“Trust Line” whistleblower system

The following options are available at Gütermann GmbH for submitting reports easily:

• Post (see contact below)
• E-mail: Use the dedicated mailbox whistleblower@guetermann.com
• Via our “Trust Line” whistleblower system, which is also anonymous
• Telephone: Contact the dedicated telephone hotline +49 7681 21 200

You are welcome to combine these reporting channels or arrange a personal meeting with us if you wish.

Gütermann GmbH has set up a central point of contact that places the utmost importance on maintaining confidentiality. Both the telephone hotline and the e-mail address whistleblower@guetermann.com forward your reports directly to this central point of contact.

Please note:
Your identity may be identified in the event of messages by post, e-mails or calls to the telephone hotline. If you send an anonymous letter without a return address or hide the telephone number when you call, we will not be able to contact you or inform you of the progress of your report.

However, if you would like to remain strictly anonymous and still want feedback on your report, please use our “Trust Line” whistleblower system.

In the “Trust Line” digital whistleblower system (see link below) Gütermann GmbH offers you the option of submitting reports completely anonymously.

If you voluntarily provide personal information, the data you provide will only be used to investigate the submitted report. This data is stored for as long as necessary to clarify the reported matter and for the final processing. This includes the rectification of any identified deficiencies and the handling of any related legal proceedings. After this time, your personal data will only be retained if this is required by legal, regulatory or contractual retention obligations or permitted under applicable law.

If you do not submit your report anonymously via Trust Line (e.g. no sender in the letter, hidden phone number), we will unfortunately not be able to keep you up to date.

Regardless of whether you submit your report anonymously or provide personal data, effective investigation relies on the “4 W – Who? What? When? Where?”:

WHO do you think is involved in the violation?

WHAT exactly happened? (In the “Trust Line” digital whistleblower system, we have prepared categories to help you classify them more effectively. A detailed description of the incident forms the basis of our investigation.)

WHEN did the reported incident occur?

WHERE did the reported incident occur?

The more comprehensive your answers to these questions in your report, the more effectively we can conduct the investigation.

Once we have received your report for which we will send you confirmation within 7 days, the Gütermann GmbH central reporting office will assess whether an in-depth investigation is required. This investigation may be carried out by internal or external experts in carrying out investigations.

A small number of specially designated persons are responsible for internal investigations. Depending on the content of your report, a confidential decision will be made as to whether internal departments should be involved. The relevant management areas, which are also responsible for rectifying any deficiencies discovered in the course of the whistleblowing process, may be involved. If your report concerns other companies in the Elevate Textiles Group, the relevant authorities in these companies will be informed, unless you expressly request that this should not take place. The persons appointed for the investigation also decide whether to involve external specialists.

The involvement of external experts commissioned by us (such as lawyers, auditors or forensic experts who review your report on behalf of the Gütermann GmbH) is subject to contractual or legal obligations to maintain confidentiality with regard to the information you provide.
During the investigations, individuals who have been reported for possible violations of the law may be informed and interviewed. If considered relevant or required by law, these persons will have the opportunity to comment on the report during the course of the investigation.

Under certain circumstances, Gütermann GmbH may also be obliged to provide certain government agencies, in particular government investigating authorities or courts, with information about violations of the law. In cases of information requests, information obligations or judicial seizures, we are not able to withhold the information you provide.

As a whistleblower, you will be informed of the outcome of the investigation into the reported violation and any action taken within a reasonable period of time, but no later than 3 months after receipt of your report. This obligation to provide feedback continues even if longer investigations have not yet yielded a conclusive result. In this case, you will only be informed of the current progress of the investigations.

Upon completion of the review, your report will be documented in accordance with the confidentiality guidelines and deleted three years after the procedure has been completed.

Please ensure that you have sufficient reason to believe that the information included in the report is truthful before submitting a report.

We therefore ask that you only provide information that you believe to be correct to the best of your knowledge. You may suffer consequences if you deliberately provide false or misleading information. Knowingly spreading false information can have legal consequences in many countries. Please do not provide us with any information if this is punishable under the laws of your country.

We would like to point out that individuals or government agencies affected by your report may have the right to request information or take action. This could be the case in particular if the subject claims that the allegations made against them are knowingly or negligently false and legal action is therefore taken.

Yes, the Gütermann GmbH whistleblower system does not prevent you from submitting your report to an external reporting office. These were set up by the state. The main state reporting office is located at the Federal Office of Justice. There are also special external reporting offices. The reporting office set up by the Federal Financial Services Authority is responsible for violations relating to financial transactions. There is also an external reporting office at the Federal Cartel Office, where reports of antitrust violations can be submitted.

If you report a violation, we process your personal data when receiving, checking and investigating the report in accordance with this data protection information.

See Data Protection Information Whistleblower