Business ethics & governance Global business ethics Whistleblower Scheme Should any employee or business partner encounter serious, sensitive or improper conduct that fails to comply with policies and requirements of our business ethics programme, our whistleblower hotline provides a secure and confidential platform to inform about concerns. The Demant Group Whistleblower scheme contains a Whis- tleblower Policy, our Whistleblower Hotline and guidelines for investigation. Hotline The group hotline is a global reporting system through which concerns can be raised confidentially, anonymously and with - out retaliation if provided in good faith. It is available in multi- ple languages so a report can always be provided in local lan- guage. The hotline is available on our website, various internal platforms and via the Demant Business Ethics app. The hotline is operated by an external systems provider and incoming reports are handled timely by Group Legal and Compliance. Investigations We perform timely investigations of reports when relevant. We deploy a template for whistleblower reports and have guidelines for investigation, formulated by Demant Group Legal & Compliance. This functions as a practical guide for anyone responsible for conducting investigation as an action following a reported case. As part of this, Demant ensures that any report filed is treated carefully and genuinely, while we guarantee protecting people from reprisals and retaliation while upholding privacy and anonymity. We ensure that the process follows laws and regulations and protects the whis- tleblower. Awareness and trust in our system In order for a whistleblower system to work as intended, it is imperative that all employees are aware of our hotline, how to report and what kind of protection they have. This is reg- ulated in our policies, guidelines and principles that apply to them. We aim to build trust in our system from all employees. Moreover, we want to further mature the business ethics programme, including increasing awareness and training to ensure implementation. In 2021, 48 cases were reported through the Demant whis- tleblower system. Reports covered a broad range of the subjects in scope for our hotline. A large number of the re- ports were related to HR matters and workplace environment (harassment and discrimination). Group Legal and Compliance reports all whistleblower cases to the audit committee on a regular basis. Governance regarding potential reports on our top manage- ment is regulated in our Demant Group Management Protocol. 153 Demant ∙ Sustainability Report 2021
Download PDF file