The objective pursued by this protocol is to regulate the process of receiving and handling reports and to adequately inform all recipients of the regulations dictated on the subject, so that full compliance is ensured, taking its starting point from the regulations on Whistleblowing.
With Law No. 190/2012, a measure aimed at fostering the emergence of cases of wrongdoing, known in Anglo-Saxon countries by the term Whistleblowing, was provided for in our system. Subsequently, the legislature intervened with Law No. 179/2017 on “Provisions for the protection of the authors of reports of crimes or irregularities of which they have become aware in the context of a public or private employment relationship,” regulating the tools to protect the employee reporting wrongdoing and, at the same time, introducing also in the private sector the discipline related to the submission and management of Whistleblowing reports. Subsequently, the matter underwent major changes by Legislative Decree No. 24/2023, which introduced a series of obligations for companies in order to provide greater protections for all individuals who report violations they become aware of as a result of their employment relationship.
Jungle Srl (hereinafter referred to as “JUNGLE” or the “Company”) is not among those obligated by the aforementioned legislation, however, it has intended to implement this protocol in order to establish an internal channel to facilitate reports of actual or suspected irregularities about the conduct of company business, protecting the confidentiality of the identity of the person reporting, the person involved and the person in any case mentioned in the report, as well as the content of the report and the attached documentation.
Addressees of this protocol are:
This protocol should be widely communicated, both to employees and contractors, so that it becomes a constant reference in the Company’s business activities.
In particular, for the purpose of implementing the protocol, appropriate training and information sessions must be conducted for staff.
The objective pursued by this protocol is to:
The purpose of this procedure is, moreover, to regulate how to ascertain the validity and substantiation of reports and, consequently, to take appropriate corrective and disciplinary action to protect the Company.
The reporters defined by this document are:
Reports may concern situations in which the reporter is acting to protect a non-personal interest and which pertain to dangers or risks involving the Company, of which the reporter has become aware in the working environment of JUNGLE.
Specifically, the following may be subject to reporting:
Illicit conduct reported, however, must concern situations of which the person has become directly aware “by reason of the employment relationship,” thus not only what has been learned by virtue of his or her specific functions, but also news that has been acquired on the occasion of and/or because of the performance of one’s business activities, albeit in a casual manner.
The report may not, however, concern complaints or grievances of a personal nature of the reporting person, by way of example, grievances, claims or demands related to a personal interest, which relate exclusively to the reporting person’s individual working relationships.
The report must be as clear, exhaustive and circumstantial as possible, and must provide all the elements necessary to allow due verification and investigation to confirm the validity of what has been reported.
To this end, the report should preferably contain the following information:
a) the particulars of the reporting person, including the professional qualification or position;
b) a clear and detailed description of the facts, accurate and concordant, that are the subject of the report and the manner in which they became known;
c) the circumstances of time and place under which the reported facts occurred;
d) the generalities, role (qualification, professional position or service in which he or she performs the activity) or other elements that allow identifying the person or persons to whom the reported facts are attributed;
e) an indication of any other individuals who may report on the facts being reported;
f) the indication of any documents that can confirm the substantiation of the reported facts;
g) any other information that may provide useful feedback about the existence of the reported facts.
Although reports transmitted non-anonymously are preferable, anonymous reports, i.e., without elements that allow the author to be identified, are also allowed, provided they are adequately detailed and circumstantiated and capable of bringing out specific situations and facts. They are taken into consideration only if they are punctual, circumstantiated and supported by appropriate documentation and do not appear prima facie irrelevant, devoid of foundation or manifestly defamatory in content. This is without prejudice to the requirement that the facts or situations reported be true, for the protection of the complainant.
Any person referred to in paragraph 6 who, during the course of his or her work, detects an alleged wrongdoing or non-compliance with the laws, regulations, bylaws or contained in the company’s procedures and protocols, which may harm customers, colleagues, other third parties or in general the reputation of the Company, may report it through the appropriate reporting channel.
