Our whistleblower system is a browser-based platform that enables employees, business partners and customers to report anonymous or identifiable information about possible violations, grievances or misconduct in our company.
To process the incoming information, we have decided to work with Dipl. Ing. Reinhold Goetz and his engineering office for data protection and information management. The office is therefore responsible for checking the plausibility and processing the information.
The platform used by the engineering office is provided by the company Vispato GmbH (hereinafter referred to as Vispato). Vispato uses the servers from one of the ISO 27001 certified DATEV data centers to ensure maximum security and data protection compliance for the whistleblower system.

Goals of the whistleblower system
The Whistleblower Protection Act was introduced to offer employees, business partners and customers appropriate legal protection when they report grievances or illegal behavior in connection with our company. This is intended to ensure that the affected whistleblowers who point out misconduct such as corruption, fraud, discrimination, environmental violations or other actions that are subject to criminal penalties or fines are protected from possible reprisals.
The whistleblower system therefore creates an environment in which grievances can be pointed out without hesitation. This contributes to compliance with laws, ethical standards and a healthy working environment through greater legal certainty for whistleblowers.


How do I access the whistleblower system?
The whistleblower system is integrated into our website and is therefore accessible to you at any time via our company website.


What all falls within the scope of the law?
The Whistleblower Protection Act, on which the whistleblower system is based, covers all criminal provisions and all violations that are subject to a fine. Examples of this are: discrimination, violations of occupational safety, health protection, theft, bullying and much more.
In addition, the scope of application also includes all violations of legal norms that were taken to implement European regulations, such as environmental protection regulations, data protection regulations or combating money laundering, etc.


Who is protected?
If the tip also falls within the scope of the Whistleblower Protection Act, the following people are protected:
- reporting person;
- People who support the person providing the information;
- Persons who are the subject of a report;
- other people affected by a report.

Who can provide information?
Every employee of our company, as well as all other business partners or customers of our company, as the whistleblower system applies to everyone in a professional context.


How do I submit a tip?
You can access our whistleblower system via our company's website. To further protect you, we recommend that you do not submit your report via the company network or our company's PC or smartphone. You will also be informed about this on the homepage of the whistleblower system. If you would like to submit a tip now, please select the appropriate category for your concern. If no category fits, please use the “Other” category or the category that best fits your note. You will then have the opportunity to describe your comment. You can also add files.

In addition, you can decide whether you want to submit your report anonymously or by providing your name and email address, which will then be used purely to prove your identity.

Important: After entering their tip, every whistleblower receives an individualized link (URL) and a password with which they can log in to the whistleblower system again and again. You and the person in charge at the engineering office can only contact each other with these access data. Please keep your login details safe.


Handling and processing of information
When submitting information, the clerk at the engineering office will be informed of this new information. The whistleblower will receive confirmation of receipt of the tip via the whistleblower system within 7 days of receipt. Since further questions may arise from the clerk, it is recommended that you log in to the whistleblower system at regular intervals in order to be able to answer any open questions. The clerk has a total of 3 months to process the report, consult with the contact person in our company and determine follow-up measures (in exceptional cases up to 6 months) and, after processing the report, gives the whistleblower final feedback.


Can I also submit information in another language?
The submission of tips may contain highly sensitive content. In order to ensure processing by the engineering office and compliance with data protection, the information must only be submitted in German or English. However, our whistleblower system may also be translated into other languages. However, this only serves to bridge possible language barriers when using the whistleblower system; accordingly, reports submitted in other languages ​​cannot be processed.


Who can read my note?
The engineering office will examine and process the information received. However, it may also be the case that other people need to be consulted for individual information. If it is necessary to clarify the facts in the notice, carefully selected people from our company can be consulted on the facts. In addition, depending on the circumstances, the following third parties may also come into consideration:
If criminal proceedings are initiated, the information in the tip may be forwarded to law enforcement authorities and other public bodies in this context.
Depending on the information received, it may be necessary to call in auditing firms or law firms to clarify the matter.
By submitting your information, you give your consent for the information to be passed on to possible third parties. Regardless of who is involved, this means that confidentiality will be maintained. The protection of the identity of the whistleblower is ensured as best as possible in accordance with the law.


What happens if I submit a false tip?
If false information is intentionally provided to our company, employees, business partners or customers, this can be punished with a fine of up to 20,000 euros under the Whistleblower Protection Act.