Who can make a report?

The following subjects can make reports:

• employees, self-employed workers, those with collaboration relationships, volunteers and apprentices, including those who are unpaid, who perform their work activities at Trenitalia S.p.A.;
• workers or collaborators who perform their work activities at establishments that provide goods or services or carry out projects in favour of third parties; self-employed professionals and consultants who perform their work activities at Trenitalia S.p.A.; the shareholders of Trenitalia S.p.A. and those people who hold offices in administration, management, control, supervision or representation.

These subjects report information on breaches which they come to know of within the context of their work.

Reports may also be made:

• when the legal relationship has not yet begun, if the information on the breaches comes to light during the selection process or other pre-contractual stages;
• during the trial period;
• after the end of the legal relationship, if the information on the breaches came to light during the course of the relationship.
   

Trenitalia S.p.A. encourages Whistleblowers to reveal their identity in their reports, in order to make it easier to verify the facts reported and to inform the Whistleblower of the outcome of the investigations. The confidentiality of Whistleblowers is guaranteed, in compliance with applicable legislation. However, anonymous reports are also accepted.

 

What can be reported?

Information on breaches which concern facts (of any nature, including omissions) attributable to people within Trenitalia S.p.A. or third parties, which may include:

• breaches of the Organisational, Management and Control Model pursuant to Italian Legislative Decree 231/2001 and the procedures through which it is implemented and/or of the Anti-Corruption Policy and the Anti-Bribery & Corruption management system of Trenitalia S.p.A. and/or of the Code of Ethics of the FS Group and/or of internal company regulations and/or breaches which are in any case liable to cause harm or damage to Trenitalia S.p.A., even if only to its image or reputation;
• administrative, accounting, civil or criminal offences;
• unlawful conduct pertaining to Italian Legislative Decree No. 231 of 8 June 2001;
• offences which fall within the scope of application of acts of the European Union and of the national provisions through which they are implemented;
• acts or omissions which affect the financial interests of the European Union;
• acts or omissions relating to the internal market (for example: breaches related to competition and State aid);
• acts or conduct which defeats the object or the purpose of the provisions of European Union acts.
   

Reports must concern facts which the Whistleblower has knowledge of, and the Whistleblower him/herself must have well-founded reasons for believing that the information reported is true at the time of the report.

Reports must be made promptly following the discovery of the facts, in order to make it possible to verify them.

The following do not constitute whistleblowing reports: disputes, claims or requests linked to a personal interest of the Whistleblower, which pertain exclusively to his/her individual working relationship, or regarding his/her relationship with the figures above him/her in the hierarchy; communications or complaints concerning activities of a commercial nature or public services.

Internal reporting channels

Reports may be sent through: i) the IT platform accessible from the Trenitalia S.p.A. website and from the company intranet; ii) an email sent to the dedicated email addresses; iii) ordinary mail sent to the Authorities with the competence to manage the report; iv) orally, by means of a declaration made by the Whistleblower as part of a special hearing. A dedicated telephone line/voice message system is being set up.

The IT platform is the preferred tool for sending and managing reports, as it is best suited for guaranteeing the confidentiality of the Whistleblower’s identity and adequate information security measures through electronic means.

The platform can be used to carry out the following:

• to send a report
• to edit or update a report previously sent
• to check the status of a sent report
• to receive feedback on the outcome of verifications, in cases where the Whistleblower has provided his/her identity.
   

The platform makes the following possible: the separation of all personal data related to the whistleblower from the content of the report, through the adoption of codes to replace any identifying data, thus ensuring the report can be processed anonymously; maintaining the confidentiality of the content of the report throughout the entire report management process, ensuring only authorised persons are granted access; the adoption of secure protocols for data transfer over the network and the use of encryption tools for the content of the report and any attached documentation; interactions with the whistleblower, while ensuring anonymity.

