PRIOR NOTE
If the complaint aims to communicate issues of non-compliance to the social requirements, work safety, quality/environmental management, bound by the Certification STeP by OEKO-TEX, working in the company FM TÊXTEIS, you should proceed with the complaint towards our external channels:
E-mail: complain@oekotex.com
Online survey: www.oeko-tex.com/en/contact/complaint-form
ARTICLE 1
INTRODUCTION
The current Reporting Policy intends to constitute, under the terms of the law nº 93/2021, of 20th December, an effective and confidential mean for employees, suppliers, clients and other interested parties to report concerns about inappropriate conduct, ethical, legal or regulatory violations inside FM TÊXTEIS.
Therefore, the current Reporting Policy has the following objectives:
• Provide a safe and confidential means of reporting;
• Detect and correct inappropriate conducts or legal and ethical violations;
• Ensure compliance with Law n. º 93/2021and other regulations that may be applicable.
ARTICLE 2
SCOPE OF ACTION
The provisions of the current document are applicable:
• To the complainant and to the entities contemplated in paragraph 4, article 6º of the Law nº 93/2021, of 20th December;
• To those concerned by the complaint;
• To the team responsible for handling complaints;
• To the organic units surveyed within the scope of the investigation;
• To the external consultants and experts hired.
ARTICLE 3
CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS
COMPLAINANT
The individual which denounces or publicly discloses an infraction on the grounds of information obtained in their professional activity, regardless of the nature of this activity and the sector in which it is performed.
For the purposes of the of the previous paragraph, the following may be considered a complainant:
• Workers in the private, social or public sector;
• Service providers, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, as well as anyone acting under their supervision or management;
• Shareholders and persons belonging to the administrative, management, supervisory or fiscal bodies of collective persons, including non-executive members;
• Volunteers and paid or unpaid interns.
The fact that the complaint or public disclosure of an infringement is based on information obtained in a
professional relationship that has since ended, or during the recruitment process or other contractual negotiation phase of an established or unestablished professional relationship, shall not prevent an individual from being considered a complainant.
INFRACTION
Within the scope of Law no. 93/2021, of 20th December, the following are considered infractions:
1. Acts or omissions contrary to the rules contained in the European Union acts referred to in the annex of the Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council, national rules implementing, transposing or complying with such acts or any other rules contained in legislative acts implementing or transposing them, including those providing for crimes or administrative offenses, relating to the fields of:
- Public procurement;
- Money-laundering;
- Product safety and compliance;
- Transport safety;
- Environmental protection;
- Food safety for human and animal consumption, animal health and animal welfare;
- Public health;
- Consumer protection;
- Protection of privacy and personal data;
- Network and information systems security.
2. Acts or omissions contrary to and detrimental to the financial interests of the European Union as referred to in article nº325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU);
3. Acts or omissions contrary to the internal market rules referred to in paragraph 2, article nº26 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, including competition and state aid rules;
4. Crimes provided for in article 1, no. 1 of Law no. 5/2002, of 11th January;
5. Acts or omissions that contradict the purpose of the rules or standards covered by the previous paragraphs 1 to 3.
COMPLAINT
A complaint will be considered to be one that has been brought to the attention of the complainant regarding one or more irregular, unlawful or criminal facts, through the channels for submitting complaints and considered to be an infringement, as stipulated above.
The complaint will be dismissed, with no follow-up or investigation taking place, when, by means of a well-thought decision to be notified to the complainant, it is considered that:
• The infraction reported is of minor gravity, insignificant or plain irrelevant;
• The complaint is repeated and contains no new factual or legal elements that justify a different course of action from the one taken in relation to the first complaint;
• The complaint is anonymous and contains no evidence of an infringement;
• The complaint is false or lacks information.
REPORTING CHANNEL
The Reporting Channel is a risk prevention and detection tool that allows the reporting of acts of infractions committed, namely corruption and related offenses.
The complainant may submit the complaint by the following means, taking into account the team responsible for handling complaints (see Article 6).
IN WRITING
• By e-mail to: canaldenuncia@fmtextiles.pt.
