GRUPO LACASA (or, hereinafter the Entity) has a Criminal Risk Prevention Model in place, the purpose of which is to establish internal management and operating rules that apply to the Entity in order to comply with the provisions of the regulations on the criminal liability of legal persons. Specifically, Spanish Law 2/2023, of 20 February, regulating the protection of persons who report on regulatory infringements and the fight against corruption, in its Article 10 (private sector) and Article 13 (public sector), imposes the obligation to establish internal reporting channels. On this basis, and in line with the Entity's compliance principles, this whistleblowing channel has been implemented, ensuring compliance with the doctrine derived from Public Prosecutor's Office Circular 1/2016, of 22 January, and with the provisions of the aforementioned Law 2/2023. In addition, Grupo Lacasa has a Code of Ethics, the main purpose of which is to establish the guidelines that govern the conduct of employees or persons with a training relationship, volunteers, management staff, and other professionals linked to the organisation who contribute to the development of its activities, with regard to how they act and to the relationships and interactions among themselves, with other national and international companies, with users, with external partners, with public and private institutions, and with society in general. For this reason, everyone who is part of Grupo Lacasa must contribute to achieving its mission through conduct that consistently reflects its principles and values, paying particular attention to potential conflicts of interest. Consequently, Grupo Lacasa greatly values it when its users, members, suppliers or partners report conduct that breaches the Code of Conduct or that is irregular, unlawful or criminal. In any case, this is a tool available to anyone. This channel has been created exclusively for reporting irregularities, unlawful acts or crimes. If the facts do not fall within the cases explained in the "When should I report" section, users may submit a complaint or suggestion instead. In order to protect the rights of whistleblowers and to comply with the guarantees required by the aforementioned Law 2/2023, of 20 February, the whistleblowing channel implemented within the organisation is managed by a qualified trust service provider that complies with the specifications set out in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market, and with Spanish Law 6/2020, of 11 November, regulating certain aspects of electronic trust services. The purpose of using a qualified trust service provider is to guarantee the presumption of truthfulness and authenticity of the evidence, placing the burden of proof on whoever challenges the document, in accordance with Article 326 of Law 1/2000, of 7 January, on Civil Procedure, as well as to guarantee the confidentiality and anonymity of the information and/or reports received through the tool. In all cases, the qualified trust service provider will comply with the instructions established by Grupo Lacasa, always in accordance with current data protection legislation, ensuring compliance with the obligations set out in Article 28 of the GDPR. WHEN SHOULD I REPORT The whistleblowing channel should be used in situations where a person becomes aware of conduct or facts that may constitute criminal activity, a breach of the company's internal regulations, or any other unlawful activity contrary to the interests of Grupo Lacasa, that is, acts or omissions that:
- May constitute infringements of European Union law, provided that:
a.1) They fall within the scope of the European Union acts listed in the Annex to Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law, regardless of how they are classified under national law; these include, among others:
- Public procurement
- Financial services, products and markets, and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing
- Product safety and compliance
- Transport safety
- Protection of the environment.
- And protection of privacy and personal data, and security of network and information systems.
a.2) They affect the financial interests of the European Union as set out in Article 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). a.3) They affect the internal market, as set out in Article 26(2) of the TFEU.
- Acts or omissions that may constitute a serious or very serious criminal or administrative offence.
In any case, this will be understood to include all serious or very serious criminal or administrative infringements that involve financial loss to the Public Treasury or Social Security. The following are excluded, by way of example and without constituting an exhaustive list, from the objective scope of the whistleblowing channel:
- Information affecting classified information.
- Information about irregularities that are no more than rumours or that relate to facts lacking credibility.
- Information relating to infringements in the processing of procurement procedures that contain classified information or that have been declared secret or restricted, or those whose execution must be accompanied by special security measures under current legislation, or where required to protect essential State security interests.
- Claims relating to salary, overtime claims, or any employment matter that does not constitute an infringement of labour law regarding occupational health and safety, without prejudice to the provisions of its specific regulations.
- Complaints or claims relating to the condition of equipment provided by the company for carrying out work and/or the condition of facilities, provided they do not pose a risk to occupational health and safety.
If any of these matters, or any other matter falling outside the objective scope of Law 2/2023, is received, it will be immediately filed following an assessment of the information provided by the Control Body Responsible for Grupo Lacasa's Whistleblowing Channel, in accordance with the section "What principles govern the procedure?" of the Channel User Manual, without prejudice to such information being handled internally within the organisation through the appropriate channels, depending on the facts reported. HOW SHOULD I USE THE WHISTLEBLOWING CHANNEL When you go to submit a report or piece of information, you will notice that you are directed to an online tool outside Grupo Lacasa's domain; the message will be sent to the qualified trust service provider's tool, so as to guarantee the confidentiality, anonymity and protection of the whistleblower's data as required, as detailed in the Channel User Manual. You can access the form using the following link. Download the user manual here Go to the form Communicating or publicly disclosing information known to be false shall be considered a very serious infringement under Article 63 of Law 2/2023. Reports and/or communications may also be made externally through the external reporting channels to the competent authorities and, where applicable, to the institutions, bodies or agencies of the European Union. Depending on each specific case, these channels may include:
- Independent Whistleblower Protection Authority (A.A.I.).
- The relevant regional authorities or bodies.
- The Public Prosecutor's Office.
- The European Public Prosecutor's Office, where the facts affect the financial interests of the European Union.
- State Law Enforcement Agencies (FFCCSE).
- The competent Anti-Fraud Agency.
- Other competent bodies.
ANONYMOUS REPORTS AND PERSONAL DATA Reports will generally be anonymous and will be answered through the same channel through which they were received. Anonymity will only be lifted with the whistleblower's express consent, or where it constitutes a necessary and proportionate obligation imposed by EU or national law in the context of an investigation carried out by national authorities or within judicial proceedings, in particular to safeguard the right of defence of the person concerned. Compliance with current data protection legislation will therefore be guaranteed throughout the process (the Spanish Data Protection Act and the GDPR). DATA PROCESSING The data controller is GRUPO LACASA, which, in compliance with a legal obligation set out in Law 2/2023, of 21 February, regulating the protection of persons who report on regulatory infringements and the fight against corruption, will process the information for the purpose of managing the reports received through the channel, guaranteeing the confidentiality of the whistleblower's data by keeping it anonymous and not disclosing it to third parties, unless their identification constitutes a necessary and proportionate obligation imposed by EU or national law in the context of an investigation carried out by national authorities or within judicial proceedings, in which case it must be disclosed to the competent authorities in the matter. Your data will be kept for a maximum period of 3 months from the date it is entered into the channel, after which it will be deleted from the channel. However, it may remain blocked where necessary to demonstrate the operation of the crime prevention model, or where it may be required by the competent authority to initiate the corresponding investigation into the facts. For more information about the processing of your data or how to exercise your rights, please refer to our Privacy Policy.