Whistleblower System BPO
The Whistleblower System BPO (Business & People Protection Office) receives reports of rule violations. It is an important element of good corporate governance.
Compliance with the law and internal regulations is a high priority for the Mercedes-Benz Group. Misconduct must therefore be identified early. In order to investigate severe violations with a high risk for the company, its employees and other people in a fair and appropriate manner, we set up the Whistleblower System BPO (Business & People Protection Office) in 2006. The BPO enables employees and external whistleblowers to report violations anywhere in the world. This way, the Mercedes-Benz Group learns about potential risks, can prevent damage to the group, its employees and third parties as well as protect individuals who might be harmed by misconduct.
Rule violations posing high risks include, for example, offenses relating to corruption, breaches of antitrust law and violations of anti-money laundering regulations, as well as violations of binding technical provisions or violations in connection with environmental regulations. Personal matters, such as incidents of sexual harassment or human rights violations, are also considered high-risk rule violations.
Mercedes-Benz Group encourages anyone inside or outside the company who observes violations in connection with the company or suspects such violations for concrete reasons to contact the BPO without fear of retaliation and to express the information openly.
Whistleblowers who report possible violations on the basis of concrete indications are protected by the company. This applies to both their identity and the confidentiality of their statements. Employees who feel they have suffered disadvantages as a result of them reporting a violation are protected by the BPO. Discrimination or intimidation of an employee for reporting a violation is itself a violation of our Integrity Code and results in disciplinary actions under applicable labor law.
Whistleblowers can also contact the BPO anonymously, as far as national legislation permits. At the same time, it is very helpful for the BPO if whistleblowers can be contacted (e.g. via an anonymous e-mail address) so they can be asked questions that may be useful to the investigation. If a whistleblower discloses his or her identity but wishes that it will not be shared with other parties within the company, this request will be respected.
A globally applicable Group policy governs the BPO procedure and the corresponding responsibilities. Its aim is to ensure a fair and transparent procedure that takes into account both the principle of proportionality for the accused individual and the protection of the whistleblower. The policy also sets out the standards by which we assess violations and decide on consequences.
Do you want to submit a report?
How the Whistleblower System BPO works
Reports of rule violations are always handled confidentially according to the following procedural rules:
Reporting violations & contact
If you have questions, feedback, or complaints regarding your Mercedes-Benz product, Mercedes-Benz service, or your authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer, please contact the Mercedes-Benz Customer Assistance Center (CAC) in Maastricht or (outside Europe) the local Mercedes-Benz organization in your country directly. We ask for your understanding that the BPO does not accept, process, or forward concerns on these topics.
If you have concrete indications of high risk violations in connection with the business activity of the Mercedes-Benz Group, you can contact the Whistleblower System BPO via the following channels:
BPO Reporting Channel
You can use our reporting channel to send reports of high-risk violations – if desired anonymous – to the Whistleblower System BPO. You can submit your report around the clock and choose your preferred language.
Postal contact to the BPO
Mercedes-Benz Group AG
IL/CBP – Whistleblower System BPO (Business & People Protection Office)
HPC W077
70546 Stuttgart
Germany
Case intake
After receipt of the tip-off, the BPO conducts an initial risk-based assessment of the potential violation. Violations considered high risk for the company include, amongst others, offenses relating to corruption, breaches of antitrust law and violations of anti-money laundering regulations as well as human rights violations. In case of tip-offs with high risk for the company, its employees or other people, an initial legal review of the incident is carried out. If there are concrete indications for such a violation, the case is assigned to the appropriate investigative unit (e.g. Corporate Security, Corporate Data Protection, Corporate Audit, Legal Division, Purchasing Units) with specific orders to conduct an investigation.
All indications of other violations with risk are forwarded by the BPO to the responsible department (e.g. Human Relations, Corporate Security, Corporate Data Protection). The whistleblower is informed in advance about the forwarding. Violations include, for example, theft, embezzlement or personal enrichment with a value of less than 100,000 Euros - provided they are not related to corruption. Anonymity can also be guaranteed here.
