Whistleblowers

PROCEDURE FOR COLLECTING AND PROCESSING WHISTLEBLOWERS' REPORTS THROUGH INTERNAL CHANNELS

Translation of the original text in French. In the case of conflict, the French version prevails

Introduction

Act no. 2016-1691 of 9 December 2016, as amended by Act no. 2022-401 of 21 March 2022, introduces protection for whistleblowers (the main provisions of the Act relating to this protection are set out in Appendix I to this note). This protection also applies to facilitators who have helped the Whistleblower to make his or her report and to certain natural or legal persons in a relationship with the Whistleblower (article 6-1 of law n°2016-1691).

However, the benefit of this protection is conditional to the use of the reporting channels defined by law.

Thus, whistleblowers who have obtained information in the course of their professional activities relating to facts that have occurred or are very likely to occur within the institute may carry out:

• an internal alert, which is the subject of this procedure, specified in paragraph 2 ;

• an external alert, either after having sent an internal alert, or directly (see the list of authorities external to the Institute in Appendix II of this document);

It is also possible to make a public disclosure (except if such public disclosure would be prejudicial to the interests of national defence and security), after having made an external alert (preceded or not by an internal alert), without any appropriate action having been taken in response. This public disclosure may also be made without prior external reporting, under the following strict conditions laid down by law: in the event of serious and imminent danger, in the event of imminent or obvious danger to the general interest, in particular where there is an emergency situation or a risk of irreversible damage, or when referring the matter to one of the authorities provided for external reporting would expose the person making the report to a risk of reprisals or would not enable the subject of the disclosure to be effectively remedied.

In accordance with the law, this note sets out the procedure for collecting and processing reports made internally (within the institute).

Please note: although employees can only benefit from the protection provided by the law if they use the reporting channels listed in the law, they can also communicate within the institute, without using these reporting channels, any fact relating to a professional situation which they consider to be abnormal and in need of correction.

In addition, articles L4133-1 and L4133-2 of the Labour Code introduce a whistleblowing procedure and specific protection for a company employee or a staff representative on the works council in the event of a serious risk to public health or the environment. This employee or staff representative has the choice of exercising the procedure provided for by these articles or the ordinary law procedure for whistleblowers provided for by law no. 2016-1691.

1. Definition of the whistleblower and purpose of the alert
2. Internal notification procedure
3. The ESRF's "Whistleblower Referral Unit"
4. Publicising the internal whistleblowing procedure
5. Final provisions
6. Annex 1
7. Annex 2

 

1. Definition of the whistleblower and purpose of the alert

A whistleblower is a person (“personne physique” in French) who reports information concerning a crime, an offence, a threat or harm to the general interest, a violation or an attempt to conceal a violation of an international commitment duly ratified or approved by France, a unilateral act of an international organisation taken on the basis of such a commitment, European Union law, a law or regulation.

By way of non-exhaustive examples, an alert may be issued for information relating to corruption, misappropriation of public funds, moral or sexual harassment (offences) or actions likely to endanger or harm public health or environmental safety (threat or harm to the general interest).

This reporting must be done without direct financial consideration and in good faith. Bad faith on the part of the whistleblower arises from knowledge of the falsity of the facts he or she is reporting.

Where the information was not obtained in the course of professional activities, it is necessary for the Whistleblower to have had personal knowledge of it.

Please note: the protection provided by Law no. 2016-1691, as amended by Law no. 2022-401, does not apply to whistleblowers who report information the disclosure of which is prohibited by provisions relating to defence secrecy, medical secrecy, the secrecy of judicial deliberations, the secrecy of judicial investigations or proceedings or the professional secrecy of lawyers.

2. Internal notification procedure

1. Persons entitled to use the internal reporting procedure

The internal whistleblowing procedure may be used by individuals as defined by law (see below), when they meet the definition of whistleblowers (see paragraph 1), when they have obtained the information that is the subject of the whistleblowing in the course of their professional activities and when this information relates to facts that have occurred or are very likely to occur within the institute.

Thus, under the terms of the law, the right to issue an internal alert belongs:

1° To members of staff, to persons whose employment relationship has ended, where the information was obtained in the context of that relationship, and to persons who have applied for a job within the entity concerned, where the information was obtained in the context of that application;

2° Shareholders, members and holders of voting rights in the general meeting of the entity;

3° Members of the administrative, management or supervisory body;

4° External and occasional employees;

5° Co-contractors of the entity concerned, their subcontractors or, in the case of legal entities, members of the administrative, management or supervisory bodies of these co-contractors and subcontractors, as well as members of their staff. 

