Protection of whistleblowers
At GLS, we are committed to clear ethical principles.
It is a cornerstone of our success as a company. All GLS employees have a responsibility to ensure that GLS adheres to its principles, and often, it is the misconduct of a few employees that can impact a company's reputation as a whole. Therefore, it is crucial for GLS to be informed of potential misconduct by employees, suppliers, or third parties as early as possible so that we can take prompt action and effectively address the situation.
The Whistleblower Protection Act obligates GLS to establish an internal reporting channel. Through this internal reporting channel, whistleblowers can inform GLS about potential work-related misconduct. Whistleblowers can use the internal reporting channel to report the following (Whistleblower Protection Act § 1):
- Reports related to violations of EU law falling within the scope of the European Parliament and Council Directive on the protection of individuals who report breaches of EU law.
- Reports concerning other serious legal violations or other serious matters.
Reports related to the above legal violations will be treated with the utmost confidentiality to maximize the protection of whistleblowers and those mentioned in the report. Additionally, the law protects whistleblowers from any form of retaliation.
For all other reports, you are also welcome to contact the internal reporting channel. Such reports will also be handled with strict confidentiality.
Please be aware that as a whistleblower, you will only benefit from the protection of the law if your report is covered by the Whistleblower Protection Act, and at the time of the report, you had sufficient grounds to believe that your report was true. You are not protected if you submit a report that you know to be false.
The internal reporting channel in accordance with § 11 of the Whistleblower Protection Act is the Compliance Manager at GLS.
You can contact the internal whistleblower scheme through 1) EQS or 2) our ombudsman, Dr. Rainer Buchert.
1) EQS Integrity Line:
2) Dr. Rainer Buchert, Advokat Kaiserstraße 22 D-60311 Frankfurt am Main
- Tel.: +49 69 710 33 330 eller +49 6105-921355
- Fax: +49 69 710 34 444
- E-Mail: kanzlei@dr-buchert.de
In addition to contacting the internal whistleblower channel, you also have the option to directly contact the relevant authorities (external reporting). The relevant authorities are:
- Data Protection Authority, as per the Whistleblower Protection Act § 17 para. 1: The national whistleblower scheme
The Whistleblower Protection Act allows you to choose between the internal and external reporting channels and whether you want to submit your report to GLS' whistleblower scheme or to a relevant external whistleblower scheme, or both. However, we encourage you to use our internal whistleblower scheme in cases where the violation can be effectively addressed internally, and where you believe there is no risk of retaliation. If you are dissatisfied with the handling of the case after our internal measures are completed, you can still contact external authorities.