COMPLAINT CHANNEL

         With the creation of the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism and the establishment of a General Regime for the Prevention of Corruption, the aim is to build a more just, egalitarian and inclusive society and to re-establish solid bonds of trust between citizens, communities and their democratic institutions.

         In compliance with the general regime for the prevention of corruption (RGPC), Construline Eletricidade, Lda, because it has its headquarters in national territory and employs more than 50 workers, created the Reporting channel, independent and autonomous from other communication channels, which is intended to receive and follow up on complaints provided for in  Decree-Law No. 109-E/2021, of December 9 , and in  Law No. 93/2021, of December 20 .

         This reporting channel aims to ensure the secure submission and follow-up of reports, in order to guarantee the completeness, integrity and preservation of the report, the confidentiality of the identity or anonymity of the complainant(s) and the confidentiality of the identity of third parties mentioned in the report, and with access to them only by an authorized person, allowing them to be preserved.

         Independence, impartiality, confidentiality, data protection, secrecy and the absence of conflicts of interest are always guaranteed in the performance of duties.

         The whistleblower benefits from the protection conferred by  Law No. 93/2021 of December 20   when acting in good faith and in possession of true information.

Attention:  Reports may be archived and not followed up on if they are of minor, insignificant or manifestly irrelevant severity; when the report is repeated; or the report is anonymous and no evidence of an infraction is found.

Channels for filing complaints

1. Registered mail (guarantee that can be anonymous)
2. Email (can be anonymous)

Reporting Channel Regulations

CHAPTER 1

From the scope 

Article 1 

Object

 This regulation establishes the system, rules and procedures for the communication channel, reception, registration and handling of complaints.

  

Article 2

Scope

1 - This Regulation applies to communications of complaints relating to Construline Eletricidade, Lda.

2 - Within the scope of law 93/2021 of December 20, the following are considered an infraction:

        a) The complaints covered are those relating to facts, by act or omission, contrary to rules contained in the acts of the European Union that constitute a crime or administrative offence relating to the areas of:

           Public procurement, Financial services, products and markets and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, Product safety and compliance, Transportation safety, Environmental protection, Radiation protection and nuclear safety, Food safety, Public health, Consumer protection, Protection of privacy and personal data and security of networks and information systems.

          b) Any act or omission contrary to and detrimental to the financial interests of the European Union referred to in Article 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), as specified in the applicable European Union measures.

           (c) any act or omission contrary to the rules of the internal market referred to in Article 26(2) TFEU, including the rules on competition and State aid, as well as the rules on corporate taxation.

         d) Violent crime, especially violent and highly organized crime, as well as the crimes provided for in § 1 of article 1 of Law No. 5/2002, of January 11, which establishes measures to combat organized and economic-financial crime.

3 - Complaints submitted that exceed the scope described in the previous numbers will not be processed.

4th - The provisions of this regulation do not preclude the reporting duty provided for in article 242 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Article 3 

Responsibilities

1 - The Management of Construline Electricity, Ltd. appoints a person who will be responsible for ensuring compliance with this regulation.

2nd - The authorized person is responsible for receiving and registering complaints, as well as carrying out other procedures established in this regulation, depending on the nature of the complaint.

3rd - The person indicated may, under the terms established in this regulation, carry out investigations into the complaints received, without, however, being entitled to exercise the power to impose sanctions;

  

CHAPTER II

From the complaint

Article 4

Confidentiality

1 - All complaints received under this regulation are confidential, ensuring the anonymity of the person making the complaint.

2 - When registering complaints, personal data that is not relevant for the processing of complaints will be immediately deleted.

3rd - Under Law No. 92/2021, the obligation of confidentiality extends to anyone who has received information about complaints, even if they are not responsible or competent for receiving or processing them.

4 - The identity of the complainant, as well as the infractions that, directly or indirectly, allow the deduction of his/her identity, are confidential in nature and are of restricted access to the person responsible for receiving the complaint and will only be communicated as a result of a legal obligation or by court order.

5 - When, under the terms of the previous paragraph, Construline Eletricidade, Ltda. is obliged to disclose the information of the complaint, the person responsible shall communicate in writing to the complainant the reasons for the disclosure.

6 - The previous number does not apply whenever the disclosure of such information may compromise ongoing investigations or legal proceedings.