2. Transmission of the alert

Whistleblowers must submit their reports in writing to the Institute's "Whistleblower Referral Unit" (see paragraph 3).

In order to guarantee the confidentiality of the report, it should be sent by post, using a double envelope (external envelope/internal envelope), as follows:

• The external envelope is sent by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, to the following postal address:

ESRF
Indicate the position of one of the four members of the "Whistleblower Referral Unit": Welfare Officer or Internal Auditor or Director of Administration or Safety Officer
CS 40220
38043 Grenoble Cedex 9

The outer envelope is marked "Confidential".

• In the outer envelope is an inner envelope marked "Confidential - For the attention of the "Whistleblower Referral Unit" only. This internal envelope contains the alert and the information required for it (see paragraph C. below).

Any information required for reporting that cannot be provided in this letter may be provided at a later date in accordance with the procedures agreed between the Whistleblower and "Whistleblower Referral Unit" (see paragraph C.).

The whistleblower may also, if he or she wishes, request a face-to-face meeting with the "Whistleblower Referral Unit" before submitting a written report. However, only this written report will be taken into account.

In the event that a report is received by a person or service other than the "Whistleblower Referral Unit", it will be forwarded to that person or service without delay in accordance with the procedures described above, following authorisation to do so given by the Whistleblower (authorisation obtained in writing).

3. Content of the alert

The alert must include the following information :

a. the identity, position and postal address of the whistleblower;

b. any evidence that he/she falls within the categories of persons who may make an internal alert (see the different categories in paragraph A of this article);

c. a description of the facts reported, accompanied by any supporting evidence (documents, photos, etc.);

d. if the Whistleblower considers it relevant, the names and functions of the persons who are the subject of the alert;

e. the means by which the Whistleblower wishes to communicate with the "Whistleblower Referral Unit" (by post, face-to-face meeting, telephone or videoconference).

For reasons of confidentiality :

- communications by e-mail are not authorised.

- For exchanges by post :

letters sent by the Whistleblower to the "Whistleblower Referral Unit" will be sent using the double envelope procedure provided for the transmission of alerts (see paragraph B above);

in the case of letters sent by the "Whistleblower Referral Unit" to the Whistleblower, where the name of the sender is required, the function of one of the four members of the unit will be indicated (the term "Whistleblower Referral Unit" should therefore not appear on the envelope or the acknowledgement of receipt stub as the sender, but should appear on the letter itself inserted in the envelope, as the signatory).

The alert may be anonymous. In this case, by derogation from paragraph B, a., b. and e. do not appear on the alert. Furthermore, in this case, the provisions below relating to feedback to the Whistleblower do not apply.

4. Receipt of the alert

The "Whistleblower Referral Unit" acknowledges receipt of the Whistleblower's alert within 7 working days, by registered letter (in accordance with the procedures set out in paragraph C).

5. Analysis of the admissibility of the alert

The "Whistleblower Referral Unit" will first carry out an analysis to assess the admissibility of the alert.

In particular, it assesses whether the conditions set out in Law no. 2016-1691 have been met and whether the information and documents sent by the Whistleblower are sufficient to investigate the alert. It may ask the Whistleblower for additional information or documents.

The "Whistleblower Referral" Unit informs the Whistleblower, by registered letter (in accordance with the procedures set out in paragraph C), whether or not the alert is admissible within 1 month of the acknowledgement of receipt of the alert.

If the alert is deemed inadmissible because it does not comply with the conditions laid down by Law no. 2016-1691, it will explain the reasons for this. The alert will then not be investigated as described in paragraph F. below.

During this phase of analysing the admissibility of the alert, the "Whistleblower Referral Unit" may take precautionary measures if these are considered essential.

6. Investigation of the alert and action taken

When an alert is deemed admissible, the "Whistleblower Referral Unit"  investigates it.

It may carry out an investigation to ensure that the facts covered by the alert are true and meet any person deemed necessary.

In order to assess the accuracy of its allegations, it may ask the Whistleblower for any additional information.

