Whistleblower protection in the Czech Republic

The protection of whistleblowers, or whistleblowing, is introduced into our legal system by Act No. 171/2023 Coll., on the protection of whistleblowers (the “Whistleblower Protection Act”). The aim of this legislation is to protect whistleblowers, all in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23rd October 2019 on the protection of persons who report infringements of European Union law.

You can make a report to us if you are our:

  • A current or former employee;
  • An applicant for employment;
  • A trainee or intern;
  • Volunteer worker.

Only unlawful acts are reportable – those that have the elements of a criminal offence or misdemeanour with a maximum fine of CZK 100,000, breach the Whistleblower Protection Act or any other legislation or regulation of the European Union in the areas defined in section 2(1)(d) of the Whistleblower Protection Act.

The concept of whistleblowing

Whistleblowing is defined as the reporting of an unlawful act that has occurred or is likely to occur in connection with the work or other similar activities of whistleblowers. In other words, it is the ability of an employee, or other persons as defined by law, to report, without risk of any penalty, an unlawful act of which they become aware in the course of their work.

At ManpowerGroup s.r.o. (“ManpowerGroup”), we are committed to strict compliance with our Code of Conduct. We make sure that all of our dealings with you are in full compliance with the law and our ethical compass.

Therefore, if you believe that you have encountered conduct in connection with your work with our company that is not in compliance with the law, please feel free to use our reporting system below. We will be happy to resolve the matter with you – we care.

How to report

You can report wrongdoing through our internal reporting system:

  • You can submit a notification via this web form: EthicsPoint – ManpowerGroup Global Inc., in both Czech and English;
  • you can submit a notification via the email address [email protected], in Czech language; the Competent Person will inform you of the receipt of the notification within 7 days of its submission;
  • the notification can be made in person – if you wish to make the notification in person, please provide this information via our email address [email protected], through which a trained person responsible for receiving notifications (“Competent Person”) will arrange a time and place for a personal meeting with you within a reasonable period of time (up to a maximum of 14 days from your request);
  • you may also make a notification by telephone – if you wish to make a notification by telephone, please provide this information via our email address [email protected] together with your telephone number so that the relevant person can contact you – the relevant person will contact you promptly and enable you to make a notification by telephone.

The internal reporting system should be used especially in situations where the situation cannot be resolved through other reporting methods – through your supervisor, consultant or branch manager who are ready to assist you and resolve your issue as the primary contact.

Who can make a report

A person who has performed or is performing work or other similar activity at ManpowerGroup within the meaning of Section 2(3) of the Whistleblower Protection Act, or a person who has been in contact with ManpowerGroup in connection with the performance of work or other similar activity, may file a report.

ManpowerGroup excludes accepting notifications from persons who do not perform work or other similar activities for ManpowerGroup within the meaning of Section 2(3)(a), (b), (h) or (i) of the Whistleblower Protection Act (e.g. self-employed persons, contractors).

Notification process

After you send a notification, the Competent Person will notify you in writing of its receipt, no later than 7 days after receipt of the notification, unless you specifically request that it not send you a notification, or sending the notification could disclose your identity to another person.

The competent person will then assess whether your notification is justified. If your notification is assessed as unreasonable (it is not an offence, the notification is false, it does not fall under the Whistleblower Protection Act), the competent person will inform you without undue delay and, where appropriate, advise you of your right to file a notification with a public authority.

In the event that your notification is assessed to be justified, the Competent Person will take appropriate steps within the meaning of Section 12(5) of the Whistleblower Protection Act, in particular propose corrective measures or measures to prevent the unlawful situation, or refer the notification to law enforcement authorities, offence authorities or other relevant public authorities.

The Competent Person will inform you of the outcome of the investigation and of the proposed measures within 30 days from the date of receipt of the notification. In complex cases and after you have been informed in writing, this period may be extended, up to a maximum of twice. The latest time limit for processing your application is 90 days from the date of notification.

What the notification should look like

The notification should include:

  • name and surname details – the notification cannot be made anonymously;
  • date of birth;
  • other information from which the identity of the notifier can be inferred;
  • these details need not be included if the notification is made by a person whose identity is known to the Competent Person;
  • the substance of the notification.

Prohibition of retaliation

For the purposes of the Whistleblowers Protection Act, retaliation means an act or omission in connection with the work or other similar activity of a whistleblower which is caused by the making of a notification and which is likely to cause harm to the whistleblower or a person referred to in section 4(2)(a) to (h) of the Whistleblowers Protection Act.

As a whistleblower, you are entitled to protection if you had reasonable grounds to believe that the information reported about the breach was true at the time of notification. The main protective measure is the prohibition of retaliation against you and other natural and legal persons (e.g. colleagues, assistants of the whistleblower, persons close to the whistleblower, legal persons of which the whistleblower is a partner, etc.).

The receipt and handling of notifications under this system is set up in such a way that your identity cannot be disclosed. Your identity and the content of the notification may only be communicated to the Competent Person, who is bound by confidentiality and is obliged to keep the content of the submission confidential during the investigation of the complaint and after the end of his/her employment.

Instructions to the whistleblower

You should always have reasonable grounds to believe that the facts you report or disclose are authentic and true. Therefore, you should not report facts that are knowingly false. Such conduct is sanctionable and may result in a fine of up to CZK 50,000.

You should always act in good faith that the notification you are making is based on credible facts and evidence.

External reporting system

You also have the option of submitting a notification through the Ministry of Justice – this is known as the external notification system, whereby you can submit a notification via a web form available on the Ministry’s website.