Ethics Helpline: tell us, we care!

Why should I submit a report?

We ask all our employees and business partners to submit a report on any violation of our Code of Conduct or an applicable law immediately. Moreover, asking questions and raising concerns is a crucial part of a culture of trust.

You may be aware of harmful behaviour or risks that are damaging to the organisation. By submitting a report, you help to detect and prevent damage at an early stage.

What kind of reports can be submitted?

Reports about violations of an applicable law or the Code of Conduct of IDA Foundation can be submitted. If you want to submit a formal complaint about unwanted behaviour to the complaints committee, please choose the category Formal complaint related to inappropriate behavior. The complaints committee will however not handle anonymous reports. If you want to make an anonymous report, choose one of the other categories.

Detailed information on possible categories of a report will be provided during the reporting process.

What is the process for submitting a report? What is a postbox and how do I set up one?

To submit an anonymous or personalised report, start by clicking the ”Submit report“ button located at the top of our introduction page.

There are 4 steps to the report process:

1. First, you will be asked to read some information on the protection of your anonymity and to respond to a security query.
2. On the following page, you will be asked about the category of your report.
3. On the report page, you can elaborate on your report in your own words and answer questions about the incident by simply selecting responses. You can type up to 5000 characters into the free text field, which corresponds to a full A4 page. You may also submit a file of up to 5 MB to support your report. Please do bear in mind that documents can contain information about the author. Following the sending of your report, you will receive a reference number as confirmation that you have forwarded this report.
4. Please subsequently set up your own secured postbox. You will receive feedback from us via this postbox, including answers to questions and information about the progress of your report.

If you already have a secured postbox, you can access it directly via the “Login” button. First, you will have to answer a security query.

As long as you do not enter any data from which conclusions about your person can be drawn, the technology of the BKMS^® System will protect your anonymity.

Please rest assured that we are interested only in the incident you are reporting. Malpractices should be revealed, and financial losses prevented.

How do I receive feedback and remain anonymous at the same time?

The overriding principle of the BKMS^® procedure in use is the protection of the whistleblower. The systems anonymity protection function is certified by an independent body.

When setting up your secured postbox, please select your own pseudonym/ user name and password. If you lose your login details, please submit a new report and set up a new postbox. If possible, please provide the reference number of your initial report. As this will be a new postbox, you cannot see the content of your previous report.

Your report is kept anonymous through encryption and other special security routines. You will never be asked for personal information at any time during the reporting process. Please do not use any technical device, for example a PC or smartphone, that has been provided by your employer, to submit your report.

Via the secured postbox, an examiner will provide you with feedback on what is happening with your information or ask questions if details still need to be clarified - you will continue to remain anonymous during the dialogue. We are interested in reports to avoid damages, not in you as a whistleblower.