7 - When implementing numbers 5 and 6, the person responsible will work with the Legal Office to provide written clarification to the judicial entity that requests the complainant's data.

Article 5

Access to complaints

1 - The person indicated is responsible for measures to guarantee protection in accessing reports.

2 - People involved in the investigation of complaints may have access to communications, under a commitment to confidentiality.

3 - The commitment to confidentiality is formalized by signing the confidentiality statement.

Article 6

Form of communication

1 - Complaints are made in writing.

2 - Complaints may be submitted using electronic authentication systems with a citizen card or digital mobile key, or using other electronic identification means issued in other Member States and recognized for this purpose under Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No. 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014, provided that, in any case, the means are available.

3 - Reports may be anonymous or with the identification of the complainant.

Article 7

Communication channels

 1 - Complaints can be made or forwarded to the person responsible by registered mail or/and by email.

2 - Complaints can be made by registered mail, with correspondence to be sent to the address, Rua Alexandre Herculano, 26, R/C Esq. 2005 – 181 Santarém and comply with the following criteria:

         - Delivered in a sealed envelope;

         - Identification of the envelope containing the mention as confidential;

3 - Complaints can also be made to the email address:  denuncias@construline.pt

4 - Any report must contain an express indication that anonymity is waived, if so desired.

5 - The complaint must contain a description of the relevant facts that support the alleged irregularity.

 

CHAPTER III

From the Whistleblower

Article 8

Whistleblower

1 - The whistleblower is the individual who reports or publicly discloses an infringement based on information obtained within the scope of his/her professional activity, regardless of the nature of this activity and the sector in which it is carried out, covered by article 2 of this regulation.

2 - For the purposes of the previous number, the following may be considered as whistleblowers:

     a) Workers in the private, social or public sector;

   b) Service providers, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, as well as any persons acting under the supervision and direction of the company's management; 

   c) Holders of shareholdings and persons belonging to administrative or management bodies or to fiscal or supervisory bodies of legal entities, including non-executive members;

    d) Volunteers and interns, paid or unpaid.

3 - The circumstance that the complaint or public disclosure of an infringement is based on information obtained in a professional relationship that has since ceased, as well as during the recruitment process or during another phase of pre-contractual negotiation of a professional relationship, whether established or not, does not prevent the consideration of an individual as a whistleblower.

 

CHAPTER IV

Whistleblower Protection

Article 9

Protection conditions

 1 - The whistleblower benefits from the protection conferred by Law 92/2021, when the reports are made in good faith, with serious grounds to believe that the information, at the time of the report, is true, and that they are made through the communication channel established by this regulation.

2 - An anonymous whistleblower who is subsequently identified benefits from the protection granted, provided that he or she meets the conditions set out in the previous paragraph.

3 - The whistleblower enjoys all guarantees of access to the courts to defend his or her legally protected rights and interests.

4 - The provisions of the previous numbers are correspondingly applicable with the necessary adaptations to:

      a) Individuals who assist the whistleblower in the reporting procedure and whose assistance must be confidential, including trade union representatives or workers' representatives; 

      b) Third party who is linked to the whistleblower, specifically a co-worker or family member, and may be the target of retaliation in a professional context; and

    c) Legal persons or equivalent entities that are owned or controlled by the whistleblower, for which the whistleblower works or with which he or she is in some way connected in a professional context.

Article 10

Exclusion from the Whistleblower Protection Regime

 A whistleblower who, through fault, resorts to reporting in violation of the precedence regime provided for in paragraph 2 of article 7 of Law 92/2021 does not benefit from the whistleblower protection regime.

Article 11

Prohibition of retaliation

1 - It is prohibited to carry out acts of retaliation against the whistleblower.

2 - An act of retaliation is considered to be an act or omission that, directly or indirectly, occurring in a professional context and motivated by an internal or external complaint or public disclosure, causes or may cause the complainant, in an unjustified manner, patrimonial or non-patrimonial damages.

3 - Threats and attempts to commit acts and omissions referred to in the previous paragraph are also considered acts of retaliation.

4 - Anyone who commits an act of retaliation shall compensate the whistleblower for any damages caused.

