Mercedes-Benz.io Portugal Unipessoal Lda.'s Whistleblower ChannelLaw 93/2021, of December 20, established the General Regime for the Protection of Whistleblowers of Infringements, transposing Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of October 23, 2019, on the protection of individuals who report breaches of Union Law. This system lays down the admissibility mechanisms and procedures applicable to reports of infringements based on information obtained in the course of professional activity, as well as measures to protect whistleblowers.
Whistleblowers can benefit from this protection provided certain (cumulative) conditions are fulfilled:
a) The whistleblower is acting in good faith;
b) The whistleblower has serious grounds for believing that the information is true at the time of the report;
c) The information concerns a violation that is covered, i.e. that can be reported (infringement);
d) The report is made through the appropriate reporting channel. A whistleblower who submits an external complaint without complying with the rules shall benefit from the protection afforded by the law if, at the time of submission, he or she was blamelessly unaware of these rules
Through this channel, reports can be made on the infringements listed in the above-mentioned legislation, guaranteeing confidentiality, impartiality, security and accuracy in the analysis and processing of reports of infringements received.
In addition to complying with the above-mentioned legislation, the Mercedes-Benz.io Portugal internal reporting channel also covers moral and/or sexual harassment and discrimination.
Anonymous reporting of serious situations
On this page, you can submit information about condemnable situations or report unethical, illegal or actions that violate internal policies. The scheme should be used to reveal situations that would otherwise not be revealed.
You can choose to disclose your identity or make a completely anonymous report.
Please be aware that in order to make an actionable report after the initial investigation, we may need to ask you to provide your identity and support your allegations. Your identity may also be disclosed during the course of the investigation. Regardless of whether you choose to remain anonymous, all inquiries are treated confidentially and securely throughout the process.At no time will the whistleblower be forced to reveal their identity, except in case of a legal obligation or court decision.
Human resources related matters
Please be aware that purely HR-related matters that do not have the potential to lead to criminal or disciplinary action cannot be reported on this system (e.g. disagreements between teams/departments; differences of opinion, among others) and should be discussed with the direct manager. If clarification by your Manager is not enough you can always count with your People Partners, People & Culture team and our Managing Directors. If you do not feel good with discussing the topic with any of the teams you may also reach out to the Legal & Compliance colleagues.
Complaints
Complaints, defined as “any oral or written demonstration of dissatisfaction, justified or not, of a person, or on his behalf, regarding the provision or failure to provide a service, alleging that the complainant has suffered (or may suffer) financial losses, material disturbances or material inconveniences”, cannot be reported in this system. Any complaint received through this channel will not be followed up and will be returned with the appropriate justification.
Do not use this channel to report events presenting an immediate threat to life or property. If you require emergency assistance, please contact local authorities.
From this page, you can safely submit or follow up on a report.
Follow-up on your case may be useful for several reasons:
1) You may want to consult the status of your report to see if action is being taken.
2) You may wish to provide additional information regarding your report.
3) System administrators have asked you for additional information.
You can read more about whistleblowing legislation in the EU and what you should know before submitting a report here.