Whistleblowing Policy
1 General information
1.1 Legal basis
The legal basis for the whistleblower protection provisions in EU Member States is EU Directive No 2019/1937 of 23 October 2019 ("Whistleblowing Directive"). Each EU Member State is obliged to transpose the provisions of the Whistleblowing Directive into its national law. In Austria, the Whistleblowing Directive has been implemented through the Protection of Whistleblowers Act (HinweisgeberInnenschutzgesetz, HschG).
This Whistleblowing Policy applies to all companies in the HEAD Group to which the Whistleblowing Directive applies (each, a "Company").
1.2 Definitions
- Whistleblower: Natural persons who report or disclose information about a suspected Violation obtained in connection with their work activities.
- Violation: An act or omission that is unlawful or contrary to the object or purpose of national legislation or regulation, directly applicable EU law or company policy.
- Reprisals: Direct or indirect acts or omissions in a professional context that are triggered by a report or disclosure of a suspected Violation and that cause or may cause unjustified disadvantage to the Whistleblower.
1.3 Reportable violations
Reports may be made which relate to matters, including the following:
- Financial services, financial products, financial markets, and the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing;
- Product safety and compliance;
- Transport safety;
- Protection of the environment;
- Consumer protection; and
- Protection of privacy and personal data, and the security of network and information systems.
The reporting system serves exclusively to receive and process reports of actual or alleged Violations. In particular, it is not available for general complaints ("grievance box") or for product and warranty inquiries.
1.4 Principles
Whistleblowers may be employees of a Company (including part-time and temporary employees) but also applicants, interns, self-employed persons and all persons working for contractors, subcontractors and suppliers of a Company.
Whistleblowers must report Violations in good faith, ie there must be reasonable grounds at the time of the report to believe that the information about the reported Violation is correct. Concrete knowledge of an actual Violation is not necessary - reasonable suspicions/concerns are sufficient.
Intentionally false reports are unacceptable and entitle the Company to take action against the reporting person. False reports can have negative consequences for the reporting person and may lead to him or her being held liable for damage suffered as a result of the false report.
Whistleblowers are protected from Reprisals, such as dismissal, negative performance reviews, termination of fixed-term employment contracts, claims for damages, harassment, discrimination etc, on the basis of justified reports.
Whistleblowers have the option of remaining anonymous. The report must be treated confidentially if requested.
2 Reporting procedure
2.1 Submitting a report
A person with information about a suspected Violation or questions or concerns about a suspected Violation may report it using one of the reporting options set out below.
The reporting channels differ for employees of the HEAD Group and external Whistleblowers.
Under certain conditions, external reporting channels (national authorities) are also available to Whistleblowers.
2.2.1 Reporting channels for employees
The following reporting channels are available to employees of the HEAD Group:
Online Reporting Tool
Reports may be submitted online via the whistleblowing reporting tool set up for the HEAD Group. The reporting tool is secure and complies with applicable data protection and labour law. The reports are processed by the legal department on a confidential basis. Other departments may also be involved in the processing of the report if necessary.
By Post
Reports may be made by post. The address for this is:
HTM Sport GmbH
Attn.: Whistleblowing (Amanda Neil)
Tyroliaplatz 1
2320 Schwechat
Austria
By Email
Reports may be sent by email to the following address: Whistleblowing@head.com.
By Telephone
Reports may be made by telephone to the following number: +43 1 70 179 204 (Amanda Neil).
In Person
Reports may be submitted in person to Amanda Neil, HTM Sport GmbH, Tyroliaplatz 1, 2320 Schwechat, Austria.
2.2.2 Reporting channels for external whistleblowers
The following reporting channels are available to external persons (eg suppliers, customers, etc):
By Post
Reports may be made by post. The address for this is:
HTM Sport GmbH
Attn: Whistleblowing (Amanda Neil)
Tyroliaplatz 1
2320 Schwechat
Austria
By E-mail
Reports may be sent by e-mail to the following address: Whistleblowing@head.com.
By Telephone
Reports may be made by telephone to the following number: +43 1 70 179 204 (Amanda Neil).
In Person
Reports may be submitted in person to Amanda Neil, HTM Sport GmbH, Tyroliaplatz 1, 2320 Schwechat, Austria.
2.3 Content of the report
When making a report, the Whistleblower should disclose as much information as possible. If known, the Whistleblower should provide the following information:
- A short description of the incident.
- Where did the incident occur?
- When did the incident occur?
- Who was involved in the incident?
- Which companies were involved in the incident?
- Which departments were involved in the incident?
- What does the suspicion relate to?
- Are you an employee of the business unit concerned?
- Name of the Whistleblower (or request for anonymity).
- Date and time when the report was made.
2.4 Processing the report
If the report was submitted via the online reporting tool or if the Whistleblower provided his or her contract details, the Whistleblower will receive an acknowledgement of receipt within seven days of receipt of the report.
Subsequently, the Whistleblower will receive a response within three months of receipt of the report outlining the measures taken to resolve the matter or the reasons why the matter cannot be processed further.
The Whistleblower may be asked to provide additional information if this is necessary for the further processing of the report.
3 Data protection
Any processing of personal data in accordance with this Whistleblowing Policy and national laws is carried out in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation; "GDPR") and the GDPR guidelines implemented within the Head Group.
General information
The processing of personal data by a Company (controller) in connection with a report (such as name, email address, telephone number, address and other data to be collected for processing the report) is based on legal authorisations or obligations for the purpose of clarifying reports that have been made.
Transfer
The personal data provided on the basis of a notification may be transferred to other companies in the HEAD Group (details at https://www.head.com/about/locations/) within and outside the EU/EEA, taking into account data protection regulations. A Company may also have to transfer personal data to competent authorities, eg law enforcement authorities, tax authorities, courts, consulting firms and legal representatives.
When reporting via the online reporting tool, personal data may also be passed on to the service provider for technical implementation. Further information can be found in the privacy policy for the online reporting tool.
Storage period
Personal data that is clearly not necessary for the processing of a report will not be collected or, if it was collected inadvertently, will be deleted immediately.
Otherwise, the Company only stores personal data for as long as is necessary to process a report or for as long as the Company has a legitimate interest in storing the personal data. In addition, data may be stored for as long as required by European or national legislation to fulfil legal obligations, such as retention obligations. All personal data will then be deleted, blocked or anonymised.
Rights of data subjects
In principle, data subjects have the right to information, deletion, correction of data, restriction of processing, revocation of consent to data processing (if such consent has been granted), data portability and objection. To exercise these rights, an email may be sent to privacy@head.com. Furthermore, data subjects have the right to lodge a complaint about the processing of personal data with the competent data protection authority.
The above-mentioned rights shall not apply to persons affected by a report for the duration of administrative/judicial proceedings or investigative proceedings under the Code of Criminal Procedure, as long as and to the extent necessary to protect the identity of the Whistleblower and other persons protected by law and to achieve the above-mentioned purposes, in particular, to prevent attempts to prevent, undermine or delay the provision of information relating to a violation or follow-up measures based on such information.