5th - Regardless of the civil liability that may arise, the complainant may request the measures appropriate to the circumstances of the case, in order to prevent the occurrence or expansion of damages.

6 - The following acts are presumed to be motivated by an internal complaint, until proven otherwise, when carried out up to two years after the complaint:

     a) Changes in working conditions, such as duties, hours, workplace or pay, failure to promote the employee or failure to comply with labor duties;

       b) Suspension of employment contract;

   c) Negative performance evaluation or negative reference for employment purposes; 

     d) Non-conversion of a fixed-term employment contract into an open-ended contract, whenever the employee had legitimate expectations of such conversion;

       e) Non-renewal of a fixed-term employment contract;

       f) Dismissal;

     g) Inclusion on a list, based on a sectoral agreement, which may make it impossible for the reporting person to find employment in the sector or industry in question in the future;

      h) Termination of supply or service provision contract;

      i) Revocation of an act or resolution of an administrative contract, as defined in the terms of the Code of Administrative Procedure.

7 - The disciplinary sanction applied to the whistleblower up to two years after the complaint or public disclosure is presumed to be abusive.

8 - The provisions of the previous numbers are correspondingly applicable, with the necessary adaptations, to the following persons:  

     a) Individuals who assist the whistleblower in the reporting procedure and whose assistance must be confidential, including trade union representatives or workers' representatives;

       b) Third party who is linked to the whistleblower, specifically a co-worker or family member, and may be the target of retaliation in a professional context; and

     c) Legal persons or equivalent entities that are owned or controlled by the whistleblower, for which the whistleblower works or with which he or she is in some way connected in a professional context.

 

CHAPTER V

Of the Process

Article 12 

Stages

 1 - The process steps are:

        a) Registration of the complaint.

       b) Notification to the complainant of receipt of the complaint within seven days, and information on the admissibility of the complaint, in accordance with § 2 of article 11 of Law No. 93/2021 

       c) Preliminary analysis.

       d) Preparation of the preliminary analysis report.

       e) Management's deliberation on the report proposal.

      f) Communication to the complainant of the measures approved to follow up on the complaint and the respective grounds, within a maximum period of three months from the date of receipt of the complaint.

Article 13 

Complaints log

 1 - After a complaint is received by the responsible person, a record is made, with:

      a) The sequential number of the year.

      b) The date of receipt.

      c) The method of receipt (email and/or letter).

      d) A brief description of the complaint.

      e) The date of communication of receipt of the complaint.

      f) The measures taken. 

      g) The date of communication of the measures approved by Management.

      h) The status of the complaint (pending or closed).

 Article 14

Preliminary analysis

1 - The person responsible takes the necessary steps to develop a preliminary analysis of the complaint.

2 - If necessary, company employees may be involved in analyzing the complaint.

3 - The preliminary analysis seeks to determine:

     a) Whether the complaint falls within the scope of this regulation;

     b) The degree of credibility of the complaint;

     c) The irregular nature of the facts described;

     d) The feasibility of investigation with the necessary level of detail;

     e) Identification of the people involved;

     f) The identification of people who may be questioned or confronted.

 Article 15

Preliminary analysis report

1 - The preliminary analysis must result in a report that encompasses the chapters described in number 3 of the previous article.

2 - The report must conclude with a reasoned proposal to file the complaint or to further investigate the facts.

3 - The report may contain measures to strengthen internal control, depending on the identification of identified weaknesses.

4 - The report is sent to Management for deliberation.

5 - Whenever the complaint is not anonymous, the author will be informed that the analysis was concluded with knowledge of the content of the Administration's decision.

 

CHAPTER VI

Final provisions

Article 16

Assessment

1 - The responsible person shall, every three years, assess the implementation of this regulation.

2 - Annually, the responsible person reports to management:

      a) The number of internal complaints received; 

      b) The number of preliminary analysis processes conducted based on those complaints and their outcome;

      c) The nature and type of the reported violations.

 Article 17

Changes to the regulations

1 - This regulation may be changed at any time at the suggestion of the person responsible or at the direction of management.

2 - Changes are only effective after they are published.

Article 18

Preservation of complaints 

1st - The record of complaints referred to in article 13 will be kept in a permanent digital file.

2 - When management decides to archive the complaint, all documents relating to the complaint will be destroyed five years after the respective decision.