Whistleblowing at Banka Slovenije
When performing their duties for Banka Slovenije, all persons working on its behalf are required to act in compliance with:
the applicable regulations governing the functioning of Banka Slovenije and, in this connection, the conduct of employees and other persons in performing their professional tasks for Banka Slovenije,
Banka Slovenije bylaws, including the prohibition on workplace mobbing,
contractual commitments applying to Banka Slovenije, when the individual is involved in Banka Slovenije’s activities to perform the contract, and
the Code of Ethics of Banka Slovenije, and the principles of professional ethics and integrity binding on Banka Slovenije and its employees in the performance of professional tasks.
Whistleblowing is a vital source of information for Banka Slovenije in ensuring its legitimate and independent functioning, and in upholding the standards of professional ethics among employees. Concrete information about the conduct of employees provides the basis for conducting internal investigation processes, and potential labour law proceedings, and for planning measures to prevent undesirable conduct on the part of Banka Slovenije employees.
Banka Slovenije treats all whistleblowing reports in accordance with the Rulebook on the whistleblowing and internal breach investigation process at Banka Slovenije.
Protection of the whistleblower’s identity, and other important information about the whistleblowing system
The whistleblowing process for breaches at Banka Slovenije is designed for anyone who has information at their disposal about potential breaches at Banka Slovenije when performing their tasks or exercising their powers for Banka Slovenije.
Whistleblowing reports may be submitted by:
individuals who learned of the information about an internal breach in their work environment at Banka Slovenije1 (internal whistleblowers);
other persons who have information about an internal breach (other whistleblowers).
Internal whistleblowers are entitled to protection against any retaliatory measures in accordance with the Protection of Whistleblowers Act in connection with the reporting of a breach or the public disclosure of information about a breach. Intermediaries and parties related to the internal whistleblower who might also be subjected to retaliatory measures as a result of the whistleblowing report are also entitled to protection against retaliatory measures. Internal whistleblowers who knowingly submit a false report are not entitled to protection, and submitting a report of this kind may also constitute a misdemeanour.
Protected persons are entitled to protection provided that they submit the whistleblowing report within two years of the breach coming to an end.
In its processing of whistleblowing reports Banka Slovenije also does everything in its power to safeguard the identity of whistleblowers who are not internal whistleblowers, but the latter are not entitled to protection against retaliatory measures in accordance with the Protection of Whistleblowers Act.
How do I submit a whistleblowing report?
Using the online form (only in Slovene).
When submitting a whistleblowing report via the online form, you will receive a unique password, which you need to keep safe. You can then update the report later by using the password.
To report form (only in Slovene)
By post addressed to:
Banka Slovenije
Director of the Internal Audit Department2
Slovenska cesta 35
1505 Ljubljana
(IN PERSON)
When submitting a whistleblowing report by post, make a note of the consignment sending date and the content of the report. This information will be useful for any updates of the whistleblowing report, or for feedback.
1 The “work environment” is the individual’s current or past employment or similar relationship at Banka Slovenije within the framework of which the individual obtains information about an internal breach, and within the framework of which the individual could suffer retaliatory measures should they report the internal breach. “Employment or similar relationship” means a relationship between the individual and Banka Slovenije on the basis of an employment contract, a contract for work, a contract for agency work, a contract for services or any other similar contract based on which the individual performs work for Banka Slovenije (internship, student work, work under supervision and management of external contractors, subcontractors or suppliers) or as a candidate for the conclusion of a contract of this kind with Banka Slovenije, irrespective of payment.
2 If the whistleblowing report relates to the director of the Internal Audit Department, the mail is addressed to the director of Governor’s Office and Communications Department.
Frequent answers and questions
Information about the whistleblower, particularly contact information for communications in connection with the whistleblowing report, can be a great help in the effective investigation of suspected breaches, and in averting and rectifying their consequences.
If for any reason you do not wish to disclose your identity, you can also submit a whistleblowing report anonymously.
In an anonymous whistleblowing report you can cite contact information for receiving feedback confirming receipt of the report, any reasons why the report is not being progressed, and the completion or status of the process (in so doing do not use information that would allow for your identification). Your contact information will not be used to determine your identity.
If you are a Banka Slovenije employee and want to submit the report anonymously, we advise you not to use work computers or any other work resources to do so.
When submitting an anonymous whistleblowing report by email or via the online form, please be aware that the Banka Slovenije server records information about the IP address of the computer from which the mail was sent or the form was submitted. The information about the IP address of the computer used to send the message or submit the report does not allow for the identification of the actual sender (when the computer can be used by different users), and the identity of the individual sender is additionally protected by the data confidentiality guaranteed by providers of telecommunications services and the managers of the local network to which the computer is connected.
In the whistleblowing report you describe in your own words the conduct at Banka Slovenije that in your opinion contravenes applicable regulations, contractual arrangements or bylaws binding on Banka Slovenije and individuals working on its behalf, or the Code of Ethics of Banka Slovenije.
In the report you also provide a precise description of the illegitimate acts or omissions at Banka Slovenije and, where possible, you cite the relevant circumstances, witnesses, documents and other evidence of the breach.
In the process of addressing and investigating potential breaches there is often a need to obtain additional information from the whistleblower, for which reason you also submit your contact information in the report, unless you wish to make the report anonymously.
You can update your whistleblowing report at any time. This applies equally to reports submitted anonymously.
