Have you heard of the complaints channel? Do you know what the mandatory reporting channel is and who manages it? This is a management that you must take into account if you own a company.
But what is it? How should it be formed? Who should manage it and be responsible? All of that is what we are going to talk to you about below.
What is the mandatory reporting channel?
Let's start with the first thing, and that is to understand what we are referring to with the mandatory reporting channel. Actually, It is a tool that every company must have so that both workers, clients, suppliers, distributors... can inform the company, always confidentially, of what they do not like how it is done.
For example, imagine that you work in the editorial office of a newspaper. And that the treatment of the bosses is, to say the least, insulting. You could use the reporting channel that must be enabled to comment on this problem, confidentially, to try to solve it.
Everything related to the complaints channel is governed by the Law 2/2023, commonly called the Whistleblowing Channel Law.
Now, it is possible that you think that reporting something like this means getting on bad terms with the company and that they could fire you at the drop of a hat. And it's true, or maybe not? Let's continue explaining what the mandatory reporting channel is and who manages it.
Who manages the mandatory reporting channel
You already know what the complaints channel is, and how mandatory it is. But who is the person who manages it? Is it the company itself? A company worker? What guarantee is there that what is actually said or reported on that channel is confidential and senior officials are not going to find out and jeopardize the job?
Well, according to the law of the complaints channel that we have mentioned before, which governs everything related to this tool, the person who must be in charge of this channel is the responsible for the internal information system. In other words, a person, team or collegiate body that is designated within the company. That is, it will be a person who will be in the company and who will respond to all complaints that may be made. Obviously, he is responsible for maintaining confidentiality and not saying who has reported whom.
Of course, there is a series of requirements that must be met:
- Be independent of management bodies.
- To be autonomous.
- Have human and material resources to carry out their functions.
- Possess sufficient knowledge about the regulations of the whistleblowing channel.
- Have legal knowledge.
- Be able to analyze and make decisions.
- Be able to communicate and maintain confidentiality and the duty of secrecy.
Why is it mandatory?
We are always referring to the mandatory reporting channel, but why is it? The regulations require all companies with more than 50 workers to make this complaint channel available to clients, workers, suppliers and other agents who interact with the company.
And it is required by law. So, If your company does not have it and has more than 50 people working, it should exist.
In addition to the fact that this mandatory reporting channel exists, it must meet certain legal requirements. And it is not enough to establish it and that's it, it is necessary that it comply with:
- Data protection and privacy laws. That is, all the information you receive is always managed confidentially and adequately protected by the General Data Protection Regulation.
- The anonymity. Because the person who reports or reports the case through the reporting channel must always remain anonymous.
- Multimedia coverage. So that people can report in different ways, from telephone, in person, online media... That is, if you don't want to, you don't have to physically file the report, but you can do it through a call, an email...
- File securely to carry out traceability and thus filter out false reports.
Violations that can be reported
In the mandatory reporting channel there are a series of violations or complaints that can be processed through this channel. In general, this channel can serve any situation that violates the ethical code. Specifically, some of these violations are:
- Workplace violence: workplace harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination...
- Ethical violence: conflicts of interest, unethical behavior, decisions that harm the company or the parties...
- Safety and health at work: failure to comply with safety regulations.
- Breach of contract clauses: working more hours than stipulated, being paid less, doing more tasks than those provided in the contract, etc. In other words: workplace abuse.
- Financial fraud.
In any case, although these are the most common infractions that are given as an example for the reporting channel, there are many other situations in which the channel can take action on the matter.
Benefits of the whistleblowing channel
Finally, and although you may have realized, there are many benefits of having the mandatory reporting channel in companies. Among them:
Protection and security. By workers, clients, suppliers, distributors and other agents who participate in a relationship with the company. Furthermore, the fact that anonymity is maintained and those who report are protected means that their job or the relationship they have with other colleagues or bosses is not jeopardized. Of course, this will depend on that person's discretion with the rest.
- Feedback for the company. Because it allows the company to know what needs to be improved or what poses a threat to its personal brand or to the company's own workers.
- It serves to retain talent. Because it helps workers feel more motivated to see that the company cares about the work environment being the best possible.
Now that you know what the mandatory reporting channel is and who manages it, do you see its use or do you think it is another way of calling one of the functions that was carried out by the Human Resources department? We read you in comments.