The whistleblower system of Montanuniversität Leoben serves the low-threshold reporting of certain violations of law, which were perceived due to current or former professional connections to the Montanuniversität Leoben.
Legal basis is the Austrian "Bundesgesetz über das Verfahren und den Schutz bei Hinweisen auf Rechtsverletzungen in bestimmten Rechtsbereichen (HinweisgeberInnenschutzgesetz), BGBl I 2023/6". You can access it under the following link: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20012184
The whistleblower system provides the possibility to submit information anonymously or by name.
In order to ensure that your information is processed in a targeted manner, please describe the perceived violation of the law as concretely as possible (Who? What? When? How? Why?). It is also possible to upload documents (photos, videos, etc.).
1. Who ist entitled to make a report?
The following persons are entitled to make a report:
- employees of Montanuniversität Leoben
- trainees of Montanuniversität Leoben
- former employees of Montanuniversität Leoben
- applicants for a job advertised at Montanuniversität Leoben
- members of management and supervisory bodies of Montanuniversität Leoben
- self-employed persons who provide a service for the Montanuniversität Leoben (e.g. suppliers, contractors)
- persons who provide services under the supervision and management of contractors of Montanuniversität Leoben.
2. What kind of information can be reported?
Information on the following categories, mentioned in § 3 HSchG, can be reported within the framework of the whistleblower system of Montanuniversität Leoben:
- public procurement
- money laundering and financing of terrorism
- product safety and conformity
- environmental protection
- radiation protection and nuclear safety
- food and feed safety, animal health and welfare
- public health
- consumer protection
- protection of privacy and personal data as well as security of network and information systems (reports on data protection can also be made via dsb@unileoben.ac.at)
- corruption (§§ 302 to 309 StGB)
- antitrust and competition law
3. What kind of information cannot be reported?
The following categories, among others, are not covered by the scope of the "HinweisgeberInnenschutzgesetz" and can therefore not be reported via the whistleblower system:
- discrimination (please contact the Arbeitskreis für Gleichbehandlungsfragen via akg@unileoben.ac.at)
- labour law (please contact the works council for general or academic university staff via betriebsrat@unileoben.ac.at or betriebsrat-wissenschaft@unileoben.ac.at)
- tax law
- criminal offences that are not covered by the above-mentioned categories (e.g. fraud, embezzlement, sexual harassment)
4. How and under which conditions are whistleblowers protected?
The "HinweisgeberInnenschutzgesetz" protects whistleblowers from retaliation such as dismissal, demotion or disciplinary action. Please note, however, that this protection only applies under the following conditions:
- the whistleblower falls within the personal scope of the HinweisgeberInnenschutzgesetz (cf. point 1.)
- the information falls within the material scope of application of the HinweisgeberInnenschutzgesetz (cf. point 2.)
- you can assume at the time of the report, on the basis of the actual circumstances and the information available to you, that the information you have provided is true.
Information that is obviously untrue must be rejected by the investigating unit. They may also give rise to claims for damages and may be prosecuted in court or as an administrative offence.
5. What is the further procedure after making a report?
After submitting the report, you will receive a PIN code. This code is used to access the whistleblower protection portal. ATTENTION: If you lose your PIN code, you will not be able to access your report. Therefore, keep it in a safe place.
You can use the PIN code to log in to the whistleblower protection portal in order to
- view the processing status of your report and
- communicate anonymously with the processing person.
6. When will whistleblowers receive a first response?
Receipt of a whistleblower's report will be acknowledged without delay, but no later than seven calendar days, unless you expressly object or the investigating body has reason to believe that acknowledging receipt of a written report would compromise the protection of your identity.
7. Will reports be treated confidentially?
Reports will be treated in strict confidence, objectively and impartially.
Information about reports will only be passed on to those persons who absolutely have to be informed in order to clarify the incident. The extent to which information is passed on will be limited to what is absolutely necessary for clarification. If necessary, external persons such as auditors or lawyers may also be consulted for further clarification of the facts. These persons are subject to professional confidentiality obligations.
8. Who is responsible for the internal clarification of the report?
A team of Rectorate staff is responsible for processing the report and clarifying the reported incident.
HOW OUR WHISTLEBLOWER SYSTEM PROTECTS YOU TECHNICALLY:
- All information is encrypted end-to-end.
- In the case of an anonymous report, no information about the identity of the whistleblower is passed on to the processing office.
- To make a report as anonymous as possible, all words are automatically lower-cased and double punctuation is removed.
HOW YOU CAN ADDITIONALLY PROTECT YOUR ANONYMITY:
- When submitting a report, do not use any device provided to you by Montanuniversität Leoben.
- When submitting a report, do not use phrases or abbreviations that you frequently use in conversations or e-mails.
- When uploading documents, be sure to remove any information that could reveal your identity.
Please note that reports can also be submitted to an external body as defined in § 15 HSchG.
Legal basis is the Austrian "Bundesgesetz über das Verfahren und den Schutz bei Hinweisen auf Rechtsverletzungen in bestimmten Rechtsbereichen (HinweisgeberInnenschutzgesetz), BGBl I 2023/6". You can access it under the following link: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20012184
The whistleblower system provides the possibility to submit information anonymously or by name.
In order to ensure that your information is processed in a targeted manner, please describe the perceived violation of the law as concretely as possible (Who? What? When? How? Why?). It is also possible to upload documents (photos, videos, etc.).
1. Who ist entitled to make a report?
The following persons are entitled to make a report:
- employees of Montanuniversität Leoben
- trainees of Montanuniversität Leoben
- former employees of Montanuniversität Leoben
- applicants for a job advertised at Montanuniversität Leoben
- members of management and supervisory bodies of Montanuniversität Leoben
- self-employed persons who provide a service for the Montanuniversität Leoben (e.g. suppliers, contractors)
- persons who provide services under the supervision and management of contractors of Montanuniversität Leoben.
2. What kind of information can be reported?
Information on the following categories, mentioned in § 3 HSchG, can be reported within the framework of the whistleblower system of Montanuniversität Leoben:
- public procurement
- money laundering and financing of terrorism
- product safety and conformity
- environmental protection
- radiation protection and nuclear safety
- food and feed safety, animal health and welfare
- public health
- consumer protection
- protection of privacy and personal data as well as security of network and information systems (reports on data protection can also be made via dsb@unileoben.ac.at)
- corruption (§§ 302 to 309 StGB)
- antitrust and competition law
3. What kind of information cannot be reported?
The following categories, among others, are not covered by the scope of the "HinweisgeberInnenschutzgesetz" and can therefore not be reported via the whistleblower system:
- discrimination (please contact the Arbeitskreis für Gleichbehandlungsfragen via akg@unileoben.ac.at)
- labour law (please contact the works council for general or academic university staff via betriebsrat@unileoben.ac.at or betriebsrat-wissenschaft@unileoben.ac.at)
- tax law
- criminal offences that are not covered by the above-mentioned categories (e.g. fraud, embezzlement, sexual harassment)
4. How and under which conditions are whistleblowers protected?
The "HinweisgeberInnenschutzgesetz" protects whistleblowers from retaliation such as dismissal, demotion or disciplinary action. Please note, however, that this protection only applies under the following conditions:
- the whistleblower falls within the personal scope of the HinweisgeberInnenschutzgesetz (cf. point 1.)
- the information falls within the material scope of application of the HinweisgeberInnenschutzgesetz (cf. point 2.)
- you can assume at the time of the report, on the basis of the actual circumstances and the information available to you, that the information you have provided is true.
Information that is obviously untrue must be rejected by the investigating unit. They may also give rise to claims for damages and may be prosecuted in court or as an administrative offence.
5. What is the further procedure after making a report?
After submitting the report, you will receive a PIN code. This code is used to access the whistleblower protection portal. ATTENTION: If you lose your PIN code, you will not be able to access your report. Therefore, keep it in a safe place.
You can use the PIN code to log in to the whistleblower protection portal in order to
- view the processing status of your report and
- communicate anonymously with the processing person.
6. When will whistleblowers receive a first response?
Receipt of a whistleblower's report will be acknowledged without delay, but no later than seven calendar days, unless you expressly object or the investigating body has reason to believe that acknowledging receipt of a written report would compromise the protection of your identity.
7. Will reports be treated confidentially?
Reports will be treated in strict confidence, objectively and impartially.
Information about reports will only be passed on to those persons who absolutely have to be informed in order to clarify the incident. The extent to which information is passed on will be limited to what is absolutely necessary for clarification. If necessary, external persons such as auditors or lawyers may also be consulted for further clarification of the facts. These persons are subject to professional confidentiality obligations.
8. Who is responsible for the internal clarification of the report?
A team of Rectorate staff is responsible for processing the report and clarifying the reported incident.
HOW OUR WHISTLEBLOWER SYSTEM PROTECTS YOU TECHNICALLY:
- All information is encrypted end-to-end.
- In the case of an anonymous report, no information about the identity of the whistleblower is passed on to the processing office.
- To make a report as anonymous as possible, all words are automatically lower-cased and double punctuation is removed.
HOW YOU CAN ADDITIONALLY PROTECT YOUR ANONYMITY:
- When submitting a report, do not use any device provided to you by Montanuniversität Leoben.
- When submitting a report, do not use phrases or abbreviations that you frequently use in conversations or e-mails.
- When uploading documents, be sure to remove any information that could reveal your identity.
Please note that reports can also be submitted to an external body as defined in § 15 HSchG.