Report it, don't look away!

Why should I submit a report?

You might be aware of criminal activity (e.g. bribery, fraud, breach of trust or pricing agreements) or violations of data protection involving the Vienna Healthcare Group. Your report can help us uncover abuses at our company. This contributes to a positive corporate culture in which responsible conduct and legal compliance are fundamental values.

What sort of reports can be submitted?

The Vienna Healthcare Group has established the whistleblowing system "diCo" (BKMS^® System) for reporting business crimes and violations of data protection. We therefore ask that you only submit reports that fall into the following categories:

• Corruption
• Breach of trust, fraud and misappropriation
• Inappropriate agreements concerning procurement processes and awarding of contracts
• Violations of data protection laws

During the reporting process, you will receive information on the individual categories and what they entail.

In addition, you can use the report category “Compliance inquiry” to anonymously contact the Compliance team in order to determine whether an observed situation justifies suspicion of illegal activity.

Please note that the whistleblowing system "diCo" may not be used to knowingly submit false or slanderous reports.

For general complaints, please contact the ombudsman's office of the Vienna Healthcare Group at: https://gesundheitsverbund.at/ombudsstelle/

What is the process for submitting a report? What is a postbox and how do I set up one?

To submit an anonymous or personalised report, start by clicking the “Submit report“ button at the top of our introduction page.

There are 4 steps to the report process:

1. First, you will be asked to read some information on the protection of your anonymity and to respond to a security query.
2. On the following page, you will be asked about the category of your report.
3. On the report page, you can elaborate on your report in your own words and answer questions about the incident by simply selecting responses. You can type up to 5000 characters into the free text field, which corresponds to a full A4 page. You may also submit a file of up to 5 MB to support your report. Please do bear in mind that documents can contain information about the author. Following the sending of your report, you will receive a reference number as confirmation that you have forwarded this report.
4. Please subsequently set up your own secured postbox. You will receive feedback from us via this postbox, including answers to questions and information about the progress of your report.

If you already have a secured postbox, you can access it directly via the ”Login“ button. First, you will have to answer a security query.

As long as you do not enter any data from which conclusions about your person can be drawn, the technology of the BKMS^® System will protect your anonymity.

Will I hear back about my report?

Yes, if you set up a secured postbox.

After you submit your report, the Compliance team of the Vienna Healthcare Group will use this postbox to contact you and inform you about the investigation into your report. You might also be asked to clarify missing or unclear information. Nobody but you has access to your secured postbox.

To access your secured postbox, click the "Login" button. Afterwards enter your personal pseudonym/user name and the password you chose when setting up your postbox. If you do not disclose your identity, you will remain anonymous during any subsequent dialogue with the Compliance team.

If you lose your login information, please submit a new report and set up a new postbox. If possible, please provide the reference number of your previous report when doing so. The new postbox will not contain any content associated with your previous report.

Are my data secure?

Protecting the anonymity of whistleblowers is the greatest priority of this process. The system has been certified by an independent authority. It ensures your anonymity and data security and meets the highest technical standards of this field.

Your report is kept anonymous by way of encryption and other special security routines. At no point of the reporting process will you be prompted to disclose your identity. Do not submit any information that can be traced back to you. Please do not use a device, such as PC or smartphone, provided by your employer when submitting your report.