Whistleblowing
In 2019, Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons reporting breaches of Union law (hereinafter also the "EU Directive") was adopted at the European Union level. The aim of the EU Directive is to establish rules and procedures for the protection of whistleblowers, i.e. persons who report information obtained in a work context about breaches of European Union law in key policy areas. Violations include both unlawful acts or omissions and abusive practices.
The EU Directive was implemented into the Czech legal system by Act No. 171/2023 Coll., on the protection of whistleblowers, as amended, which entered into force on 1 August 2023.
Who can file a report
A person who, at DISTING Technology s.r.o. performed, performs or applied for work or other similar activity pursuant to Section 2, paragraph 3 of the Whistleblower Protection Act or a person who was or is in contact with DISTING Technology s.r.o. in connection with the performance of work or other gainful activity.
Notification
The notification must contain information about the unlawful conduct and the identification of the whistleblower (name, surname and date of birth, or other information from which the identity of the whistleblower can be inferred). An anonymous notification does not have to be accepted and investigated by the relevant person.
An unlawful conduct within the meaning of the Whistleblower Protection Act is an act that occurred or is to occur in connection with the performance of work or other similar activity and that:
has the characteristics of a criminal offense;
has the characteristics of a misdemeanor for which the law stipulates a fine, the upper limit of which is at least CZK 100,000;
violates the Whistleblower Protection Act, even if they do not reach the level of an offence or a criminal offence;
violates another legal regulation or a regulation of the European Union in defined areas, even if they do not reach the level of an offence or a criminal offence; the defined areas are:
corporate income tax,
prevention of the legalisation of proceeds from crime and the financing of terrorism,
consumer protection,
compliance with product requirements, including their safety,
safety of transport, carriage and operation on land roads,
environmental protection,
food and feed safety and protection of animals and their health,
radiation protection and nuclear safety,
economic competition, public auctions and the award of public contracts,
protection of internal order and security, life and health,
protection of personal data, privacy and security of electronic communications networks and information systems,
protection of the financial interests of the European Union, or
the functioning of the internal market, including the protection of competition and state aid under European Union law.
financial services, statutory audit and other verification services, financial products and financial markets,
Whistleblower Protection
The Whistleblower Protection Act prohibits the application of any retaliatory measures (e.g. termination of employment; dismissal from a managerial position; transfer to another job, etc.) against a whistleblower or other protected person (e.g. a person close to the whistleblower; a person who provided assistance in obtaining information, etc.), i.e. any action or omission in connection with the work or other similar activity of the whistleblower that was caused by the making of the report and that may cause harm to the whistleblower or other protected person. Knowingly false reports are excluded from protection under the Whistleblower Protection Act.
The relevant person is also obliged to protect the identity of the whistleblower. The identity of the reporting person may not be disclosed to anyone else without their written consent, unless the relevant person is obliged to provide this information to the relevant public authorities under other legal regulations, and even in this case, the reporting person must be informed of this in advance and allowed to express his/her opinion on the provision of the information. The obligation to maintain confidentiality does not only apply to the identity, but also to any other information from which it would be possible to directly or indirectly determine the identity of the reporting person or other protected persons (and thus thwart or jeopardize the purpose of submitting the report).
Method and place of submitting the report
The report is submitted to the relevant person designated by DISTING Technology s.r.o.
The relevant person is JUDr. Milan Zápotočný.
Notification can be made in the following way:
by telephone at: 602 760 833
in person after prior telephone or written agreement at: Telečská 1720/7, 588 56 Jihlava
electronically at: whistleblowing@disting-tech.cz
in paper form by submission addressed to the relevant person, the notification must be placed in an envelope with the inscription "do not open in the relevant person's own hands" or "WHISTLEBLOWING" sent to the following address:
JUDr. Milan Zápotočný
Telečská 1720/7
588 56 Jihlava
The relevant person is authorized to make an audio or video recording of the whistleblower's oral speech (including telephone speech) with the consent of the whistleblower. In the event of the complainant's disagreement with the recording of an audio or video-audio recording, a written report will be drawn up about the submitted report, to which the complainant has the right to comment
Handling of the notificationThe competent person is obliged to notify the notifier in writing of the receipt of the notification within 7 days of its receipt (except in cases where the notifier has explicitly requested the competent person not to notify him of the receipt of the notification, or in cases where it is clear that notification of the receipt of the notification would reveal the identity of the notifier to another person).
Within 30 days of the date of receipt of the notification, the competent person must assess the validity of the notification and notify the notifier in writing. In cases that are factually or legally complex, this period may be extended by up to 30 days, but no more than twice.
If the notification is found to be justified, the competent person will propose to DISTING Technology s.r.o. measures to prevent and remedy the illegal situation, while maintaining the confidentiality of the identity of the notifier. DISTING Technology s.r.o. will notify the competent person of the measure taken, who will notify the notifier in writing without undue delay.
If the report is not assessed as justified, the relevant person shall, without undue delay, notify the reporting party in writing that, based on the facts stated in the report and the circumstances known to them, they have not found any suspicion of committing an illegal act, or that the report is based on false information, and shall inform the reporting party of their right to file a report with a public authority.External reporting system
The reporting party also has the option of filing their report via the external reporting system at the Ministry of Justice; the employee authorized to receive reports via the external reporting system is Mgr. Marek Netočný (mnetocny@msp.justice.cz, tel.: 221 997 840).
The report can also be filed via a secure form at the address here.