Alert system for unethical behavior: how does it work?

With the adoption of the law Sapin II of December 9, 2016, close to 1,600 French companies are required to set up anti-corruption policies and mechanisms.
This law aims at transparency, the fight against corruption and the modernization of economic life.

Obligations for businesses

THESection 17 Of the law imposes eight mandatory measures for businesses over 500 employees and a turnover in excess of 100 million euros.
Among them is the establishment of a Internal alert system, called Ethics alert, to collect reports from employees concerning behavior contrary to the company's code of conduct.

Businesses with more than 50 employees must also put in place appropriate procedures to collect reports from their employees or external and occasional collaborators.

The ethics alert allows the company to prevent incidents and irregularities, especially when other information systems or channels fail.

Alert 24: a device in accordance with the Sapin II law

Alert 24 offers an alert system guaranteeing anonymity and confidentiality, while allowing businesses to comply with the Sapin II law.

Initially dedicated to harassment and discrimination alerts, this service fully meets legal requirements.

How it works

A team of 25 experienced psychologists processes more than 5,000 confidential and anonymous interviews.
Employees can access it directly, without going through a switchboard or a contact person who is not subject to the psychologist's code of ethics.
The service is open 24/7.

Follow-up after the alert

The Alert 24 teams support the company to:

• Gather details from the whistleblower.
• Facilitate exchanges with the whistleblower.
• Implement harassment prevention plans, fight against discrimination and sexist actions.
• Conduct a neutral and objective investigation.

Legal requirements for the alert system

According to Transparency International, several constraints must be respected:

Nature of the report : the device must make it possible to report:

• Violations of national law and international conventions ratified by France.
• Serious threats or harm to the general interest.
• Conduct that is contrary to the company's code of conduct (harassment, sexist actions, discrimination).

Confidentiality : the identity of the whistleblower must be strictly protected.
Violation of this confidentiality is punishable by 2 years in prison and €30,000 fine.
Confidentiality also extends to the persons involved and to the information collected.

Anonymity : although not mandatory, the device must allow Anonymity, often decisive in encouraging reporting.
Anonymity is a International standard, supervised by the CNIL.

Openness to external collaborators : the system must be accessible to external and occasional collaborators.
It is recommended that it also be opened to commercial partners, subcontractors, suppliers and customers to ensure complete feedback of information.

Whistleblower protection : the law guarantees Criminal irresponsibility for the violation of secrets when reporting is necessary and proportionate.
The whistleblower cannot suffer no sanctions, dismissals or discriminatory measures linked to his report.

Tiered reporting procedure : to benefit from a criminal immunity, the alert must respect the internal procedure defined by law.

Offence of obstruction : article 13 provides 1 year in prison and €15,000 fine for anyone who obstructs the transmission of a report, whether internally or to a competent authority.

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