If the report was submitted via the Banka Slovenije online form, to update the report you use the password that was assigned automatically when you first submitted the report. To update the report via the online form, select the “I want to update an existing whistleblowing report” option, and enter the password that you received when first submitting the report.
To update a report submitted by post or by email, you can later submit additional information or documentation in the same way, stating that the information relates to a whistleblowing report previously submitted (cite the date of sending of the first report by post).
The whistleblowing report will be received directly by the confidant (the director of the Internal Audit Department), who will check whether the conditions for progressing the report in the process have been met. If the report is not being progressed, the confidant will notify the whistleblower accordingly within seven days. If the report is being progressed, it is forwarded to the Commission for investigation of internal breaches. The members of the Commission on each occasion are deemed confidants under the Protection of Whistleblowers Act.
For a whistleblowing report submitted by an internal whistleblower, information about the whistleblower’s identity will be known solely to the members of the Commission (the confidants), who will safeguard this information as confidential and may not disclose it to anyone else at Banka Slovenije. Any attempt by other persons to identify the internal whistleblower and disclose information about the internal whistleblower constitutes a misdemeanour for which the Protection of Whistleblowers Act prescribes a fine.
The content of the report (with the exception of the identity of the internal whistleblower) will be disclosed as necessary during the process to other individuals involved in the investigation and in the rectification of any irregularities found.
If Banka Slovenije finds in the investigation process that an employee has committed a breach of the requirements applying to Banka Slovenije and individuals working on its behalf, it will take action against them in accordance with labour law regulations.
Access to information about the internal whistleblower’s identity is granted solely to persons who perform the confidant’s tasks during the preliminary examination or the processing of the whistleblowing report via the Commission.
Banka Slovenije will safeguard information about the internal whistleblower’s identity as confidential.
Disclosure of the internal whistleblower’s identity to any other persons (during processing of the whistleblowing report), with the exception of the confidant, members of the Commission and an external whistleblowing authority, is not allowed, unless the whistleblower expressly consents to the disclosure. If the internal whistleblower does not consent to disclosure and the process cannot be continued without disclosure, the process is halted.
If Banka Slovenije forwards the whistleblowing report to external authorities or informs the authorities of a criminal offence, the confidant will only forward information about the internal whistleblower’s identity to the state prosecutor’s office on the basis of a substantiated request, provided that doing so is essential to the investigation of criminal offences, or on the basis of a request by the court, where this is necessary for the sake of judicial proceedings.
In the internal investigation process all data from which the internal whistleblower’s identity can be determined is stored separately and protected against unauthorised access. An audit trail is provided for any viewing of the data on the internal whistleblower’s identity.
Banka Slovenije will retain the information about the whistleblower’s identity for five years after the completion of the internal investigation at Banka Slovenije, or after the completion of any related judicial proceedings. After the end of the retention period, Banka Slovenije will permanently delete the information about the whistleblower’s identity.
Actions that worsen the internal whistleblower’s position and are a consequence of the submission of the whistleblowing report (even if the person taking the actions against the whistleblower cites different grounds for so doing) are deemed retaliatory measures. Examples include final warnings, termination of employment, disciplinary sanctions, reassignment, harassment, and unequal treatment.
If you are subjected to retaliatory measures after submitting a whistleblowing report, please report this to Banka Slovenije or to the confidant (see above).
If you submitted the whistleblowing report anonymously, Banka Slovenije will unfortunately be unable to take action in the event of retaliatory measures. In this case we recommend that you provide your personal data when updating the whistleblowing report.
During the process and after completion of the process of addressing the whistleblowing report, the confidant advises an internal whistleblower who is entitled to protection under the Protection of Whistleblowers Act, providing information about legal options and assisting them in securing evidence of the whistleblowing report and the process that the internal whistleblower might need in subsequent processes in connection with protection against retaliatory measures.
Upon completion of the process of addressing the whistleblowing report, the confidant will inform an internal whistleblower who is entitled to protection under the Protection of Whistleblowers Act of the outcome of the process and any measures taken. If the process is not completed within three months of the report being received, the confidant informs the internal whistleblower of the current progress of the case.
Banka Slovenije is required to treat employees’ personal data as strictly confidential.
Whistleblowers can also submit a whistleblowing report directly to the authority under whose remit the breach allegedly committed by a Banka Slovenije employee falls, if they feel that the report cannot be addressed effectively by Banka Slovenije’s internal processes, or that in the event of the report being forwarded to Banka Slovenije there is a risk of retaliatory measures.
In this case the report is submitted directly to an external whistleblowing authority under whose remit the breach falls, among them the ECB. If no external whistleblowing authority is designated for the particular area of the breach, the whistleblowing report may also be submitted to the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, who will take measures to protect the whistleblower against retaliatory measures.
The external whistleblowing authorities who take measures to protect whistleblowers are:
Agency for Communication Networks and Services
Securities Market Agency
Competition Protection Agency
Traffic Safety Agency
Insurance Supervision Agency
Agency for the Public Oversight of Auditing
Banka Slovenije
National Review Commission
Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia
Market Inspectorate
Office for Money Laundering Prevention
Information Commissioner
Information Security Inspectorate
Radiation and Nuclear Safety Inspection Service
Radiation Protection Inspectorate
Food Safety, Veterinary and Plant Protection Inspectorate
Labour Inspectorate
Public Sector Inspectorate
Environment and Planning Inspectorate
Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices
Supervisory authorities as defined by regulations governing the use of European cohesion policy funds in Slovenia
Health Inspectorate
Slovenian Sovereign Holding
Commission for the Prevention of Corruption