FAQ

All external parties such as clients, business partners and suppliers can submit a report.

All concrete observations can be reported that indicate

• criminal offences (in particular fraud and incorrect accounting, corruption)
• violations of other legal regulations
• Conduct that could cause significant damage to our company (e.g. disregarding conflicts of interest, i.e. business decisions are made in private interests).

Observations that merely indicate undesirable behavior in the company's interest that does not have a significant impact (e.g. unfriendly behavior in everyday work) should not be reported. Reports with such content will not be processed.

There are three possible internal reporting channels:

• IT platform
• personal meeting

Through the platform, anonymous reports can also be made with additional anonymous communication, including the transmission of files.

The content of the report and communication with the reporting office on the IT platform is protected to a high standard against unauthorized access. easyline can be used completely anonymously. If you provide your personal data, it will be accessible to our case handlers and, if necessary, to other case handlers involved in an internal investigation to clarify the facts.

It cannot be ruled out that we will have to name the source from which the personal data of the persons affected by the report originated. If we know the identity of the person making the report, it is therefore possible that the person affected by the report will find out who has accused them. We therefore advise you to submit reports anonymously via easyline. Please note that your IP address cannot be traced and will not be saved. Further information on maintaining anonymity, the procedure and data protection can be found directly on our platform.

The whistleblower can use the case ID and the corresponding password to log in to easyline at any time, communicate with the case handlers (also anonymously), answer their questions, provide further information if necessary and upload files. The case ID and password are both assigned automatically when the report is submitted via easyline.

In the case of substantiated reports, we will investigate the matter to the extent possible and take the necessary actions.

The reporting person will promptly receive a confirmation of receipt of their report and will be informed of the outcome of the investigations and any consequences drawn, if applicable.

The Whistleblower Protection Act stipulates that external reporting offices be set up by the public sector in addition to the internal reporting offices of the respective employers.

A central external reporting office has been set up at the Federal Office of Justice (Bundesjustizamt). In addition, external reporting systems exist at the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and the Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt).

The federal states are free to set up their own external reporting offices for reports concerning the respective state administration and the respective local governments.
In addition, there are corresponding reporting procedures for reports to institutions, bodies and other agencies of the European Union. These include external reporting channels of the Commission, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), the European Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

However, whistleblowers are encouraged to report to an internal reporting office in cases where the violation can be effectively addressed internally and they do not fear reprisals. We have made all arrangements for this.

You can find our privacy policy at: data protection