Reporting Compliance Violations and Established Suspected Cases
The Managing Directors and managers must organize their areas of responsibility in such a way that employees can report violations of applicable law or the Messer Code, referred to as “compliance violations” as well as reasonably suspected cases at any time, so that appropriate remedial action can be taken promptly.
The Guideline for Reporting and Handling Rule Violations at Messer describes how information on rule violations or misconduct can be reported and how such information is to be handled.
How to report: Contact the Compliance Specialist in Vietnam, Ms. Nông Thị Thùy Vân, via the hotline +84 (0) 24 3942 8623 (Ext: 14) or the dedicated email address compliance@messer.com.vn, both of which are available for messages.
As part of the reporting process, a report must be prepared documenting the response to any identified compliance violation. The report should describe how the incident was investigated, the consequences determined for the identified misconduct and the decision regarding further action.
The Managing Directors must take appropriate measures to ensure that all employees are informed about how and to whom violations of the Messer Code should be reported, including the public notification of the whistleblower platform, hotline and compliance email address.
The Messer Code
This document sets forth uniform, globally binding corporate principles for the Messer Group, based on the ten principles of the UN Global Compact regarding human rights, labor standards, environmental protection, and the prevention of corruption.
In addition to the Code of Conduct applicable to all employees, the Business Partner Code of Conduct applies to all Messer Business Partners.
The document defines uniform, globally binding principles, focusing on internationally recognized standards relating to human rights, labor standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption.
It therefore sets out the requirements and principles of cooperation with integrity between Messer and its Business Partners.
This Declaration provides detailed information on human rights and working conditions at Messer.
Unlike the Business Partner Code of Conduct, this document does not focus on Business Partners but describes how Messer addresses individual human rights topics and the efforts that have been made to date.
The document may be shared with Business Partners to provide a better understanding of and greater awareness of the processes at Messer.
The document describes how information on rule violations or misconduct can be reported and how such information is to be handled.
Policies and internal Guidelines issued by Corporate departments set out the implementation and conduct requirements for the business divisions and business processes of the Messer Group.
These requirements are binding on all Messer companies and must therefore be complied with by all employees. Global SHEQ Commitment
Reporting System & Hotline
Employees regularly have to make decisions, some of which involve grey areas. The question of whether conduct is correct and complies with the Messer Code is therefore often emotional and personal, meaning that it can sometimes be difficult to retain the necessary objectivity. In addition, laws and rules are often complex and open to different interpretations. This makes it all the more important that any problems are raised and addressed.
Employees have the option of contacting in confidence a designated responsible contact person regarding questions, comments, information and other concerns relating to the Messer Compliance Management System. The Guideline for Reporting and Handling Rule Violations at Messer describes how information on rule violations or misconduct can be reported and how such information is to be handled.
In this connection, every employee can obtain information about whether conduct is consistent with the Messer Compliance Management System through the Integrity Test, as well as when, to whom and how suspicions of breaches are to be reported in accordance with the Compliance Officer Guideline (CO Guideline).
If customers, suppliers or Business Partners have any questions or comments regarding the Messer Compliance Management System, or if they have concrete indications of a compliance violation, they can report this to the Chief Compliance Officer.
By email: compliance@messergroup.com
Compliance Integrity Test
Everyone should ask themselves whether their conduct:
is legal and in accordance with the values and rules of the company;
is in the best interests of the company and can be undertaken free from conflicting personal interests;
is supported by the personal belief that the right decision has been made and is aligned with their own ethical standards;
can be openly shared with supervisors, colleagues, family members or friends with a clear conscience; how would these people react if they knew about the conduct?
would also withstand scrutiny from third parties; how would the conduct be perceived if it appeared on television, radio, the internet or in a newspaper?
protects the good reputation of the Messer Group.
If all of the questions listed above can be answered with “Yes” the conduct can be considered appropriate.
If there is any doubt regarding any of these questions, the direct manager is generally the most appropriate person to assess the situation and provide support in resolving the matter.