English Whistleblower

INTERNAL PROCEDURE FOR REPORTING VIOLATIONS OF THE LAW IN VIMN POLAND SP. Z O.O.

 

 

§ 1 
Introduction

  1. Pursuant to Article 25(1) and (2) of the Whistleblower Protection Act of 14 June 2024 (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 928)(“Act”), VIMN Poland sp. z o.o. introduces the internal reporting procedure (“Procedure”), which sets out the rules for reporting breaches of the law, taking follow-up actions and protecting whistleblowers (i.e. natural persons reporting breaches of the law in a work-related context, i.e. covering past, present or future activities related to the performance of work, as part of which information about the violation of the law was obtained, regardless of the position held, form of employment or cooperation, including on the basis of a civil law contract)(“Whistleblower”).
  2. Definitions:
    1. Reporting Channel – OPENLINE.
    2. Team – global Compliance team responsible for receiving Reports, and local HR and Legal teams responsible for taking follow-up actions, including investigating the Report.

    3. Report –information about an infringement of the law (i.e. an act or omission that is illegal or aimed at circumventing the law) to the Company via the Reporting Channel (telephone and/or online), to the extent concerning:

      1. corruption;
      2.  public procurement;
      3. financial services, products and markets;
      4. counteracting money laundering and terrorist financing;
      5. product safety and compliance;
      6. transport safety;
      7. environmental protection;
      8. radiation protection and nuclear safety;
      9. food and feed safety;
      10. animal health and welfare;
      11. public health;
      12. consumer protection;
      13.  protection of privacy and personal data;
      14. security of networks and ICT systems;
      15. the financial interests of the State Treasury of the Republic of Poland, local government units and the European Union;
      16. the internal market of the European Union, including public law rules on competition and state aid, and corporate taxation; or
      17. constitutional freedoms and rights of man and citizen – occurring in the relations of an individual with public authorities and not related to the areas indicated in points iii a-p.

      Reports of other violations, i.e. those that do not fall into any of the above categories (in particular, labour law violations), should be forwarded in the first instance to the line manager, the local HR department (Hr-warsaw@paramount.com) or the local legal department (BALAPolska@viacom.com). Such reports may also be submitted via OPENLINE, but the choice of this channel will not automatically grant the Whistleblower status under the Act.

    4. Follow-up action – means an action taken to assess the accuracy of the information contained in the Report and to counteract the violation of law being the subject of the Report, including an investigation.
    5. Retaliation – means a direct or indirect act or omission in a work-related context, that is caused by a Report and that violates or may violate the rights of the Whistleblower or causes or may cause unjustified damage to the Whistleblower, including the groundless initiation of proceedings against the Whistleblower.

§ 2 
Reporting

  1. Reporting information on a violation of the law referred to in points iii a-q may relate to a justified suspicion of an existing or potential violation of the law that has occurred or is likely to occur in the Company.
  2. The Team responsible for receiving Reports is the global Compliance team, while the local HR team and/or the local legal team is responsible for taking Follow-up Actions, including conducting investigations.
  3. The Teams operate in an impartial, independent manner with the authority to receive Reports and take Follow-up Actions.

  4.  A Whistleblower may make a Report through the following Reporting Channels:

    1. by phone to the following telephone number: 800005347; or
    2. online.

    A Whistleblower can submit Reports anonymously. More information about telephone Reports and access to online Reports can be found here: EthicsPoint - Paramount.

  5. A telephone Report will be documented in the form of:

    1. call recordings, or, if the Whistleblower does not consent to it, in the form of:
    2. minutes of the conversation.

    The Whistleblower may review, correct and approve the minutes of the conversation by signing them or by other implicit means.

  6. The Report should contain a clear and complete explanation of the subject of the Report, including at least:
    1. the date and place of the violation of the law or the date and place of obtaining information about the violation of the law;
    2.  a description of the specific situation or circumstances giving rise to the possibility of a violation of the law;
    3. identification of the person to whom the Report relates (i.e. the person who committed the infringement of the law, or as the person with whom the person who committed the infringement of the law is associated);
    4. indication of a possible victim;
    5.  indication of possible witnesses to the violation of the law;
    6. indication of all evidence and information available to the Whistleblower that may be helpful in the process of handling the Report;
    7. indication of the preferred method of return contact.
  7. A Report can only be made in good faith. It is forbidden to knowingly submit false Reports. In accordance with Article 57 of the Act, a person who makes a Report knowing that the reported violation of the law has not occurred commits a crime punishable by a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to 2 years.
  8. If it is determined that the Report was deliberately untrue, the Whistleblower may be held liable for the disciplinary action specified in the provisions of the Labour Code. Such behaviour may also be classified as a serious breach of basic employee duties and as such result in the termination of the employment contract without notice. In relation to the person providing work, services or goods, on the basis of a civil law contract, making a deliberately false Report may result in the termination of the contract and termination of cooperation. A person who has made a Report in which an untruth was deliberately provided does not enjoy the protection provided for Whistleblowers. 

