Ethics: a secure email address for reporting your concerns
Safran has a set of values and ethical standards that are shared by all employees. The Group takes every step to ensure that its business is conducted in accordance with the highest standards of honesty, integrity and professional excellence. Issued in 2005, the Ethical Guidelines formally set out the Group’s common principles and standards, so that every employee can refer to it in all circumstances.
Purpose of the ethics alert system
The purpose of the Safran ethics alert is to provide a secure, confidential and, if necessary, anonymous way for you to report situations or behaviors that could potentially contravene the principles of the Ethical Guidelines. It is available not only to Safran staff, but also to customers and suppliers. Safran is strengthening its internal alert system, in line with changes to legislation in various countries where we operate.
A new dedicated email address
Safran has provided its staff, temporary employees and external staff with a dedicated, multilingual email address: [email protected]. This address should be used in good faith to raise any concerns relating to any contravention of the principles of the Group’s Ethical Guidelines. This email address is managed by an independent, outside third party: the ADIT.
Safran ethics alert – general principles
Who can raise an alert?
All Safran members of staff as well as customers and suppliers to Group companies, irrespective of geographic location, have the right to report any incident or behavior that could undermine the interests of Safran or one or more of its employees, affect their reputation or constitute grounds for liability, in contravention of Safran’s Ethical Guidelines and applicable laws and regulations.
Scope of the alert system
An alert may concern an employee or any situation or operation conducted within or outside the Group that could undermine its interests or its proper functioning.
An alert should be raised in the case of:
- Any fraud or attempted fraud.
- Any behavior or situation in contravention of the Safran code of conduct: “Prevention and Detection of Acts of Corruption1”.
- More broadly, any serious and manifest violation of applicable laws or regulations, including abuses of human rights and basic liberties or risks to human being health and safety or the environment, failure to perform due diligence checks of suppliers or any serious threat, or serious harm, to the public interest.
Alerts may not be raised in respect of:
- Facts, information or documents, irrespective of format or media used, that fall within the scope of laws or regulations governing the protection of national defense secrets, patient/medical confidentiality or legal client privilege.
Duty to act in good faith
The person initiating an alert must act in good faith, whichever channel they use.
Good faith means that an alert is raised with no malicious intent or expectation of personal gain and that the person has reasonable and factual evidence to uphold the veracity of their allegation.
Misuse of the alert system may expose the person to disciplinary measures and/or legal proceedings.
Protection of persons initiating alerts
No disciplinary or discriminatory measures may be taken against an employee who raises an alert, even if the facts are subsequently proven to be unfounded, provided they have acted in good faith.
Identity of persons initiating alerts
We recommend that employees raising an alert via the dedicated email address include their identity, which will be treated in the strictest confidentiality. In accordance with local legislation in some countries, however, alerts may be submitted anonymously.
Processing of alerts
Safran will ensure that all alerts are handled confidentially and that the employee initiating the alert and the person implicated in it are protected. Safran will also ensure that the laws and regulations governing the handling of alerts are duly observed.
Information for persons initiating alerts
The person who initiated the alert will be informed of the follow-up actions taken. How long this takes may vary, depending on what information is submitted with the alert and the progress on any subsequent investigations. A formal decision is given to the person who initiated the alert.
Information for the person implicated in an alert
Any Group employee implicated in an alert is presumed innocent until the allegations against them are substantiated. Once the nature of the alert has been initially established, the person implicated in the alert of the allegations will be informed confidentially.
(1) Violations are designated in the code of conduct under the generic term “corruption” and include influence peddling, misappropriation of public funds, illegal acquisition of interest and favoritism.
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