Whistleblower protection

In 2019, Directive 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of whistleblowers (the 'Directive') was adopted at the European Union level. This Directive was transposed in the Czech Republic into Whistleblower Protection Act No. 171/2023 Sb.

The aim of the Directive/Act is to provide effective and comprehensive protection for whistleblowers, i.e., persons who report illegal conduct in connection with their work or similar activities, as well as an essential element in the fight against corruption and part of the legislation of a functioning rule of law.

The possibility to report, and at the same time to protect whistleblowers, is also a matter of principle for the healthy functioning of a company, and within PACOVSKÉ STROJÍRNY the implementation of these principles is a natural part of the ethical standard of our company.

A whistleblower within the meaning of the Directive/Act is a natural person (in our case most often an employee) who, in connection with their work or other similar activity, has become aware of an unlawful act that bears the characteristics of an administrative transgression, a criminal offence or is in violation of a legal regulation of the Czech Republic or the EU.

Whistleblowing is information, including reasonable suspicion, about actual or potential violations that have occurred or are highly likely to occur in a company where the whistleblower works (or has worked), or in another organisation with which the whistleblower is or has been in contact by virtue of their employment, and about attempts to conceal such violations.

Under the Directive/Act, the whistleblower has the option to submit a notification via:

the internal whistleblowing system (IWS)
the external whistleblowing system (EOS – managed by the Ministry of Justice)
by publication (in exceptional cases specified by the Directive/Act, with the knowledge of the whistleblower's liability under the relevant legislation for any consequences, e.g., punishment for the tort of defamation, false accusation or spreading of a slanderous message), or to report directly to the relevant public authorities (Police of the Czech Republic).

The employer has established an internal whistleblowing system (IWS) for the purposes of the whistleblower notification option, which is a set of procedures and tools to receive and handle notifications, protect the identity of the whistleblower and other persons named in the whistleblower notification, protect the information contained in the whistleblower notification and communicate with the whistleblower.

The whistleblower notification shall be made via the IWS www.oznam.to, after entering a unique PIN: Z5H5.

Whistleblower notifications may also be made in writing (paper/written), orally or via phone to the named competent person, see the contacts below.

Competent person - Ing. Marie Veselá, phone number: +420 724 589 699, address: PACOVSKÉ STROJÍRNY, a.s., Nádražní 697, 395 01 Pacov, Czech Republic. The envelope must be marked with the words: "Only to the hands of the competent person".

The competent person is obliged to maintain the confidentiality of the whistleblower's identity from the time of receiving the whistleblower notification, during its investigation, implementation of corrective measures, further recording and subsequent disposal. The purpose of whistleblower protection is to create a safe environment in which whistleblowers will not fear any sanction for reporting violations and thus contribute to the protection of the public interest.

The most important element of protection is the prohibition of so-called retaliation. This includes any direct or indirect act or omission occurring in a work context, which is triggered by a whistleblower, and which causes or is likely to cause unjustified harm to the whistleblower (e.g. termination of employment, removal from a managerial position, denial of professional development, reduction in pay, transfer to another job, etc.). The right to protection does not apply to a whistleblower who knowingly files a false notification.