§ 3 
Analysis of the Report, investigation

  1. After submitting the Report, the Whistleblower immediately receives an automatic e-mail response, provided that the Whistleblower has indicated a contact address. The generation of this message is only a technical confirmation of receipt of the Report and does not determine whether or not to grant the status of a Whistleblower to the person making the Report.
  2. Upon receipt of a Report, the Team takes steps to assess the accuracy of the information contained in the Report, including verifying the Report and further communication with the Whistleblower, including, where reasonably necessary, requesting additional information regarding the Report and providing feedback on the Report.
  3. The Team will also examine whether the Report meets the requirements set out in the Act. The Team may decide to grant the status of a Whistleblower despite not meeting the requirements set out in the Act.
  4. The Team may decide not to conduct an investigation if the content of the Report shows that it is indisputably false or it is impossible to obtain information necessary to conduct the investigation.
  5. A Report that allows for an investigation is subject to immediate processing.
  6. The Team may engage, if it deems it appropriate, representatives of various teams of the Company or independent consultants to participate in the investigation.
  7. The Team shall examine the Report, take Follow-up Actions, and provide feedback without undue delay, and no later than within 3 months from the confirmation of receipt of the Report.
  8. After conducting the investigation, the Team assesses the legitimacy of the Report. In the case of a justified Report, the Team issues recommendations on appropriate corrective or disciplinary actions in relation to the person who committed a violation of the law and recommendations aimed at eliminating and preventing identical or similar violations as described in the Report in the future.
  9. In the event of a negative verification of the Report, the Team shall immediately provide the Whistleblower, and may provide the person to whom the Report relates, with information about the Report made and the results of the verification.
  10. The Team records each Report in the Report register, regardless of the Follow-up Actions.
  11. The Register of Reports is kept in accordance with the confidentiality rules. Personal data and documents related to the Report are stored for a period of 3 years after the end of the calendar year in which the Follow-up Action was completed or after the completion of the proceedings initiated by these actions or after the Report is forwarded to the public authority competent to take follow-up actions. 

§ 4 
No Retaliation

  1. It is prohibited to take retaliatory actions, attempt to use them or threaten to use such actions against the Whistleblower, against a person who helped the Whistleblower in making a Report and one who is associated with the Whistleblower.
  2. Taking any other actions of a repressive, discriminatory or other type of unfair treatment towards the persons referred to in point 1 above, will be treated as a violation of the Procedure and may result in disciplinary liability or termination of the contract that binds the person undertaking the Retaliation actions with the Company.
  3. A Whistleblower who makes a Report in bad faith (i.e. knowing that there has been no violation of the law) is not subject to the protection provided for in the Act and this Procedure.
  4. A person who has suffered damage due to a Report in bad faith has the right to demand compensation or redress for infringement of personal rights from the Whistleblower who made such a Report.

§ 5
Personal data

  1. The Whistleblower's personal data shall not be disclosed to unauthorised persons unless the Whistleblower consents to their disclosure.
  2. Confidentiality is intended to guarantee the Whistleblower's sense of security and to minimise the risk of Retaliation and/or re pression. A Whistleblower who has made a Report and whose personal data has been unlawfully disclosed, should immediately notify the Team. The Team is obliged to take action to protect the Whistleblower.
  3. The identity of the Whistleblower, as well as any information enabling its identification, will not be disclosed to the persons to whom the Report relates, third parties or other employees and associates of such person. The identity of the Whistleblower, as well as other information enabling its identification, may be disclosed only if such disclosure is a necessary and proportionate obligation under generally applicable law in the context of investigations, preparatory proceedings or court proceedings conducted by public authorities or courts, respectively. The identity of the persons to whom the Report relates is subject to confidentiality requirements to the same extent as the identity of the Whistleblower.
  4. Personal data that are not relevant to the consideration of the Report are not collected, and in the event of accidental collection, they are deleted within 14 days from the date of determining that they are not relevant to the case. 

§ 6
Information on external reporting 

  1. In any case, the report may also be made to the Ombudsman or a public authority, disregarding the Procedure, in particular when: no Follow-up actions or feedback has been taken within the time limit for providing information, or the Whistleblower has reasonable grounds to believe that the violation of the law may pose a direct or obvious threat to the public interest, in particular there is a risk of irreparable harm, or filing an internal report will expose the Whistleblower to Retaliation, or in the case of an internal Report, there is a low probability of effective prevention of the violation by the Company due to the special circumstances of the case, such as the possibility of concealment or destruction of evidence or the possibility of collusion between the Company and the perpetrator of the violation of the law or the Company's participation in the violation of the law.
  2. A report made to the Ombudsman or a public authority without an internal Report does not result in depriving the Whistleblower of the protection guaranteedby the provisions of the Act.

§ 7
Final provisions

  1. Members of the local legal team are responsible for the adequacy and effectiveness of this Procedure.
  2. The Procedure was consulted with the company's trade union organization.
  3. To the extent not regulated by this Procedure, the provisions of the Act shall apply.

 

Last Updated: 7/1/2025