Data Privacy Notice
We take data protection and confidentiality very seriously and adhere to the provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU-GDPR) as well as current national data protection regulations. Please read this data protection information carefully before submitting a report.
Purpose and legal foundation of the whistleblowing system
The whistleblowing system (BKMS® Incident Reporting) serves the purpose of securely and confidentially receiving, processing and managing reports concerning violations of compliance rules issued by Otto (GmbH & Co KG) and companies related to the Otto Group. The processing of personal data within the framework of the BKMS® Incident Reporting is based on the justified interest of our company in discovering and preventing abuses and thereby averting damage to Otto (GmbH & Co KG) and the Otto Group, its employees and customers. The legal basis for our processing of personal data is Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).
Responsible parties
The party responsible for data protection in the whistleblowing system is
Otto (GmbH & Co KG), Werner-Otto-Straße 1-7, 22179 Hamburg.
The whistleblowing system is operated by a specialised company, Business Keeper GmbH, Bayreuther Str. 35, 10789 Berlin in Germany, on behalf of Otto (GmbH & Co KG).
Personal data and information entered into the whistleblowing system are stored in a database of a high security data centre operated by Business Keeper GmbH. Only Otto (GmbH & Co KG) and companies related to the Otto Group have access to the data. Business Keeper GmbH and other third parties do not have access to the data. This is ensured in the certified procedure through extensive technical and organisational measures.
All data are stored encrypted with multiple levels of password protection so that access is restricted to a very small selection of expressly authorised persons at Otto (GmbH & Co KG) and at companies related to the Otto Group.
Otto (GmbH & Co KG) has appointed a data protection officer. Inquiries concerning data protection at Otto (GmbH & Co KG) can be sent to Otto (GmbH & Co KG) at datenschutzbeauftragter@ottogroup.com.
Type of collected personal data
Use of the whistleblowing system takes place on a voluntary basis. If you submit a report via the whistleblowing system, we collect the following personal data and information:
- Your name, if you choose to reveal your identity
- Whether you are an employee of Otto (GmbH & Co KG) or of a company related to the Otto Group
- The names and other personal data of persons whom you list in your report, if applicable
Confidential handling of reports
Incoming reports are received by a small selection of expressly authorised and specially trained employees of the compliance organisation of Otto (GmbH & Co KG) and of companies related to the Otto Group are always handled confidentially. The employees of the Otto (GmbH & Co KG) compliance organisation, and/or the compliance organisations of the affected companies, evaluate the matter and perform any further investigation required by the specific case.
While processing a report or conducting a special investigation, it may be necessary to share reports with additional employees of Otto (GmbH & Co KG) or employees of other group companies, e.g. if the reports refer to incidents in subsidiaries. The latter may be based in countries outside the European Union or the European Economic Area with different regulations about the protection of personal data. We will always ensure that the applicable data protection regulations are complied with when sharing reports.
All persons who receive access to the data are obligated to maintain confidentiality.
Information about the accused
We are legally obligated to inform accused parties of any reports received against them as soon as the disclosure of this information no longer jeopardises the investigation. Your identity as a whistleblower will not be disclosed unless we are legally bound to do so.
Rights of the data subject
Pursuant to European data protection legislation, you and the persons named in the report have a right of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing and data portability as well as a right of objection to processing of your personal data. If the right to object to the processing of the personal data is invoked, the necessity of the stored data for the examination of a report will be evaluated immediately. Data that are no longer needed will be deleted at once.
The rights you have with respect to us, as listed above, can be asserted to the Otto Group (GmbH & Co KG), E-Mail: datenschutzbeauftragter@ottogroup.com.
You also have the right to appeal with the supervisory authority.
Personal data are retained for as long as necessary to clarify the situation and perform a final assessment or for as long as a legitimate interest exists on the part of the company or retention is required by law. After the report processing is concluded, the data will be deleted in accordance with statutory requirements.
Use of the whistleblowing portal
Communication between your computer and the whistleblowing system takes place over an encrypted connection (SSL). Your IP address will not be stored during your use of the whistleblowing system. In order to maintain the connection between your computer and the BKMS® Incident Reporting, a cookie is stored on your computer that contains only the session ID (a so-called session cookie). This cookie is only valid until the end of your session and expires when you close your browser.
It is possible to set up a postbox within the whistleblowing system that is secured with an individually chosen pseudonym/user name and password. This allows you to send reports to the respectively responsible employee at Otto (GmbH & Co KG) or/and at one of the companies related to the Otto Group, either by name or in an anonymous, safe way. This system only stores data inside the whistleblowing system, which makes it particularly secure. It is not a form of regular email communication.
Note on sending attachments
When submitting a report or an addition, you can simultaneously send attachments to the responsible employee at Otto (GmbH & Co KG) and/or at one of the associated companies. If you wish to submit an anonymous report, please take note of the following security advice: files can contain hidden personal data that could put your anonymity at risk. Remove these data before sending. If you are unable to remove these data or are uncertain about how to do so, copy the text of your attachment into your report text or send the printed document anonymously to the address listed in the footer, citing the reference number received at the end of the reporting process.
Version: 16 Dec. 2019