JUNGLE, in fact, has set up an internal reporting channel, which makes it possible to guarantee the confidentiality of the identity of the reporter, the person involved and the person in any case mentioned in the report, as well as the content of the report and the related documentation.
Specifically, reports can be made:
The Company has identified the person designated to receive and handle reports in the person of the CEO.
Reports received are handled independently, respecting the principle of confidentiality, carrying out any activity deemed appropriate for the evaluation of the report, including any hearing of the reporter or individuals who may report on the reported facts.
Specifically, upon receipt of the report, the manager shall make efforts in order to ensure both the efficient and timely handling of the report and the protection of the reporting persons.
The reporting manager is required to:
First, the manager makes an assessment of whether the essential requirements of the report are met in order to assess its eligibility and thus be able to grant the reporter the protections provided.
Specifically, the report may be deemed inadmissible for:
In the event that the report is found to be inadmissible or inadmissible, the manager may proceed to dismiss the report, specifying the reasons.
In the case of receiving anonymous reports, the manager undertakes to record them and retain the documentation received so that if the anonymous reporter is later identified and has suffered retaliation, the reporter is guaranteed the protections provided.
Once the admissibility of the report has been assessed, the manager initiates the internal investigation of the reported conduct or facts to assess their existence.
To carry out the preliminary investigation, the manager may initiate a dialogue with the reporter, asking the same for clarifications, documents and additional information, again through the methods described above or even in person. Where necessary, it may avail itself of the support and cooperation of the relevant corporate functions from time to time and, if necessary, of external consultants specialized in the area of the report received, taking care, however, that the protection of the confidentiality of the individuals involved is not compromised.
Once the assessment activity is completed, the manager:
In any case, the developments and outcomes of the proceedings are communicated to the reporter in a timely manner.
If investigations lead to the conclusion that a disciplinary sanction against the reported person is necessary, the manager informs the relevant function so that it can assess the most appropriate measure, to be applied in compliance with the regulations on labor law and collective bargaining agreements adopted by the Company. The disciplinary process, if any, to be initiated is determined by the General Management with the possible support of the Head of Department.
In addition, depending on the nature of the ascertained violation, in addition to sharing the results with the relevant corporate functions, bodies and structures, the right to file a complaint with the Judicial Authority remains unaffected.
The manager shall periodically report on the reports received, any irregularities found, and the related actions taken.
If the report is submitted to a person other than the reporting manager, where the reporting person expressly states that he or she wishes to benefit from the protections provided by the Protocol or, in any case, such a wish can be inferred from the report made, the report must be transmitted, within seven days of its receipt, to the manager, giving simultaneous notice of the transmission to the reporting person.
In addition, in the specific case where there is a conflict of interest, i.e., in cases where the handler of the report coincides with the reporter, the reported person, or is otherwise a person involved in or interested in the report, the report may be addressed to one of the Heads of Department.
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(1) It should be noted that the “acknowledgement” may consist of notice of the filing, initiation of an internal investigation and possibly its findings, measures taken to address the issue raised, and referral to a competent authority for further investigation. The acknowledgement may also be merely interlocutory in nature; however, the outcomes will be promptly communicated to the reporter.
All individuals involved in the Reporting Process have an obligation to ensure the confidentiality of the identity of the reporter and the information received, as well as any other element of the report from the disclosure of which the identity of the reporter could be directly or indirectly inferred.
In fact, alerts cannot be used beyond what is necessary to adequately follow up on them.
The identity of the reporting person and any other information from which such identity may be directly or indirectly inferred may not be disclosed without the express consent of the reporting person himself or herself to persons other than those competent to receive or follow up the reports, who are expressly authorized to process such data on the basis of the regulations in force.
The identity of the reporter is protected both at the stage of acquiring the report and in any context following the report, even when the report is made orally.
Within the framework of criminal proceedings, the identity of the reporting person is covered by secrecy in the manner and within the limits provided by Article 329 of the Criminal Code.