If the complaint is directed to one of the members of the complaint handling team, it should be sent to the Administration: fernando@fmtextiles.pt.
• By letter, sent in a sealed envelope marked "CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT OPEN" to:
FM TÊXTEIS S.A.
ATTN: Person responsible for handling complaints
Rua Dr. Francisco Sá Carneiro, 135
4755-238 Gilmonde, Barcelos – PT
If the complaint is directed to one of the members of the complaint handling team, please write "ATTN: Administração FM TÊXTEIS".
IN PERSON
• The presential meeting to submit the complaint will be held at FM TÊXTEIS' head office, by prior appointment. The meeting is scheduled by e-mail: canaldenuncia@fmtextiles.pt.
If the complaint is directed to one of the members of the complaint handling team, you should ask the Administration for an appointment: fernando@fmtextiles.pt.
ARTICLE 4
PROCEEDINGS AND INTERNAL COMPLAINTS HANDLING
The procedure for handling internal complaints comprises the phases of reception, preliminary analysis, processing and conclusion of the case.
RECEPTION OF THE COMPLAINT
• When a complaint is received, it will be assigned a unique, sequential and annual code for internal identification;
• The team responsible for handling complaints notifies the complainant of the reception of the complaint within seven days of the date of its reception, unless the complainant expressly requests otherwise or there are reasonable grounds to believe that the notification may compromise the protection of the complainant.
PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF THE COMPLAINT
• The person in charge of the Reporting Channel will carry out a preliminary analysis of the facts reported and the attached evidence, and will proceed to qualify them;
• Once the complaint has been acknowledged, the team responsible for handling complaints will sign a declaration that there are no incompatibilities or conflicts of interest.
COMPLAINT PROCESSING
• After a preliminary assessment of the complaint, its qualification and all the supporting documents, the FM TÊXTEIS Reporting Channel Manager will take a decision on each case, which may consist of opening an investigation or closing the case when the complaint is totally unfounded.
• Investigations, within the scope of complaints received and included in the Reporting Channel, will be conducted by the team responsible for handling complaints independently, factually and in collaboration with the organic units that can and should intervene in the process.
• Inquiries within the scope of the investigation with the individuals or organic units must be documented, signed by both parties. Documentation and evidence must be delivered in person, at the place set for the interview and only to the team responsible for handling complaints, on paper or in portable devices such as USB sticks. Email or cell phone should not be used to make inquiries or to collect information.
• The collection of information and evidence as part of the investigations referred to in the previous paragraph must take into account the principles of objectivity, necessity, proportionality, celerity, efficiency and procedural economy, as well as avoiding the inclusion of special categories of information, such as special categories of sensitive data (art. 8 GDPR), personal data related to criminal convictions and offenses (art. 10 GDPR) and conditions applicable to the consent of children in relation to information society services (art. 8 GDPR);
• If the complainant is anonymous and there is no way of contacting the complainant, no additional information will be added to the complaint.
CONCLUSION OF THE PROCESS
• After the final assessment of the respective verification results and, with the exception of situations in which considers himself incompetent to handle the complaint, the team responsible for handling complaints will draw up a justified report with the conclusions, and may recommend, in particular, the following measures:
- The opening of an internal investigation;
- The cessation of the reported infraction;
- The initiation of disciplinary proceedings;
- Conducting an internal audit;
- Proposing improvements in conduct and good practice;
- Closure of the case.
• The recommendations formulated do not definitively declare the existence of responsibility or confirmation of the infraction but focus on identifying infractions and proposing the adoption of preventive and/or corrective measures, which may trigger the determination of possible disciplinary or criminal liability.
• The report will be submitted to the FM TÊXTEIS Administration, which will monitor the fulfillment of this decision.
• When drafting the report, the principles of confidentiality of the identity or anonymity of the complainants and confidentiality of the identity of third parties mentioned in the complaint must be considered. Only what is considered essential for decision-making should be reported.
• The complainant will be informed of the conclusion and the grounds for it, within a maximum of three months from the date of the reception of the complaint, or six months in the case of an external complaint and when the complexity of the complaint justifies it.
