Whistleblowing policy

NWO assumes that people in the organisation work honestly and responsibly. It could, however, be the case that something is not going well. NWO finds it important that attention is drawn to this. A Whistleblowing Regulation has therefore been included in the Implementing Regulations IR 14.

Whistleblowing is where an employee (whistleblower) informs persons that could possibly take action against it of suspicions of illegal or immoral practices that take place under the responsibility of the employer and for which a major societal interest is at stake.

The aim of the regulation is that every NWO-I employee can, without obstruction, report a (suspicion of a) malpractice safely and effectively without this having consequences for his or her legal position.

Confidential advisor whistleblower policy

NWO-I assumes that work within the organisation is done in a responsible and honest manner. Integrity in actions and behaviour is an essential condition for NWO to fulfil its statutory task. Integrity starts with sound behaviour of all employees. If something does not go right, NWO finds it important that this is reported.That is why a Whistleblowing Regulation has been drawn up. Whistleblowing is the disclosure by an employee of (suspected) malpractice which takes place under the responsibility of NWO-I and in which a major public interest is at stake. It may, for example, concern an (imminent) criminal offence or an (imminent) danger to public health, safety or the environment. The aim of the regulation is that every NWO employee can report (suspected) wrongdoing in a safe and effective manner without this having consequences for his legal position.

If you suspect wrongdoing, you can report this to your manager, but you can also turn to the Whistleblower Regulation Confidential Advisors for advice and/or guidance. The confidential advisor for NWO-I employees is Sandra de Keijzer, telephone (030) 600 1256.
The confidential advisor informs the Board of Directors/Foundation Board. This is followed by an investigation, which you will receive within six weeks. Even when non-integrity is observed, the aim is to first talk things over in order to safeguard integrity.

European directive on whistle-blowing

On 17 December 2021, a European directive came into force that expands the possibilities for whistleblowing about wrongdoings. The Dutch legislator is still working on the implementation of the directive in Dutch law. NWO's whistleblowing policy will be updated as soon as the legislative process has been completed. In anticipation of this, these whistleblower regulations are already in place since the coming into force of the European directive:

• In addition to the possibility of internal reporting, whistleblowers will also have the possibility of directly using external channels for reporting, such as the Whistleblowers' House.
• That people other than employees will also be able to blow the whistle. This concerns people who perform work-related activities for NWO such as trainees and temporary workers.
• That the whistle can also be blown on violations of European Union law.

You can read more information and the further procedure in Implementing Regulation IR 14 Whistleblowers Regulation.