At the end of its investigation, the "Whistleblower Referral Unit" draws up a report for the Director General (or the Council Chair if the Director General is directly affected by the alert). Where appropriate, this report shall include recommendations for remedying the subject of the alert. This report is drawn up in compliance with the rules of confidentiality set out in Article 9 of Law 2016-1691 and recalled in paragraph H below.

Any decisions taken to remedy the matter reported are adopted by the Director General (or the Council Chair if the Director General is directly affected by the report).

Within a period not exceeding 3 months from the date of acknowledgement of receipt of the alert, the "Whistleblower Referral Unit" will send the author of the alert (in accordance with the procedures set out in paragraph C), by registered letter, information on:

- the measures envisaged or taken (and the reasons for them) to assess the accuracy of the allegations;

- and, where appropriate, the measures envisaged or taken (and the reasons for them) to remedy the subject of the alert.

However, the alert may continue to be processed after 3 months. In this case, additional information will be sent to the Whistleblower in the same way.

7. Closure of the procedure

By registered letter (in accordance with the procedures set out in paragraph C), the "Whistleblower Referral Unit" informs the Whistleblower that the procedure has been closed.

The procedure may be closed if the allegations are considered to be inaccurate or unfounded, or if the alert has become irrelevant (in particular as a result of the measures taken).                                                                                                                                                                           

8. Confidentiality

The information gathered may only be communicated to persons other than those making up the "Whistleblower Referral Unit" if this communication is necessary to process the alert, and in any event in compliance with the rules below.

In any event, strict confidentiality is ensured with regard to the identity of the authors of the alert, the persons concerned by it and any third party mentioned in the alert and the information gathered by all the recipients of the alert.

Information that could identify the Whistleblower may only be disclosed with the Whistleblower's consent. It may, however, be communicated to the judicial authorities, should the "Whistleblower Referral Unit"  be required to report the facts to them. The Whistleblower is then informed, unless this information could compromise the legal proceedings. Written explanations are attached to this information.

Information likely to identify the person implicated by a report may only be disclosed, except to the judicial authority, once it has been established that the report is well-founded.

9. Security of information collected

The Institute takes all necessary precautions to protect the security of the data collected, whether it is collected, communicated or stored.

The information collected when an alert is issued, its admissibility is analysed or it is processed is stored:

- in the case of digital documents, in a secure IT area ;

- in the case of non-digital documents or items, in a secure area.

Access to these secure areas is reserved exclusively for members of the "Whistleblower Referral Unit".

10. RGPD and data retention

The processing of personal data relating to alerts must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Alerts may only be kept for as long as is strictly necessary and proportionate for their processing and for the protection of their authors, the persons they concern and the third parties they mention, taking into account the time required for any further investigations. However, data relating to alerts may be kept beyond this period, provided that the individuals concerned are neither identified nor identifiable.

3. The institute's ""Whistleblower Referral Unit”

The Institute's "Whistleblower Referral Unit" is composed of:

- the ESRF Welfare Officer;

- the ESRF Internal Auditor;

- the ESRF Director of Administration;

- the ESRF Safety Officer.

It carries out the tasks entrusted to it under this internal procedure in a collegial manner. All information communicated to or gathered by the "Whistleblower Referral Unit" is shared with all its members.

The Unit may, however, be represented by some of its members, in particular during its discussions with the Whistleblower, the persons concerned by the alert or, more generally, during the investigation of the facts that are the subject of the alert.

The Unit may also be represented by some of its members when one of them is absent, particularly in the event of paid leave, work stoppage, etc. However, the member will be informed of the procedure in progress when he/she returns.

In the event that a member of the "Whistleblower Referral Unit"  is directly and personally implicated by the alert, or if his or her independence in dealing with the alert cannot be guaranteed due to his or her duties, he or she will not take part in the analysis of its admissibility or its investigation. He/She will only have access to the information collected once the procedure has been closed.

The members of the "Whistleblower Referral Unit" are bound by a strict obligation of confidentiality, as set out in article 9 of law no. 2016-1691 and in article 2, paragraph H, of this memorandum.

4. Publicizing the internal whistleblowing procedure

This memorandum, which includes the internal whistleblowing procedure, as well as the existence and composition of the "Whistleblower Referral Unit", is published on the Institute's intranet and posted within the Institute.  It is also published on the Institute's website.

5. Final provisions

This procedure is set up by unilateral decision of the Management after consultation of the Social and Economic Committee. It is for an indefinite period and comes into force on March 1st 2024.

