Reporting of Anti-Social Activities

Publication of information pursuant to § 10(5) of Act No. 54/2019 Coll. on the Protection of Whistleblowers of Anti-Social Activities and on amendments to certain acts, as amended

Responsible person:
Assistant to the General Director – Security Manager, Ing. Pavel VALENT
Železiarne Podbrezová, a.s., Kolkáreň 35, 976 81 Podbrezová
Phone: +421 48 645 2311
Email: oznamovatelZP@zelpo.sk

Methods of submitting reports:
A report may be submitted in writing, orally in the form of a recorded statement, or by electronic mail.

Written reports are submitted:

by mail to the correspondence address: Ing. Pavel VALENT, Assistant to the General Director – Security Manager, Železiarne Podbrezová, a.s., Kolkáreň 35, 976 81 Podbrezová, marked “DO NOT OPEN”, or
in person at the administrative building of Železiarne Podbrezová, a.s., New Plant – office of the Assistant to the General Director – Security Manager, between 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., after prior telephone arrangement at +421 48 645 2311.

Submission of a report orally in the form of a recorded statement may be made to the responsible person in the administrative building of the new plant of ŽP a.s., from Monday to Friday between 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. If the report is submitted orally in the form of a recorded statement, it is possible to request a personal meeting with the responsible person at +421 48 645 2311. The responsible person will act in a way that facilitates the submission of the report for the whistleblower.

Submission of a report electronically can be made via the email address: oznamovatelZP@zelpo.sk. This method of submitting reports is available 24 hours a day.

Protection options under Act No. 54/2019 Coll.

Provision of protection within criminal proceedings
§ 3

(1)
A request for protection when reporting serious anti-social activity that constitutes a criminal offence may be submitted by the whistleblower together with the report or during criminal proceedings; the request is submitted to the prosecutor in writing or orally in the form of a recorded statement. If the request for protection for the whistleblower is submitted to another public authority, that authority shall immediately forward it to the prosecutor.

(2)
A request for protection pursuant to paragraph 1 shall contain the name, surname, date of birth and residence of the whistleblower submitting the request, the place of employment and the designation of the employer; the request shall also include details of a close person if that person is in an employment relationship with the same employer as the whistleblower or is in an employment relationship with an employer that is a dependent entity in relation to the whistleblower’s employer and the whistleblower also requests protection for this close person.

Provision of protection within administrative offence proceedings
§ 5

(1)
A request for protection when reporting serious anti-social activity that constitutes an administrative offence may be submitted by the whistleblower together with the report or during proceedings concerning the administrative offence; the request for protection shall be submitted in writing or orally in the form of a recorded statement to the authority competent to conduct proceedings concerning the administrative offence (hereinafter referred to as the “administrative authority”). If the request for protection for the whistleblower is submitted to another public authority, that authority shall immediately forward it to the authority competent under the first sentence.

Suspension of the effectiveness of an employment-related action
§ 12

(1)
If the whistleblower believes that an employment-related action has been taken against them in connection with the report and they disagree with it, they may request the authority within 15 days from the day they became aware of the employment-related action to suspend the effectiveness of that employment-related action.

(2)
The authority shall immediately suspend the effectiveness of the employment-related action pursuant to paragraph 1 if the time limit under paragraph 1 has been met and if the employer does not prove within a reasonable period determined by the authority that the employment-related action is not causally related to the report. The authority shall issue a confirmation of the suspension of the effectiveness of the employment-related action and deliver it to the employer and the whistleblower.

(3)
The confirmation pursuant to paragraph 2 shall include the name, surname, date of birth and residence of the whistleblower, the designation of the employer and the employment-related action whose effectiveness has been suspended. If the authority does not comply with the request pursuant to paragraph 1, it shall notify the whistleblower in writing of the reasons why the effectiveness of the employment-related action has not been suspended.

(4)
The suspension of the effectiveness of the employment-related action shall begin on the day the confirmation pursuant to paragraph 2 is delivered to the whistleblower. If the decision is an employment-related action, the suspension of effectiveness postpones its enforceability.

(5)
When delivering the confirmation pursuant to paragraph 2, the authority shall inform the whistleblower in writing about the possibility of filing a motion with the court for an interim measure and about the consequences associated with it pursuant to paragraph 6.

(6)
The suspension of the effectiveness of the employment-related action shall end 30 days after the delivery of the confirmation pursuant to paragraph 2 to the whistleblower. If a motion for an interim measure is filed with the court within this period, the duration of the suspension of the effectiveness of the employment-related action shall be extended until the court decision on that motion becomes enforceable.

(7)
The provisions of paragraphs 1 to 6 shall also apply accordingly to persons to whom the suspension of the effectiveness of the employment-related action applies, in addition to the whistleblower pursuant to § 1(4):

a close person of the whistleblower,
a natural person – entrepreneur or a legal entity controlled by the whistleblower, in which the whistleblower has a share, performs the function of a member of a body of the legal entity, or for which the whistleblower performs work,
a natural person – entrepreneur or a legal entity that controls a legal entity in which the whistleblower has a share or in which the whistleblower performs the function of a member of a body of the legal entity,
a person who provided assistance to the whistleblower in connection with the report, and
the responsible person or a person participating in the performance of the tasks of the responsible person.