Privacy

Purpose of data processing

In accordance with the obligation under the German Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG), a digital internal reporting office has been set up with the whistleblower system AdvoWhistle. AdvoWhistle is part of the Compliance Management System.

Employees can use AdvoWhistle to report suspected violations of laws and internal rules securely and confidentially. This is intended to promote the detection and prevention of significant breaches of rules and to avert considerable risks and damage.

Responsibility

The person responsible for the processing of personal data in the context of a lawyer-client relationship is: Bette Westenberger Brink Rechtsanwälte PartGmbB, Große Langgasse 1A, 55116 Mainz, Germany, telephone +49 6131 287700, e-mail advowhistle@bwb-law.de (hereinafter referred to as "trusted lawyers").

Responsible for the content are lawyer Stephanie Kappen and lawyer Christian Faber. The company data protection officer of Bette Westenberger Brink Rechtsanwälte can be contacted at the above address and at datenschutz@bwb-law.de.

Technical Infrastructure

The trusted lawyers use the whistleblower system software of the technical service provider iComply GmbH, Große Langgasse 1A, 55116 Mainz, Germany.

Personal data and information entered into the system are stored in a database operated by the technical service provider in an ISO/IEC 27001 certified data centre. Access to the data is only possible for the explicitly authorised trusted lawyers. End-to-end encryption of all data, multi-level password protection, technical and organisational measures and regular certification ensure that technical service providers, the data centre operator and other third parties have no access to the data.

Legal basis

The legal basis for the processing of reports that falls within the scope of the Whistleblower Protection Act is the legal obligation pursuant to Art. 6 para 1 c) DSGVO in conjunction with Section 10 Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG).

The legal basis for the processing of reports relating to breaches of internal rules is the overriding legitimate interest in the detection and prevention of significant breaches of rules and the associated prevention of risks and damage pursuant to Art. 6 para 1 f) DSGVO.

Use of the reporting portal

The use of AdvoWhistle is on a voluntary basis. When submitting a report, AdvoWhistle collects the following personal data and information: 

• person providing the report: name (if you disclose your identity), contact details (if you provide them). 
• incident-affected persons: First name and surname, information about incidents and suspected violations of the law and rules.  
• Witnesses and/or third parties named in the notice (e.g. customers, suppliers, colleagues or business partners): first and last name, contact details.

File attachments may be sent when submitting a report and sending supplements. If anonymity is to be maintained, hidden personal data must be removed before sending. If this is not possible, only the text from these files can be copied into the digital report form, or printouts of these files can be sent to the postal address of the ombudsmen.

Confidentiality

Incoming reports are received by a narrow circle of expressly authorised trusted lawyers and are always treated confidentially. The trusted lawyers examine the facts of the case and, if necessary, carry out further case-related clarification of the facts. Every person who receives access to the data is obliged to maintain confidentiality.

For further processing of incoming reports, it is regularly necessary to pass on information to the client. If agreed, the trusted lawyers will always obtain the express consent of the person providing the information before passing it on.

If the client is based outside the European Union and there are different regulations on the protection of personal data, the trusted lawyers will always ensure that the relevant data protection regulations are complied with when passing on reports.

Information of accused persons

In general, the trusted lawyers are not obliged to inform accused persons that they have received reports concerning them, as the exemption from professional secrecy under Art. 14 para. 5 d) GDPR applies to lawyers. The content of the reports is collected and processed within the client relationship.

Data subject rights

Persons whose personal data are processed (data subjects) have the right to receive, upon request and free of charge, information about the personal data stored about them, their origin and recipients and the purpose of the data processing. If we process your data on the basis of our legitimate interest, you have the right to object to the processing if there are legitimate grounds arising from your particular situation (right of objection). 

In addition, data subjects have the right to rectification of inaccurate personal data, the right to erasure of personal data, the right to restriction of the processing of personal data, the right to data portability. 

Data subjects also have the right to complain to a supervisory authority. For this purpose, data subjects may contact the supervisory authority of their usual place of residence or place of work or the trusted lawyers.

Retention period of data

The documentation of reports and the personal data contained therein are generally deleted three years after the conclusion of the procedure. In individual cases, the documentation may be kept longer in order to fulfil the requirements under the Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG) or other legal provisions, as long as this is necessary and proportionate. A final assessment is also stored for documentation purposes.