It may be modified by Management after consultation with the Social and Economic Committee.

It may be terminated, after consultation with the Social and Economic Committee, provided that a 3 months' notice is given and employees are informed.

 

ANNEX I

PROTECTION DEVICES

(not exhaustive)

Extract from Article 10-1 of Law no. 2016-1691 of 9 December 2016, as amended by Law no. 2022-401 of 21 March 2022:

« I.-Les personnes ayant signalé ou divulgué publiquement des informations dans les conditions prévues aux articles 6 et 8 ne sont pas civilement responsables des dommages causés du fait de leur signalement ou de leur divulgation publique dès lors qu'elles avaient des motifs raisonnables de croire, lorsqu'elles y ont procédé, que le signalement ou la divulgation publique de l'intégralité de ces informations était nécessaire à la sauvegarde des intérêts en cause.

Les personnes ayant signalé ou divulgué des informations dans les conditions prévues aux mêmes articles 6 et 8 bénéficient de l'irresponsabilité pénale prévue à l'article 122-9 du code pénal.

II.-Les personnes auxquelles sont applicables l'article L. 1121-2 du code du travail, l'article L. 135-4 du code général de la fonction publique ou le III de l'article L. 4122-4 du code de la défense ne peuvent faire l'objet, à titre de représailles, ni des mesures mentionnées aux mêmes articles, ni des mesures de représailles mentionnées aux 11° et 13° à 15° du présent II, pour avoir signalé ou divulgué des informations dans les conditions prévues aux articles 6 et 8 de la présente loi.

Dans les mêmes conditions, les personnes autres que celles mentionnées au premier alinéa du présent II ne peuvent faire l'objet de mesures de représailles, ni de menaces ou de tentatives de recourir à ces mesures, notamment sous les formes suivantes :

1° Suspension, mise à pied, licenciement ou mesures équivalentes ;

2° Rétrogradation ou refus de promotion ;

3° Transfert de fonctions, changement de lieu de travail, réduction de salaire, modification des horaires de travail ;

4° Suspension de la formation ;

5° Evaluation de performance ou attestation de travail négative ;

6° Mesures disciplinaires imposées ou administrées, réprimande ou autre sanction, y compris une sanction financière ;

7° Coercition, intimidation, harcèlement ou ostracisme ;

8° Discrimination, traitement désavantageux ou injuste ;

9° Non-conversion d'un contrat de travail à durée déterminée ou d'un contrat temporaire en un contrat permanent, lorsque le travailleur pouvait légitimement espérer se voir offrir un emploi permanent ;

10° Non-renouvellement ou résiliation anticipée d'un contrat de travail à durée déterminée ou d'un contrat temporaire ;

11° Préjudice, y compris les atteintes à la réputation de la personne, en particulier sur un service de communication au public en ligne, ou pertes financières, y compris la perte d'activité et la perte de revenu ;

12° Mise sur liste noire sur la base d'un accord formel ou informel à l'échelle sectorielle ou de la branche d'activité, pouvant impliquer que la personne ne trouvera pas d'emploi à l'avenir dans le secteur ou la branche d'activité ;

13° Résiliation anticipée ou annulation d'un contrat pour des biens ou des services ;

14° Annulation d'une licence ou d'un permis ;

15° Orientation abusive vers un traitement psychiatrique ou médical.

Tout acte ou décision pris en méconnaissance du présent II est nul de plein droit.

… »

ANNEX II

AUTHORITIES RESPONSIBLE FOR EXTERNAL WHISTLEBLOWING

Any whistleblower may make an external alert, either after having made an internal alert, or directly, to the following bodies:

• To the judicial authorities.

• To the Human Rights Defender, who will direct the whistleblower to the authority or authorities best placed to deal with the matter.

• To an institution, body, office or agency of the European Union competent to collect information on violations falling within the scope of Directive EU 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019.

