To guarantee your anonymity, the encrypted data is transmitted via the secure and independent EQS servers. You will remain anonymous when you submit a report or question via the EQS Integrity Line, unless you decide to disclose your identity. For anonymous reports, we recommend using the EQS Integrity Line outside the company network.
Please report to us any incidents at Rhenus coming to your attention that are in violation of applicable laws or Rhenus’ Code of Conduct. We are particularly interested in any incidents relating to the following topics: Fair competition (no cartel agreements), integrity in business dealings (no corruption), separation of corporate and private interests (no conflicts of interest), cooperation with authorities (no misinformation), and respect for human rights.
All reports are sent to the responsible Rhenus contact persons via the secure EQS servers. They will decide on the next steps and contact you via the Rhenus Integrity Line in case of questions or if additional information is needed. If requested, your anonymity will be protected. In case of concrete reports of suspicions, specialists may be involved and an investigation initiated. You will be informed as soon as the investigation of the reported incident is concluded. The investigation, especially of complex cases, can take several months. To protect data privacy, you can generally not be told the outcome and result of the investigation.
Rhenus tolerates neither discrimination nor retaliatory actions against you. If you nonetheless file a knowingly false or malicious report, Rhenus will then reserve taking legal steps against you.
Any report is legitimate if you believed or had reason to assume the accuracy of its content at submission, and that you did not submit the report with improper intent. It is not expected of you that you search for evidence yourself or personally solve the incident. We will see to solving the case. It is therefore possible that the investigation will later show that no offence has been committed. You do not have to fear any negative consequences in that case.
At the end of the reporting process, you will receive an automatically generated incident number and set a password for yourself. Using this login data, you can later log into your personal mailbox at any time by clicking on ‘Mailbox’ and following the instructions. The mailbox lets you to enter into a direct dialogue with the case managers at Rhenus while protecting your anonymity. The option to have a dialogue is very important, as further information might possibly be required to fully solve the incident.
Please allow us 7 working days to respond to your report.
If you are personally involved in the misconduct and if you incriminate yourself in your report, this will be appropriately considered in the investigation of the facts and any potential sanctioning. However, if your involvement is relevant in terms of criminal law, you cannot be protected from potential negative consequences in all cases.
In case of a report, you have the right to choose between the internal or an external reporting channel. However, according to external reporting authorities, as well as in the sense of Rhenus, the internal reporting authority, the Rhenus whistleblowing system "Rhenus Integrity Line", should always be preferred.
Rhenus, as the company involved, can process reports most effectively due to its closeness to the facts and can also promptly ensure that a possible violation is stopped (see "Frequently Asked Questions" at the Federal Office of Justice "Bundesjustizamt"). In principle, there will be several external reporting offices in the future. These will initially include an external reporting office at the national level, which will be set up at the Federal Office of Justice "Bundesjustizamt". Furthermore, it is planned that a specialized reporting office will be set up at the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority "Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin)". This last office is responsible, for example, for reporting violations of the Financial Services Supervision Act "Finanzdienstleistungsaufsichtsgesetz". The Federal Cartel Office "Bundeskartellamt" is the competent external reporting office for reports of information on infringements of European Union regulations on competition