• The complainant may request, at any time, to be informed of the result of the analysis carried out on the external complaint, within fifteen days of its conclusion.
ARTICLE 5
EXTERNAL REPORTING CHANNEL
• You can file a complaint with an external reporting channel, with the following authorities:
- The public ministry;
- The criminal police;
- The Bank of Portugal;
- Independent administrative authorities;
- Public institutes;
- General inspections and similar entities and other central services of the State's direct administration with administrative autonomy;
- Local authorities; and
- Public associations.
However, the complainant can only resort to external reporting channels when:
- There is no internal reporting channel;
- They have reasonable grounds to believe that the infraction cannot be effectively known or resolved internally at FM TÊXTEIS or that there is a risk of retaliation;
- Has initially presented an internal complaint without being informed of the measures envisaged or adopted following the complaint within 3 months of receiving the complaint;
- The infraction constitutes a crime or an administrative offense punishable by a fine of more than €50,000.
ARTICLE 6
RESPONSIBLE TEAM
In order to comply with paragraph 2 of article 13 of Law 93/2021, of 20th December, Cátia Campinho, Head of the Sustainability & HR Department, and Sandra Lourenço, Head of the Finance Department, have been appointed as the people responsible for handling complaints.
To safeguard against absences and impediments, at least one FM TÊXTEIS employee must be assigned to the team responsible for handling complaints.
The person in charge and the employee(s) assigned to handling complaints sign confidentiality agreements with FM TÊXTEIS.
In addition to the duties inherent in handling complaints, the team responsible:
- Provides information on the complaint procedures and guarantees the confidentiality of the advice and the identity of the persons, by the e-mail canaldenuncia@fmtextiles.pt;
- Provides the complainant with reasoned information on the measures planned and adopted to follow up the complaint and requests additional information whenever necessary.
If the complaint is directed at any member of the team identified above, they should send it directly to the FM TÊXTEIS Administration - fernando@fmtextiles.pt - Consult Article 3 - Reporting Channel.
ARTICLE 7
LACK OF COMPETENCE
If FM TÊXTEIS does not consider itself competent to consider a complaint, it will be referred to the competent authority.
Competent authorities are those whose powers and competencies allow them to deal with the subject matter of the complaint.
In situations where there is no competent authority to deal with the complaint or where the complaint is aimed at a competent authority, it will be sent to the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism and, if the latter is the authority in question, to the Public Ministry.
The complainant will be notified whenever the complaint is submitted to the competent authority.
ARTICLE 8
IMPEDIMENTS
Any person to whom the suspicion relates or who has an interest in the subject of the complaint must declare themselves to be prevented from participating in the handling of the complaint.
Conflicts of interest are considered to exist when the impartiality of the conduct and the credibility and independence of the assessment can be doubted in a given report.
Whenever the person(s) concerned by the complaint are part of the team responsible for handling complaints and/or the complaint concerns the Sustainability and HR Department, it must be forwarded straight away to the
FM TÊXTEIS Administration, which will decide how to deal with the complaint submitted: by forwarding it for internal investigation by another organic unit or by forwarding it externally to a competent entity, and the complainant will be informed of this. All people involved internally in dealing with the complaint must sign a confidentiality agreement, as per the attached draft.
In cases where the person concerned is FM TÊXTEIS Administration and the complaint contains information indicating an infraction, in accordance with the present document, the complaint will immediately be forwarded to the Public Ministry, without any prior investigation.
ARTICLE 9
RIGHTS AND DUTIES
Complainants who act in good faith and meet the requirements established in Law no. 93/2021, of 20th December, may not be disciplined, dismissed or removed from their position, nor may they suffer any damage to their relationship with FM TÊXTEIS as a result of filing a complaint. Any disciplinary sanction applied to the complainant up to two years after the complaint is considered to be abusive.