As part of the proceedings before the Court of Auditors, the identity of the reporting person may not be revealed until the investigation stage is closed.
In the context of disciplinary proceedings, the identity of the reporting person may not be disclosed, where the disciplinary charge is based on investigations that are separate and additional to the report, even if consequent to the report. If the charge is based, in whole or in part, on the report, and the knowledge of the identity of the reporting person is indispensable for the defense of the accused, the report will be usable for the purposes of disciplinary proceedings only in the presence of the express consent of the reporting person to the disclosure of his or her identity (otherwise, the right to proceed with the complaint to the judicial authority remains unaffected, if the conditions exist).
However, written notice shall be given to the reporter of the reasons for disclosure of confidential data.
The report is excluded from the right of access to administrative acts provided for in Articles 22 et seq. of Law 241/1990. The document cannot, therefore, be the subject of vision or extraction of copies by applicants, falling within the scope of the exclusion hypotheses referred to in Article 24, paragraph 1, letter a), of Law No. 241/90 as amended.
In addition, confidentiality is also guaranteed to persons other than the reporter, such as the facilitator assisting the reporter, the person reported (so-called involved person), as well as persons mentioned in the report or public disclosure (e.g., persons named as witnesses).
No form of retaliation or discriminatory measures, whether direct or indirect, for reasons directly or indirectly related to the reporting is permitted or tolerated against the reporter. Discriminatory or retaliatory measures include, but are not limited to, unjustified disciplinary actions, demotion without justification, harassment in the workplace, and any other form of retaliation that results in uncomfortable or intolerable working conditions.
These forms of protections operate against:
A person who believes that he or she has been discriminated against because he or she has reported a wrongdoing or irregularity must inform, in detail, the manager, who, in the case of a positive finding, will report the hypothesis of discrimination to the relevant structures, functions or bodies.
JUNGLE reserves the right to take appropriate measures and/or actions against anyone who engages in retaliatory acts or discrimination, direct or indirect, against the reporter for reasons related to the report.
The protections are not guaranteed in cases where it is established that the reporter is responsible for the crimes of slander or defamation, in cases of malice or gross negligence. In such cases, the Company may proceed against the whistleblower by imposing on the whistleblower the disciplinary sanctions, or punitive measures, deemed appropriate. In addition, in the event that the whistleblower is jointly responsible for the fact that is the subject of the report, this will be taken into account for the purpose of assessing the proportionality and the sanction to be applied in the specific case.
In order to ensure the traceability of the investigation activity related to each report, the manager reserves the right to archive all documentation related to the reports, ensuring the confidentiality of the data.
Reports, internal and external, and related documentation shall be retained for as long as necessary for the processing of the report and in any case no longer than five years from the date of the communication of the final outcome of the reporting procedure, subject to confidentiality obligations.
The personal data of whistleblowers, whistleblowers, and any individuals who may be involved, acquired in connection with the handling of the report, will be processed in compliance with current data protection regulations and, in any case, in line with the provisions of the GDPR.
In particular, JUNGLE as the owner of the data processing, guarantees that it will be carried out for the sole purpose of implementing this protocol and, therefore, for the proper management of the report, while respecting the fundamental rights and freedoms, as well as the dignity of those concerned with particular reference to confidentiality and data security.
Data processing, therefore, will take place:
Personal data that are manifestly not useful for processing a specific report are not collected or, if accidentally collected, are deleted immediately.
JUNGLE ensures the dissemination of this Protocol to all recipients through the publication of the same on the company website and on the company intranet and through circulation on company notice boards. It also oversees the actions necessary for the implementation of this Protocol and relations with civil society for the promotion and culture of legality, including through specific awareness and communication projects.
Implementation of the Protocol with regard to external consultants and suppliers can be ensured, where necessary, through the provision of specific contractual clauses.
For anything not provided for in this Protocol, please refer to the National Collective Labor Agreements applied by JUNGLE and the Company’s internal Sanctions System.