External reports and public disclosure

Italian Legislative Decree No. 24/2023 allows for the possibility of making external reports to the Italian National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC) and public disclosures of breaches in the cases expressly provided for by law. It is only permitted to make external reports to the ANAC in the cases described below:

• where no internal reporting channel is active, or where such a channel is not compliant with legal provisions;
• in cases where the Whistleblower has already made an internal report, which was not followed up on;
• in cases where the Whistleblower has well-founded reasons to believe that, if they were to make an internal report, it would not be followed up on properly or indeed might lead to a risk of retaliation;
• in cases where the Whistleblower has well-founded reasons to believe that the breach may constitute a clear or imminent danger to public interests.

Protection of Whistleblowers

In accordance with the provisions of law, Trenitalia S.p.A. guarantees full protection for whistleblowers, ensuring the confidentiality of their identity and of the facts forming the subject of their report from the time when the report is received. It forbids (and penalises, to the extent of its power and authority) all direct and indirect forms of retaliatory or discriminatory actions and behaviours towards the Whistleblower as a result of the report, including those of omission and those which are attempted or threatened, as well as those directed against third parties connected to the Whistleblower, such as relatives, colleagues and legal entities which the Whistleblower may own or for which he/she may work, operating in a work context connected to Trenitalia S.p.A.

To ensure that no retaliation is made against Whistleblowers, even after some time has passed since the report was made, Trenitalia S.p.A. employees have their work situation monitored for a period of two years from the date on which they make a report as a Whistleblower.

Parties involved in any way in the management of reports are bound to confidentiality, within the limits provided for by law, in relation to the existence and contents of any reports received and any activities taken as a result, and must ensure the confidentiality of the Whistleblower’s identity pursuant to the provisions of applicable legislation.

Whistleblowers shall receive an acknowledgement of receipt of the report within 7 days of the date of its receipt. Whistleblowers shall also be informed of the outcomes of any investigations made in this regard.

Protection of Involved Persons

Trenitalia S.p.A. protects the rights of Involved Persons; first of all by ensuring, in order to guarantee appropriate levels of confidentiality, that all communications regarding their identity are made on a strict need-to-know basis (the principle which states that a person is authorised to access certain information only if it is necessary — and within the extent to which it is necessary — to carry out the activities within their remit as per the duties assigned to them within the company).

Involved Persons shall be informed of the existence and content of the report and shall receive a copy thereof, excluding any reference to the identity of the Whistleblower, which may not in any case be revealed to the Involved Person, with the exception of the cases explicitly provided for in law.

The Involved Person has the right to be informed of the outcome of investigations. Subject to a suitably documented assessment, the provision of information to the Informed Person may be delayed, or wholly or partly omitted, if it appears necessary to wait for a public authority to take action, or if it is reasonable to believe that providing the information would put the confidentiality of the Whistleblower’s identity, which is protected by law, at risk.

Description of the process

Reports may be sent to the Trenitalia S.p.A. Ethics and Reporting Committee and/or Supervisory Body.

The Supervisory Body manages reports regarding breaches or attempts to evade the Trenitalia S.p.A. 231 Model and/or the procedures through which it is implemented, or breaches of the Code of Ethics which are or could be relevant pursuant to Italian Legislative Decree No. 231/2001.

The investigative activities aimed at ascertaining whether there is any basis to the facts reported are carried out by Trenitalia S.p.A.’s Internal Audit department.

Disclosures concerning other Companies in the FS Group shall be forwarded to the competent company bodies (Ethics Committee/Supervisory Body) for follow-up.

Processing of personal data

As part of the reports management process, personal data are processed in compliance with the applicable legislation on the matter (EU Regulation 679/2016 and Italian Legislative Decree No. 196/2003, as amended by Italian Legislative Decree No. 101/2018). Below, you may consult the information on the processing of personal data.

Do you wish to send a report to Trenitalia S.p.A.? Here’s a short guide for you with the instructions for making a report and a list of the reporting channels.

If you’re an employee of the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Group, you can also check out the procedure available on the company Intranet.