New rules for EU-wide protection of whistleblowers!
On 16 December 2019, the EU Whistleblower Directive on the protection of whistleblowers was adopted. EU member states had until the end of 2021 to transpose this directive into national laws. In Germany, the Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG), after being rejected by the Bundesrat in its then version in February 2023, has now been passed in the Bundestag on 11 May 2023 and in the Bundesrat on 12 May 2023.
German companies and public institutions with 250 or more employees have until mid-June 2023 to set up internal reporting channels. Companies and public institutions with 50-249 employees have an extended implementation period until 17 December 2023.
The consequence: Hospitals that have not yet established a suitable whistleblowing system must become active urgently. NEXUS / QM offers you the solution! But let's start from the beginning...
What is the new whistleblower policy supposed to achieve?
The new guideline aims to protect whistleblowers who have the courage to uncover wrongdoings in the company. The whistleblower system is an additional reporting channel for violations of rules or laws and is available to all employees at the hospital. If a violation is suspected, it can be reported anonymously via a secure system. In future, employees should not have to fear demotion, mobbing or even dismissal.
And how does this work exactly?
1. reporting by the whistleblower
With the NEXUS / whistleblower system, employees can report violations and grievances via an integrated reporting form in NEXUS / CUARTOR without having to disclose their identity. For this purpose, the whistleblower is automatically logged out of the system as soon as he or she dials into the reporting form.
3. report processing
The report processor is an appointed impartial person or department who electronically records the report, stays in contact with the whistleblower via the whistleblower portal and, if necessary, asks for further information or gives feedback. Completely anonymous, of course! In addition, the person processing the report also takes care of taking measures, e.g. with the measures management of NEXUS / CURATOR.
2. automatic confirmation of receipt
Immediately after the report, the whistleblower receives a unique document number and a password via message. The formal confirmation of receipt can then either be downloaded or printed. In addition, he or she can check the processing status of the report at any time and comment on any queries.
4. Feedback to the whistleblower
Feedback from the person processing the report to the whistleblower must take place within an appropriate time frame (max. 3 months). The communication here also takes place via the NEXUS whistleblower portal and the document key.
The advantages at a glance:
The NEXUS whistleblower portal not only helps you uncover grievances and violations in your company, but can also be completely integrated into your quality and risk management. In addition to conducting audits, managing your risks and managing measures, the whistleblower portal is an indispensable component for compliance management. In short: NEXUS / NOTICE GIVER SYSTEM is an enormously important component of your compliance management and helps you to fulfil the legal requirements.
Have you become curious? Then contact us!
Contact
Marco Moro
Projektmanagement / Head of PreSales QM
NEXUS / QM
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