RULES OF PROCEDURE COMPLAINTS CHANNEL

PREAMBLE

  1. The Association of Relatives of Alzheimer’s patients and other dementias of Galicia (AFAGA Alzheimer) is a non-profit organisation, constituted under the protection of the Organic Law 1/2002, of 22 March, regulating the Right of Association, and declared of public utility.
    The institutional purpose of AFAGA Alzheimer’s Association is to promote activities aimed at achieving its specific aims, always in accordance with the Law. In line with its firm commitment to be an entity guided by the strictest legality, AFAGA Alzheimer’s values very positively that its members, employees, users, volunteers, partners, suppliers or collaborators denounce illegal conduct or warn of objective situations that may result in behaviour punishable by the Criminal Code.
    In fulfilling its mission, AFAGA Alzheimer will always act in accordance with the law. For this reason, the complaints channel has been set up in order to prevent and detect irregular, illegal or criminal behaviour.
  2. To this end, complaints are an essential part of all systems for the prevention and detection of irregular, illegal or criminal behaviour. In fact, the existence and effectiveness of reporting channels is a reliable test to measure the effectiveness of a preventive system. This is why AFAGA Alzheimer enables internal and external whistleblowing, making it possible to report any conduct that is contrary to its principles and values or that is illegal.
  3. The main objective of this Regulation is to mitigate the fear of reporting actions that may be illegal, establishing guarantees of confidentiality and indemnity with respect to the whistleblower.
    Likewise, this Regulation aims to guarantee the preservation of the honour and the presumption of innocence of those reported against unfounded or malicious allegations.

Article 1. Purpose.

  1. This document constitutes the regulations governing the AFAGA Alzheimer’s whistle-blowing channel, establishing the procedure for reporting any irregular, illegal or criminal behaviour within the organisation.
  2. The complaint may be made with regard to past, present or future events or behaviour.

Article 2. Scope.

These regulations are applicable to any natural or legal person who has any kind of relationship with AFAGA Alzheimer and reports an irregular, illegal or criminal act using the whistleblowing channel. Consequently, its scope of application extends to its members, employees, users, volunteers, partners, suppliers or collaborators.

Article 3. Irregular, unlawful or criminal behaviour.

Irregular, illicit or criminal behaviour shall be understood as any type of legal infringement, as well as internal procedures whose function is to prevent and detect behaviour that harms AFAGA Alzheimer, as well as criminal acts by workers, volunteers or any other member of the aforementioned organisation in the exercise of their activity.

Article 4. Whistleblowing in good faith.

It is assumed that the whistleblower acts in good faith when his or her complaint is made in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations and is based on facts or indications from which it may reasonably be inferred that irregular, unlawful or criminal behaviour has taken place.

The complaint is considered to be made in good faith when, in addition, it is made without any intention of revenge, of moral harassment, of causing harm at work or in the workplace, or of damaging the honour of the person complained of or of a third party.

The complainant is considered not to be acting in good faith when the author of the complaint is aware of the falsity of the facts, or acts with manifest disregard for the truth, or with the intention of revenge, or of harming AFAGA Alzheimer or of harassing the person complained of, or of damaging their honour, or of harming them at work, professionally or personally.

Article 5. Guarantee of indemnity.

Users who act in good faith in accordance with the previous article and report irregular, unlawful or criminal behaviour, in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations, may not be dismissed, disciplined or suffer any other type of damage in their relationship with AFAGA Alzheimer as a result of lodging a complaint.

The good faith reporting of a fact or behaviour in accordance with these Regulations does not constitute, where applicable, a breach of the principle of good faith in employment relations, nor does it constitute a breach of a company or institutional secret, where applicable.

Article 6. Measures to protect the whistleblower.

Any type of negative action taken against the whistleblower by a member of the AFAGA Alzheimer team will be investigated and, where appropriate, punished in a timely manner.

Article 7. Rights of the complainant

The accused has the right to be informed of the existence of a complaint. In any case, he/she shall be informed of the existence of a complaint against him/her within a maximum period of one (1) month from the receipt of the complaint by the AFAGA Alzheimer Legal Department of AFAGA Alzheimer, a period that may be extended in successive periods of one (1) month, up to a maximum total of three (3) months when such an extension is essential for the successful completion of the investigation.

Article 8. Public reporting of irregular, illegal or criminal behaviour.

In order for AFAGA Alzheimer’s to improve its prevention system, preserve its prestige and reputation, it is recommended that irregular, unlawful or criminal behaviour referred to in this Regulation be reported before it is made public in the media or by any other entity outside AFAGA Alzheimer’s.

Public reporting of AFAGA Alzheimer’s internal facts that lack public relevance or are manifestly unfounded is a breach of the good faith that should govern relations, mainly with volunteers and staff, and may lead to disciplinary sanctions and/or legal action, where appropriate.

Article 9. Complaints channel. Confidentiality and other rights.

AFAGA Alzheimer’s provides users with a confidential complaints channel that is managed by the organisation itself by channelling them to the organisation’s internal Legal Department, unless there is a conflict of interest. In this regard, the AFAGA Alzheimer’s internal Legal Department must withdraw when there are causes that may hinder the successful completion of the investigation, with the AFAGA Alzheimer’s Board of Directors taking over the investigation. To this end, the AFAGA Alzheimer’s Board of Directors may rely on internal and external resources of the organisation, ensuring that the stipulations contained in these Regulations are preserved at all times.

AFAGA Alzheimer’s undertakes to respect the confidentiality of the whistleblower, in accordance with these Regulations.

AFAGA Alzheimer’s internal Legal Department will not disclose the name of the whistleblower in good faith at any time, unless it is deemed strictly necessary in view of the content reported and provided that the whistleblower gives their express consent, as well as if they are required to do so by law.

AFAGA Alzheimer’s internal Legal Department may keep the complainant informed of the outcome of the investigation into the reported facts.

The data contained in the corresponding reports will only be kept for the time necessary.

Article 10. Access to the complaints channel. The form.

The Complaints Channel may be accessed via the AFAGA Alzheimer’s Internal Legal Department website, specifically by accessing the “complaints channel” tab, which shall be kept as visible as possible,

The complainant must read and understand these Regulations and the information contained in the aforementioned tab before lodging a complaint.

Once the form has been filled in, it is accessible to AFAGA Alzheimer’s internal Legal Department, which will keep the complainant’s identification data confidential.

Article 11. Procedure following the complaint. The file and investigation.

Upon receipt of the record referred to in the previous article, AFAGA Alzheimer’s Internal Legal Department will proceed to open a file for each of the complaints, assigning it the mandatory file number.

The AFAGA Alzheimer’s Internal Legal Department will propose a decision to the Board of Directors of the organisation regarding each file, which may consist of opening an investigation or closing the file if the complaint is totally unfounded. In both cases, the reasons for the decision shall be recorded in each file.

AFAGA Alzheimer’s internal Legal Department shall propose to the Board of Directors the adoption, if necessary, of the appropriate precautionary measures to mitigate the perseverance of the damage arising from the reported facts.

The internal Legal Department and the AFAGA Alzheimer’s Board of Directors will ensure that the rights of the complainant, the accused and other persons involved in the complaint are respected.

In any case, the AFAGA Alzheimer’s Board of Directors will be responsible for reaching a final decision.

The period for the processing of the file and the adoption of a decision on the matter may not exceed one (1) month from its opening, which period may be extended in successive periods of one (1) month, up to a maximum total of three (3) months when such extension is essential for the successful completion of the investigation.

Article 12. Anonymous complaints

Anonymous complaints shall not be admitted.