed effectively internally by Fastned itself, allowing Fastned to take immediate measures.
2.4 Internal reporting channels
Should you become aware of any potential breach of laws, regulations, the internal policies and
procedures or the Fastned Code of Conduct, you are encouraged to raise this concern in the first
instance to your manager. Reporting concerns to management is the fastest and preferred way to
address a work-related issue, clear up any misunderstandings, and ensure a good and open work
environment.
If this is not possible or appropriate, for whichever reason, please report the breach directly by
using one of the following whistleblowing channels in order to have your report treated in a
confidential manner:
E-mail:
Hotline:
+31 20 809 0365 (24/7 reachable)
Subject to your consent, a complete and accurate written record will be made of your recorded voice message. You will have the opportunity to check this record, correct it and sign it for approval.
Letter:
Attn: Chrissy Schekkerman, Director Legal and Compliance OR Hans Bikker, Head of Risk & Audit
Amstelplein 44
1096 BC Amsterdam
(Please ensure you indicate CONFIDENTIAL on the envelope)
In person:
Setting up a meeting with our Compliance Officer or our Risk Manager.
● [email protected] (Director Legal & Compliance)
or
● [email protected] (Head of Risk & Audit)
The Director Legal & Compliance is specifically responsible for oversight of business ethics and corruption issues.
The conversation held shall be recorded with your prior consent. Thereafter, a complete and accurate written record will be made of the conversation. You will have the opportunity to check this record, correct it and sign it for approval.
2.5 Follow-up
If you make yourself known in your report, you will receive acknowledgement of receipt within 7 calendar days (maximum) after the receipt.
The person responsible for the follow-up of your concern, our Compliance Officer or Risk Manager, shall log this in a separate register and start a preliminary investigation to verify whether the concern seems prima facie (at first sight) founded. This person will also maintain communication with you and, when necessary, ask for further information.
The whistle-blower’s committee shall follow up on any reports and shall take the final decision based on the case (and proof) presented to the committee by you and the Compliance Officer/Risk Manager.
2.5.1 The whistle-blower’s committee
For each case a whistle-blower committee shall be composed of:
-
Director Legal & Compliance
-
Head of Risk & Audit
-
HR Director
-
A member the Managing Board depending on the report at hand
The members of any whistle-blower’s committee, responsible for the follow-up of a report, are bound by confidentiality, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. However, only the Compliance Officer and Risk Manager shall have access to the identity of the whistle-blower.
You will be informed within a timeframe of maximum 3 months (following the acknowledgement of receipt) about the action envisaged or taken as follow-up to the report and the grounds for the choice of that follow-up.
The identity of the whistle-blower will always be kept secret. All necessary and possible measures are taken to avoid people becoming victims of false accusations.
2.6 External reporting channel
In accordance with the EU Directive 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 EU Member States are under the obligation to designate the authorities competent to receive, give feedback, follow up on reports, and shall provide them with adequate resources. The designated authorities per EU Member State can be found in the national implementation legislation.
3. Duty of confidentiality
When you raise a concern, the secrecy of your identity as a whistleblower will be guaranteed in
accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.
Your identity will not be disclosed without your explicit consent to anyone beyond the authorized
persons competent to receive or follow up on reports. This also applies to any other information
from which your identity may be (in)directly deduced.
Only if there is a necessary and proportionate obligation imposed by EU or national law in the
context of investigations by national authorities or judicial proceedings, your identity might be
disclosed, including with a view to safeguarding the rights of defence of the persons concerned.
4. Anonymity
Fastned encourages you to disclose your identity when you report a concern. This way we know who we need to protect (you) and who we can turn to for additional information so that no one is falsely accused on the basis of wrong information.
However, if no other option is feasible, you can report your concern anonymously. This means that even the recipient of the concern will not know your identity. In that case, you can file your concern by letter. We insist that you indicate CONFIDENTIAL on the envelope.
An anonymous report will only be considered valid if it contains enough factual elements to investigate the facts. Therefore, please include as much detail as possible to mitigate difficulties investigating and following up on an anonymous report.
5. Protection of the whistleblower
No member of the personnel of Fastned who reports an event may be sanctioned or subject to any discriminatory measure for having notified an alert selflessly and in good faith via the whistleblowing mechanism.
Fastned does not allow retaliation of any kind against those who, in good faith, report an infringement or suspicion of an infringement of the rules or guidelines. If you report a concern and it appears that you were genuinely mistaken or if there is an innocent explanation for your concerns, you will not be sanctioned or subject to a discriminatory treatment.
This assurance does not apply to those who maliciously start an investigation for a matter that is false. While not intending to discourage anyone from reporting matters of genuine concern, it is strongly suggested that you ensure, as far as possible, that a report is factually accurate, complete, from first-hand knowledge, presented in an unbiased fashion (with any possible perception of the whistleblower disclosed), and without material omission. Where it is established that an employee is not acting in good faith or has intentionally made a false report, the employee may be subject to disciplinary measures that may include dismissal.
