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Whistleblowing MS

Reporting of Illegal Conduct and Whistleblower Protection

I. Corporate Whistleblowing System

MORAVIA STEEL a.s. with its registered office at Průmyslová 1000, Staré Město, 739 61 Třinec, ID No. 634 74 808, entered in the Register of Companies, maintained by the Regional Court in Ostrava, Section B, Insert 1297 (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”), has introduced, in accordance with Section 8 and subsequently Act No. 171/2023 Coll, the Whistleblower Protection Act, a corporate whistleblowing system through which it is possible to make a report of a possible violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act, as well as other acts referred to in Section 2(2)(d) of the Whistleblower Protection Act, by the Company or a person with whom the whistleblower has been or is in contact in connection with the performance of work or other similar activity, which has the characteristics of a criminal offence or misdemeanour with a fine of at least CZK 100,000.

II. Reports

  1. A person who performs dependent work for the Company in a basic employment relationship (employee), volunteer work, professional practice or internship, as well as a member of a Company body, may submit a report of the violation referred to above (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”). The Company excludes the acceptance of Reports from persons who do not perform work or other similar activities for the Company as referred to in Section 2(3)(a), (b), (h) or (i) of the Whistleblower Protection Act, except for members of the Company's bodies.

  2. The Report shall contain the name, surname and date of birth, or other information from which the identity of the Whistleblower can be inferred. The Report need not contain the above information if it is made by a person whose identity is known to the Competent Person (see below).

III. Competent Person

  1. The Competent Person shall receive and assess Reports submitted through the internal whistleblowing system (hereinafter referred to as the “Competent Person”).

  2. The Competent Person designated by the Company is Mr. Ing. Jaromír Konderla, telephone number: 558 536 770,e-mail: jaromir.konderla@moravia-steel.cz, address for delivery of the Reports in hard copy: MORAVIA STEEL a.s., Průmyslová 1000, Staré Město, 739 61 Třinec, to the hands of Ing. Jaromír Konderly, “Confidential”. In his absence, the Competent Person is Ing. Květoslava Stryczková, telephone number: 558 535 399, e-mail: kvetoslava.stryczkova@moravia-steel.cz, address for delivery of the Report in hard copy: MORAVIA STEEL a.s., Průmyslová 1000, Staré Město, 739 61 Třinec, to the hands of Ing. Květoslava Stryczková, “Confidential”.

  3. The Competent Person shall keep confidential the facts of which he/she has become aware in the course of his/her activities, unless otherwise provided for in the Whistleblower Protection Act.

IV. Receiving and Handling Reports

  1. The Report may be submitted: (i) electronically via the email address of the Competent Person, in paper form (by registered mail) to the address for delivery of the Report in paper form set out in Article III.2 above, (iii) by telephone at the telephone number of the Competent Person or (iv) in person to the Competent Person at a face-to-face meeting, whereby the Competent Person shall be obliged to accept the Report within 14 days from the date of the request of the Whistleblower.

  2. The Competent Person shall notify the Whistleblower in writing of the receipt of the Report within 7 days of its receipt. This does not apply if the Whistleblower is not known to the Competent Person, if it is clear that such action would reveal the identity of the Whistleblower, or if the Whistleblower has requested it.

  3. The Competent Person shall assess the reasonableness of the information contained in the Report and notify the Whistleblower in writing of the results of the assessment within 30 days of receipt of the Report. In factually or legally complex cases, this period may be extended by up to 30 days, but not more than twice. The Competent Person is obliged to inform the Whistleblower in writing of the extension of the time limit and the reasons for it before its expiry.

  4. If the Competent Person finds, when assessing the validity of the Report, that it is not a Report under the Whistleblower Protection Act, he/she shall inform the Whistleblower thereof in writing without undue delay.

  5. In the event that the Report is not found to be substantiated, the Competent Person shall without undue delay inform the Whistleblower in writing that he/she does not find the suspicion of an infringement having been committed or that the Report is based on false information and shall inform the Whistleblower of the right to file a Report with a public authority.

  6. If the Report has been assessed as reasonable, the Competent Person shall propose to the Company measures to prevent or remedy the infringement. The Company shall promptly notify the Competent Person of the action taken, who shall notify the Whistleblower in writing without undue delay. The second sentence of subsection (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis.

V. Whistleblower Protection

  1. Protection from retaliation by the Company against a Whistleblower under Section 4 of the Whistleblower Protection Act (e.g., termination of employment, removal from a management position, reduction in pay, transfer or reassignment) does not apply to a Whistleblower who made a Report without having reasonable grounds to believe that it was based on truthful information.

  2. In the case of a Report that does not contain information about the name, surname and date of birth, or other information from which the identity of the Whistleblower can be inferred, the Whistleblower is entitled to protection from retaliation only from the moment his or her identity comes to the attention of someone who can expose him or her to retaliation.

VI. External Whistleblowing System

It is also possible to make a whistleblowing through the external whistleblowing system of the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic without the Whistleblower having to use the Corporate Whistleblowing System. However, it may be recommended that the whistleblowing should first be filed through the Corporate Whistleblowing System and only if it has not been properly or timely assessed as to its validity, it would be filed with the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic.