We don’t turn a blind eye

Why should I submit a report?

A positive and open corporate culture includes compliance with legal, social and internal company rules. Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe (JUH), as a charitable and non-profit fundraising humanitarian organisation, is particularly expected to ensure that its managers and employees always act in accordance with the law and other compliance regulations.

Perhaps you are aware of harmful behaviour or risks that endanger people we work with, our staff or our organisation. Your report helps us to uncover transgressions and violations at an early stage. This enables us to take action in good time and prevent or rectify potential harm to people or our organisation or damage to our image. With your report, you are making an important contribution to complying with our principles, preventing injustice and protecting those who have been harmed and thus ensuring the long-term success of our organisation and the well-being of the people that work for us and that we work with.

This is also true for Johanniter International Assistance, which is active in many countries and provides support in various forms, e.g. in the event of natural disasters, conflict or famine, through basic medical care, disaster response and transitional aid. Indications of unlawful malpractice may be of particular importance here.

What kind of report is useful for our organisation?

The JUH whistleblowing system applies to violations of certain areas of European Union law as well as to violations of German law. In addition, violations of JUH statutes and regulations as well as our organisation’s internal code of conduct and the reffering policies may also be the subject of reports.

Reports of general conflicts of interest or human rights violations are also considered. Furthermore, violations of laws and regulations of church law relevant to Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe e.V., in particular the Data Protection Act of the EKD (Evangelical Church in Germany) and the Employee Representation Act of the EKD, but also violations of provisions of collective agreements – in particular the employment contract guidelines of the DWBO Annex Johanniter and the employment contract guidelines of Diakonie Deutschland – may be the subject of reports.

Finally, reports can also be made in the event of violations of Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe e.V. provisions under the German association law (statutes and regulations, rule of procedure, internal guidelines in the form of the Federal Executive Board's circular letters, the welfare concept, quality management etc.), the Diaconal Corporate Governance Code or the guidelines of the DZI.

Reports concerning Johanniter International Assistance may also refer to violations of the Code of Conduct and other guidelines and requirements of Johanniter International Assistance. For example, reports about sexual harassment and violence or about corruption and bribery are possible.

Reports of violations in all of the aforementioned areas will be recorded and processed. You will receive detailed information on the possible categories of a report during the reporting process.

How do I submit a report if an incident has occurred in a project country of Johanniter International Assistance?

You can also submit a report on incidents that occurred in a project country of Johanniter International Assistance using the whistleblowing system. To do this, select the reporting category: “Violations of the Code of Conduct of International Assistance” or – depending on the incident – any other relevant category, e.g. Property crimes. It is essential to state the country in which the incident occurred in the report. The report is then forwarded to the International Assistance Integrity Team, where it is processed.

What is the process for submitting a report? How do I set up a postbox?

If you wish to submit a report (either giving your name or anonymously), click the “Submit report” button at the top of our introduction page.

The reporting process consists of four steps:

1. First, you will be asked to read some information on the protection of your anonymity and answer a security query.
2. On the following page, you will be asked about the category of your report.
3. On the report page, you can elaborate on your report in your own words and answer simple multiple-choice questions about the case. You can enter up to 5,000 characters into the free text field, which corresponds to a full page. You may also submit a file of up to 5 MB to support your report. Please bear in mind that documents can contain information about the author. After submitting your report, you will receive a reference number to confirm that you have sent this report.
4. After this, please set up your own secured postbox. You will use this postbox to receive feedback, answer questions and find out about the progress of your report.

If you already have a secured postbox, you can go straight to it via the ‘Login’ button. Here, too, you will have to answer a security query first.

As long as you do not enter any data that could reveal your identity, BKMS^® Incident Reporting will protect your anonymity.

Please be assured that we are only interested in the case you are reporting. Abuses must be uncovered to avoid negative impact on people and prevent financial losses for Johanniter.

How do I receive feedback and remain anonymous at the same time?

The BKMS^® Incident Reporting process used here places the utmost importance on protecting the whistleblower. The effectiveness of the anonymity protection function has been certified by an independent body.

When you set up your secured postbox, you choose your pseudonym/user name and password yourself. This login information is not visible to anyone except you. If you lose your login information, please submit a new report and set up a new postbox. If possible, please provide the reference number of your previous report. The new postbox will not contain anything associated with your previous report.

Your report is kept anonymous through encryption and other specialised security measures. You do not have to provide any personal information if you submit a report anonymously. Do not submit any information that contains any reference to you. Please do not use any device provided by your employer, such as a PC or smartphone, to submit your report.

Via the secured postbox, the person responsible for your case will give you feedback about what is happening with your report or ask you questions if some details are still unclear – you will continue to remain anonymous throughout the dialogue. We are interested in reports to avoid damage or loss, not in you as a whistleblower.

How am I protected as a whistleblower?

Retaliations directed against whistleblowers are forbidden. Whistleblowers are entitled to protection as long as the information reported is accurate or the whistleblower had sufficient reason to believe that the information reported regarding violations was true at the time of reporting and the report was done in good faith. Protection of the whistleblower begins as soon as the report is submitted.