It is considered an act of retaliation:
- changes in working conditions: duties, working hours, place of work, etc;
- suspension of the employment contract;
- negative performance evaluation or negative reference for employment purposes;
- non-conversion of a fixed-term employment contract into an unfixed term contract, whenever there were legitimate expectations of conversion;
- non-renewal of a fixed-term employment contract;
- disciplinary sanction applied to the complainant;
- dismissal;
- inclusion on a list, based on a sector-wide agreement, which could lead to the complainant being unable to find employment in the sector or industry concerned in the future;
- rescission of a supply or service contract;
- revocation of an act or rescission of an administrative contract (cf. APA).
Complainants benefit from the following support measures:
- legal protection;
- benefit of witness protection measures in criminal proceedings;
- assistance and collaboration by the competent authorities to other authorities to guarantee the complainant's protection against acts of retaliation, including through certification under Law 93/2021, of 20th December, whenever the complainant requests it;
- information made available on the Justice Portal by the General Direction of the Judicial Police about the protection of complainants;
- access to the law and the courts to defend their legally protected rights and interests.
DUTIES OF THE COMPLAINANT
The complainant does not incur liability for breach of confidentiality or other duties, provided that the complaint is made in accordance with the requirements of Law 93/2021, of 20th December, namely:
- does not constitute grounds for disciplinary, civil, misdemeanor or criminal liability;
- is not responsible for violating any restrictions on the communication or disclosure of information, without prejudice to the secrecy regimes safeguarded by the provisions of paragraph 3 of article 3 of Law no. 93/2021, of 20th December;
- is not responsible for obtaining or accessing the information that motivates the complaint or public disclosure, except in cases where obtaining or accessing the information constitutes a crime.
The provisions of the previous subsection do not affect the possible liability of complainants of acts or omissions that are not related to the complaint or public disclosure, or that are not necessary for the complaint or public disclosure of an infringement under the terms of Law no. 93/2021, of 20th December.
RIGHTS OF THE COMPLAINANT
The denunciation or public disclosure of an infringement, made in accordance with the requirements imposed by
this law, does not in itself constitute grounds for disciplinary, civil, misdemeanor or criminal liability of the complainant.
Without affecting the secrecy regimes safeguarded by the provisions of paragraph 3 of article 3, the complainant who reports or publicly discloses an infringement in accordance with the requirements imposed by this law is not liable for the violation of any restrictions on the communication or disclosure of information contained in the complaint or public disclosure.
A complainant who reports or publicly discloses an infringement in accordance with the requirements imposed by this law is not liable for obtaining or having access to the information that motivated the complaint or public disclosure, except in cases where obtaining or having access to the information constitutes a crime.
The above shall be without detriment to the possible liability of complainants for acts or omissions unrelated to the complaint or public disclosure, or which are not necessary for the report or public disclosure of an infringement under the terms of this law.
The regime provided for in Law no. 93/2021, of 20th December, does not affect any rights or procedural guarantees recognized, in general terms, to persons who, in the complaint or public disclosure, are referred to as offenders or who are associated with it, namely the presumption of innocence, the guarantees of defense in criminal proceedings and the confidentiality of their identity.
ARTICLE 10
PERSONAL DATA PROCESSING AND RECORD PRESERVATION
The processing of personal data under this law, including the exchange or transmission of personal data by competent authorities, complies with the terms of the General Data Protection Regulation, approved by the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016, Law no. 58/2019, of 8th August, which ensures the implementation, in the national legal order, of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, and Law 59/2019, of 8th August, which approves the rules on the processing of personal data for the purposes of the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of criminal offenses or the execution of criminal penalties.
Personal data that is obviously not relevant to the processing of the complaint will be deleted immediately.
Complaints received in this context will be preserved, under the terms of Law no. 93/2021, of 20th December, for a period of no less than five years.
Regardless of the period referred to in the previous paragraph, complaints will be stored during judicial or administrative proceedings.
Records of complaints submitted by recorded voice message system and by minutes taken at the in-person meeting require the complainant's consent.
ARTICLE 11
REVISION
This Reporting Policy is subject to review whenever internally justified and due to changes in the legislation in place.
ARTICLE 12
IMPLEMENTATION
This Reporting Policy shall become effective upon approval by the FM TÊXTEIS Administration and subsequent publication on the FM TÊXTEIS website.