Speak up whenever something doesn’t seem right
You are expected to speak up if you see anything that you believe is not right. Remember, you will always be protected and confidentiality will be ensured when you raise concerns in good faith.
Central reporting channel
Ericsson has an Allegation Management Process that handles any allegations received through our standardized central reporting channels, which include the Ericsson Compliance Line.
- The Compliance Line is hosted by an independent third party, allows anonymous reporting, and is available 24/7 in 63 languages.
- Compliance Line reports are handled promptly by independent and experienced teams in Group Function Legal Affairs & Compliance.
- Anyone can report a compliance concern through the Ericsson Compliance Line.
- The Compliance Line allows anonymous reporting when permitted by law. However, by letting us know who you are, we can contact you directly to discuss your concerns which will help us investigate it more quickly and efficiently.
For more information about the Ericsson Compliance Line, click here.
Local reporting channel
If you have a concern regarding Ericsson IT Solutions & Services S.P.A. (“EPI”) in Italy, you also have the option to report your Compliance concern in a local channel, which will be handled exclusively by a local team appointed by EPI, pursuant to Decree 231/2001 and Decree 24/2023
Ericsson will not tolerate retaliation against individuals who report compliance concerns in good faith or against relevant third parties. You will always be protected, no matter how you speak up.
Who can use the local channel?
Permitted reporters to the local channel are:
- employees;
- service providers, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, as well as any persons acting under their supervision and direction;
- shareholders or persons belonging to management bodies or to fiscal or supervisory bodies of legal entities, including non-executive members;
- volunteers or interns, regardless of whether compensated.
The above applies to current, former or future relationships with EPI.
How to submit a report
To submit a report to the Ericsson Compliance Line, click here.
To submit a report to the local channel, send an email to EPI.whistleblower@ericsson.com. The team appointed by EPI will have exclusive access to the mailbox. A reporter may also ask to have the team contact them by phone or ask for a meeting to submit their report.
In order to contribute to the effective handling of the report, it should be clear from the report:
- the circumstances of time and place in which the fact that is the subject of the report occurred;
- the description of the fact;
- the generalities or other elements that make it possible to identify the person to whom the reported facts are attributed.
It is recommended that documents be attached that may provide elements of substantiation of the facts being reported, as well as the indication of other persons potentially aware of such facts.
What happens to a local channel report?
After submitting a report in the local channel, the team appointed by EPI will confirm receipt of the report within 7 days. You will also receive a case number which can be used for future communications with you, including possible questions to clarify your report.
The team will communicate the results of its analysis to you within three months of receiving your report. You may request at any time that the team do so within 15 days of reaching its conclusion.
What types of reports does the local channel accept?
You can use the local channel if you would like to report a compliance concern. A compliance concern is any employee or third-party behavior that may breach the European or Italian Law, our Code of Business Ethics (CoBE), EPI Model of Organization, Management and Control as per Decree 231/01, and related policies and directives. This includes:
- Corruption and fraud
- Questionable accounting or auditing matters
- Other events that might seriously affect the vital interests of Ericsson
- Harassment and Retaliation
- Human Rights Violations
Our local channel accepts any compliance concern that is prescribed by Italian law [link]. Please be aware that any compliance concern you may want to raise in the local channel can also be raised in the Ericsson Compliance Line.
Reports that cannot be addressed locally
If your report to the local channel reveals a problem that affects two or more Ericsson entities and that cannot be addressed within EPI, we encourage you to report your issue centrally, directly to the Ericsson Compliance Line. If you submit such a report to the local channel, EPI will inform you of its determination that the report cannot be effectively addressed within EPI and request that you report the issues via the Ericsson Compliance Line to ensure the concern is addressed by the appropriate Ericsson entity.
If you have any questions about whether you can submit your compliance concern through the local channel, you should contact the Compliance Consultation Desk or send your question to the local channel.
External reporting
In addition to the Central Reporting Channel and the Local Reporting Channel you may also report via an external reporting channel (the “External Reporting Channel”) managed by Italian Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC), available on ANAC website (www.anticorruzione.it). To report through the External Reporting Channel one of the three conditions below must apply.
- You have filed a report through the Local Reporting Channel, but the report was not handled accordingly; i.e. cases where the internal channel has been used, but the subject entrusted with the management of the channel has not undertaken, within the terms established by the decree any activity to verify the conditions of admissibility, of the existence of the facts reported or communication of the outcome of the investigation;
- You have a justified reason to assume that report through the Local Reporting Channel will not be effective or will be retaliatory; or
- There is a case of imminent or manifest danger to the public interest.
Reports of violations of Legislative Decree 231/01 or inadequacies of the 231 Model could be made only through the internal channel.
Any external report must specify that the reporter wants to keep its identity confidential and benefit from the protections provided in the event of any retaliation.
Protection is recognized, in addition to the reporter, even to those individuals who, however, could be recipients of retaliation, also undertaken indirectly, due to the role assumed in the process of reporting, public disclosure or denunciation and/or the particular relationship that binds them to the reporter.
Protection of the reporter
Reports submitted through the local reporting channel will be handled in a way that ensures that the identity of the reporter, the subject of the report and the content of the report is kept confidential in accordance with the relevant legislation.
Good faith reporters will be protected from any type of retaliation or discrimination. This protection also extends to:
- those who have assisted the reporter in the reporting process;
- co-workers with whom the reporter has a personal relationship or who are related to the reporter up to the fourth degree;
- co-workers of the reporter who have a regular and ongoing relationship with the reporter; and
- entities owned by the reporter or where the reporter works, as well as entities operating in the same work environment as the reporter.
Information gathered as a result of the report shall be processed and retained for as long as strictly necessary in accordance with the relevant regulations.
This protection operates only where the reporter has acted in good faith. Protection is excluded in case of malice or gross negligence or where the report was made with the intent to unjustifiably damage the reputation of EPI or others. Any report made having well-founded reason to believe that the reported violation is true is considered to be in good faith.
Any violation of EPI’s provisions on the handling of reports and/or of Legislative Decree 24/2023 will result in disciplinary actions, including: (i) unfounded reports made with malice or gross negligence; (ii) any conduct aimed at obstructing a report; (iii) any type of retaliation, including conduct prohibited under Article 17 of Legislative Decree 24/2023; (iv) breach of confidentiality of the reporter and other persons protected under Legislative Decree 24/2023; (v) failure to adequately handle reports; and (vi) any other violation of the applicable regulations or EPI’s steering documents.
Public disclosure
It is possible to make a public disclosure, i.e. make information on violations public domain through the press or electronic means or in any case through means of dissemination capable of reaching a large number of people, if one or more of the following conditions apply:
- an internal and an external report have been made - or directly an external report in the cases provided - without receiving timely feedback within the established deadlines;
- there is reasonable reason to believe that the violation constitutes an imminent or obvious danger to the public interest;
- there is good reason to believe that the external report may entail the risk of retaliation or not be followed up effectively due to the specific circumstances of the specific case, for example because there is a well-founded fear that the internal manager of the report is colluding with the author of the violation or is involved in the violation itself.
Data protection
For detailed information on your privacy rights, the collection and processing of your personal data please click here:
Privacy Notice for Ericsson Employees and Non-Employed Workforce (For Ericsson employees, search in the intranet).
Privacy – Ericsson (for the public)
EPI is the data controller for personal data processed in the local channel.