The BPO accompanies the processing of tip-offs until the case has been closed. While doing so, the BPO ensures highest confidentiality.
Investigation
If there are concrete indications of a violation with a high risk for the company, its employees or other persons, the case is handed over to an internal investigation unit.
The accused individual will be informed of the suspicion in writing without delay, as far as this is possible for investigative reasons, and is given an opportunity – as soon as possible – to respond to the allegations. If desired, the potentially affected employees of Mercedes-Benz Group can call in a person of trust for the investigative questioning/hearing (e.g. member of the company's Works Council or a lawyer) and inform their manager of the allegations.
As long as a violation has not been proven, the presumption of innocence applies. Incriminating and exculpating facts are equally included in the investigation.
Moreover, our whistleblower system places great importance on fairness – in dealing with whistleblowers as well as employees or business partners affected by an allegation. The BPO always applies the principle of proportionality and examines each case individually to determine what measures or consequences are suitable, necessary and appropriate.
Reports of violations in which no indications of a high risk are identified are handed over to the responsible department (e.g. Human Relations, Corporate Security, Corporate Data Protection) for review and, if necessary, investigation and derivation of measures.
Case closure
The accused employee and, if applicable, his or her manager are informed of the case closure. The result of the investigation is communicated to the accused employee in writing. The whistleblower, unless he or she can be contacted, will also be informed about the case closure and the final result.
If the suspicion is not confirmed, it is clarified upon request by the supervisors and/or the BPO that the allegation was disproven by the investigation.
If the suspicion against an employee of Mercedes-Benz Group is confirmed, the case is passed on to the Labour Law department. If necessary, the accused individual will be heard again, as well as his or her manager. Personnel measures are derived in accordance with the principle of proportionality. In the event of misconduct by a business partner, appropriate consequences will also be determined in accordance with the principle of proportionality. If a business partner refuses to implement a jointly developed improvement plan or if the business partner does not improve, the Mercedes-Benz Group reserves the right to temporarily suspend or terminate the business relationship after giving appropriate notice and warning.
In order to assess which measures are appropriate in response to a violation, the following criteria, among others, are regularly taken into account in accordance with the principle of proportionality:
- Type and severity of the violation
- Responsibility of the affected person (intent, negligence)
- Amount, reversibility and probability of occurrence of a damage or injury
- Attitude towards the violation of the affected person
- Cooperation in investigating the facts of the case and/or compensation of damages occurred and/or a possible self-disclosure by the affected person
- Mercedes-Benz Group's leverage on the business partner
Specific personnel measures in the event of violations against employees of Mercedes-Benz Group are taken in accordance with local law, but may, depending on the severity of the violation, include both disciplinary and labor law measures (e.g. admonishment, warning, ordinary or extraordinary termination of employment, reduction of variable compensation components, claims for restitution, repayment and/or damages claims). In the event of identified criminal offenses, the Mercedes-Benz Group reserves the right to file criminal charges.
Measures against business partners are also taken in accordance with local law and the corresponding contractual agreements between the Mercedes-Benz Group and the business partner.
All data will be deleted after appropriate retention periods.
Reporting and improvement
To steadily increase trust in the BPO and increase awareness of the BPO among employees, we rely on various communication measures. For example, the BPO provides information materials such as pocket guides and an explanatory film, and informs employees in dialog events. In addition, the BPO regularly informs employees about the number of reported violations as well as the type of confirmed BPO cases and provides case studies on a quarterly basis. For business partners, the Mercedes-Benz Group explicitly refers to the Whistleblowing System BPO in its Responsible Sourcing Standards and Business Partner Standards.
Every quarter, the BPO reports to the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board on newly opened and closed BPO cases. By reprocessing reported incidents, the BPO contributes to the continuous further development of processes and guidelines regarding compliance within the Mercedes-Benz Group.
