a) employees,
b) individuals making an employment inquiry or applying for a job,
c) individuals applying for or performing volunteer work,
d) individuals applying for or undergoing an internship,
e) individuals otherwise available to perform or are performing work under the organization’s control and direction,
f) self-employed individuals applying for or executing assignments,
g) individuals available to join or are part of the organization’s administrative, executive, or supervisory bodies,
h) shareholders available to work or are active in the corporation, or
i) individuals who have previously belonged to any of the above categories.

When assessing whether a report is actually a whistleblower case as defined by law, the public interest aspect weighs heavily and must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Issue categories that could be assessed as a Whistleblower case is for example:

• Corruption and financial irregularities; for example, bribery, unfair competition, money laundering and fraud
• Intentional violations of legislation
• Environmental misconduct; for example, illegal handling of hazardous waste
• Serious and/or recurring bullying or harassment in the workplace that is not dealt with or investigated by the company in accordance with the Discrimination Act.

You don’t need to have evidence that your report is true; it is sufficient that you are acting in good faith concerning your concerns. However, the report must not be based on rumors or hearsay, and it is not permitted to lie or knowingly provide false information.

Incidents such as unauthorized access to confidential information, leakage, or suspicion of leakage of personal data, workplace incidents, theft etc. is also normally not of public interest and should not be reported as a whistleblower case. Incidents should be reported according to our Incident process.

We utilize the services of Simployer &frankly, an independent third-party, to provide our whistleblower channel. Any reported issue is evaluated and managed internally by a Case manager at Plint.

• Reporting: Via Simployer &frankly’s reporting portal, accessible through the specified link. Here you can input your case in writing, voice record your concern, or request a physical meeting.
• Reception: Our Case Manager receives all reports and will make a first evaluation of the case. The first review will always include an assessment of whether or not it is a whistleblower case. However, this doesn’t mean that cases reported and deemed not to be a whistleblower case, according to the law, will be dismissed. These cases will still be managed but not necessarily as a whistleblower case.
• Follow-up: The Case Manager is responsible for initiating investigations and providing feedback to the whistleblower.
• Information Sharing: Relevant information may be shared with internal stakeholders such as the board, management team, or HR. The case manager decides the most appropriate first point of contact based on the nature of the case.
• Timeframes: You will receive an acknowledgment of your report within 7 days. Feedback on the case will be given within three months at the latest.

Feedback to Whistleblowers Even if we might not be able to provide all the details, we will acknowledge the whistleblower and inform them that an investigation has been conducted and give a brief account of the outcome or the follow-up actions taken.

Plint does not have the legal right to:

1. obstruct or attempt to obstruct reporting, or
2. because of reporting take reprisals against

a) a reporting person,
b) someone at the company who assists the reporting person in the reporting,
c) someone at the company who is connected to the reporting person, such as a relative or colleague, or
d) a legal entity that the reporting person owns, works for or is otherwise connected with.

We are also not allowed to take reprisals because someone turns to their labor organization for consultation regarding reporting or to prevent or attempt to prevent such consultation.

When submitting a report, you will have the option to receive notifications about your case via email or SMS. If you choose to provide these contact details, they will be accessible to Simployer &frankly but remain undisclosed to Plint. However, this step is optional. Upon reporting, you’ll receive a unique ID that can be used to track the progress and any responses to your case without having to provide any contact details.

While our provider logs IP addresses in their system, they are never shared with Plint. For utmost assurance of anonymity, we recommend submitting your report from a device not provided by the company and outside the Plint network.

The protections outlined above also apply when reporting externally to an authority. The authorities designated by the government have their own external reporting channels and procedures for receiving, tracking, and providing feedback on reports within their respective areas of responsibility. Such external reporting is overseen by the specific designated authorities, and our organization is not connected to these reporting channels.

For more information on what external reporting entails and which authority you should approach, refer to your country’s regulation on the protection of persons reporting misconduct. Additionally, you can submit your report to EU institutions, bodies, or agencies if the report pertains to union law. Detailed procedures can be found with the respective authority or EU entity.