Our TellMe whistleblower portal gives our employees, as well as external parties such as business partners and customers, the possibility to report misconduct – and do so anonymously. We have introduced a Group-wide reporting process to control and monitor these activities.
All compliance-relevant tip-offs are treated as confidential, checked for plausibility, and carefully investigated. This is also true of tip-offs we receive through other channels.
Most of the tip-offs received in 2022 focused on “financial interests” (possible cases of fraud, breach of trust, manipulation of targets, and unfair sales methods).
In confirmed cases, we impose systematic sanctions that are proportionate to the act and the guilt of the perpetrator and are in line with applicable legal provisions. We publish other details, such as information about implemented measures, on our website.
Receipt and handling of tip-offs on the TellMe portal*
2022
2021
2020
Reports (overall)
839
901
1 060
Compliance-relevant tip-offs
81
87
113
Thereof anonymous tip-offs
28
29
57
Confirmed misconduct
39
47
63
Under investigation
13
13
12
Non-plausible tip-offs
9
18
38
* Tip-offs received directly by the international companies are only included here if they are relevant to the Group.
Our TellMe whistleblower portal gives our employees, as well as external parties such as business partners and customers, the possibility to report misconduct – and do so anonymously. We have introduced a Group-wide reporting process to control and monitor these activities.
Receipt and handling of tip-offs on the TellMe portal*
Reports (overall)
901
1 060
Compliance-relevant tip-offs
87
113
Thereof anonymous tip-offs
29
57
Confirmed misconduct
47
63
Under investigation
13
12
Non-plausible tip-offs
18
38
* Tip-offs received directly by the international companies are only included here if they are relevant to the Group.
Reporting against standardsGlobal Reporting Initiaitve (GRI)