• To the following competent authorities (Annex to Decree no. 2022-1284):

1. Marchés publics :

- Agence française anticorruption (AFA), pour les atteintes à la probité ;

- Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF), pour les pratiques anticoncurrentielles ;

- Autorité de la concurrence, pour les pratiques anticoncurrentielles ;

2. Services, produits et marchés financiers et prévention du blanchiment de capitaux et du financement du terrorisme :

- Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), pour les prestataires en services d'investissement et infrastructures de marchés ;

- Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR), pour les établissements de crédit et organismes d'assurance ;

3. Sécurité et conformité des produits :

- Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF) ;

- Service central des armes et explosifs (SCAE) ;

4. Sécurité des transports :

- Direction générale de l'aviation civile (DGAC), pour la sécurité des transports aériens ;

- Bureau d'enquêtes sur les accidents de transport terrestre (BEA-TT), pour la sécurité des transports terrestres (route et fer) ;

- Direction générale des affaires maritimes, de la pêche et de l'aquaculture (DGAMPA), pour la sécurité des transports maritimes ;

5. Protection de l'environnement :

- Inspection générale de l'environnement et du développement durable (IGEDD) ;

6. Radioprotection et sûreté nucléaire :

- Autorité de sûreté nucléaire (ASN) ;

7. Sécurité des aliments :

- Conseil général de l'alimentation, de l'agriculture et des espaces ruraux (CGAAER) ;

- Agence nationale chargée de la sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES) ;

8. Santé publique :

- Agence nationale chargée de la sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES) ;

- Agence nationale de santé publique (Santé publique France, SpF) ;

- Haute Autorité de santé (HAS) ;

- Agence de la biomédecine ;

- Etablissement français du sang (EFS) ;

- Comité d'indemnisation des victimes des essais nucléaires (CIVEN) ;

- Inspection générale des affaires sociales (IGAS) ;

- Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM) ;

- Conseil national de l'ordre des médecins, pour l'exercice de la profession de médecin ;

- Conseil national de l'ordre des masseurs-kinésithérapeutes, pour l'exercice de la profession de masseur-kinésithérapeute ;

- Conseil national de l'ordre des sages-femmes, pour l'exercice de la profession de sage-femme ;

- Conseil national de l'ordre des pharmaciens, pour l'exercice de la profession de pharmacien ;

- Conseil national de l'ordre des infirmiers, pour l'exercice de la profession d'infirmier ;

- Conseil national de l'ordre des chirurgiens-dentistes, pour l'exercice de la profession de chirurgien-dentiste ;

- Conseil national de l'ordre des pédicures-podologues, pour l'exercice de la profession de pédicure-podologue ;

- Conseil national de l'ordre des vétérinaires, pour l'exercice de la profession de vétérinaire ;

9. Protection des consommateurs :

- Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF) ;

10. Protection de la vie privée et des données personnelles, sécurité des réseaux et des systèmes d'information :

- Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL) ;

- Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d'information (ANSSI) ;

11. Violations portant atteinte aux intérêts financiers de l'Union européenne :

- Agence française anticorruption (AFA), pour les atteintes à la probité ;

- Direction générale des finances publiques (DGFIP), pour la fraude à la taxe sur la valeur ajoutée ;

- Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects (DGDDI), pour la fraude aux droits de douane, droits anti-dumping et assimilés ;

12. Violations relatives au marché intérieur :

- Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF), pour les pratiques anticoncurrentielles ;

- Autorité de la concurrence, pour les pratiques anticoncurrentielles et les aides d'Etat ;

- Direction générale des finances publiques (DGFIP), pour la fraude à l'impôt sur les sociétés ;

13. Activités conduites par le ministère de la défense :

- Contrôle général des armées (CGA) ;

- Collège des inspecteurs généraux des armées ;

14. Statistique publique :

- Autorité de la statistique publique (ASP) ;

15. Agriculture :

- Conseil général de l'alimentation, de l'agriculture et des espaces ruraux (CGAAER) ;

16. Education nationale et enseignement supérieur :

- Médiateur de l'éducation nationale et de l'enseignement supérieur ;

17. Relations individuelles et collectives du travail, conditions de travail :

- Direction générale du travail (DGT) ;

18. Emploi et formation professionnelle :

- Délégation générale à l'emploi et à la formation professionnelle (DGEFP) ;

19. Culture :

- Conseil national de l'ordre des architectes, pour l'exercice de la profession d'architecte ;

- Conseil des maisons de vente, pour les enchères publiques ;

20. Droits et libertés dans le cadre des relations avec les administrations de l'Etat, les collectivités territoriales, les établissements publics et les organismes investis d'une mission de service public :

- Défenseur des droits ;

21. Intérêt supérieur et droits de l'enfant :

- Défenseur des droits ;

22. Discriminations :

- Défenseur des droits ;

23. Déontologie des personnes exerçant des activités de sécurité :

- Défenseur des droits.

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