“Fresenius Medical Care takes pride in fostering an active and engaged speak-up culture. We value open feedback and critical voices - as key drivers for our success, for innovation and for continuous improvement. Our aim is excellence in doing business with a strong ethical backbone.”
In principle, everyone can file a report. However, the report shall be related to the business conduct of Fresenius Medical Care (FME). This includes for example:
Should you know about, or have grounds to suspect, illegal or unethical conduct in connection with FME business, you are right to raise it!
Apart from reporting via this Compliance Action Line by phone or web-intake, an internal report can be made to any of the below:
A report can be made via telephone, by web-intake at URL: EthicsPoint - Fresenius Medical Care Global or by written communication. As required by the law, we also offer the opportunity for in-person reporting
Last but not least, many countries offer government-operated reporting opportunities which you may opt to use at your discretion. However, the Company encourages reporting through internal reporting channels before reporting through external reporting channels (i.e., regulatory authorities).
Reviews will be conducted confidentially and discreetly, taking into account the nature and complexity of the Issue(s) raised. In particular, information reported via the Compliance Action Line will be confidentially examined (as practicable and appropriate under the given circumstances) by a select group of employees within the Global Investigations Department (GID), or another investigative body assigned by GID.
Even if you state your name, the Company will make every reasonable effort to protect your confidentiality. If this is not possible, due to government or court order, for example, the Company will notify you in advance if permitted and unless such information would jeopardize the related investigations. Where you otherwise request that your identity be kept confidential, FME will honor your request during the course of a review to the extent reasonable and in accordance with local law and ensure your identity is not disclosed to anyone beyond the authorized staff members competent to receive or follow up on reports. This shall also apply to any other information from which your identity may be directly or indirectly deduced.
No unjustified detrimental action to a Reporting Person who has made a report based on reasonable grounds or in good faith. FME prohibits Retaliation (i.e., adverse action) that causes or may cause unjustified detriment to a Reporting Person who has made a report based on reasonable grounds.
Neither FME nor any of its officers or employees must not engage in conduct that causes detriment to a Reporting Person, if a.) the person believes or suspects that the Reporting Person (or another person) made, may have made, proposes to make or could make a Report that qualifies for protection; and b.) the belief or suspicion is the reason, or part of the reason, for the conduct.
Neither FME nor any of its officers or employees must not cause or threaten to cause detriment to a Reporting Person (or another person) in relation to a disclosure. A threat may be express or implied; conditional or unconditional. A Reporting Person (or another person) who has been threatened in relation to a Report does not have to actually fear that the threat will be carried out. The Company and its officers and employees are prohibited from taking any unjustified detrimental action against a Reporting Person in retaliation for the making of a report or cooperating with the investigation of a report. This does not prohibit actions taken in response to a Reporting Person’s unsatisfactory work or service performance or his/her own misconduct unrelated to the report.
If a Reporting Person reports an issue on reasonable grounds and in good faith, they shall not be subject to any detrimental conduct by FME for providing the report, even if the report is not confirmed by subsequent review or if their disclosure turns out to be incorrect. A Reporting Person who believes he or she is experiencing detriment may always contact the Compliance Department for assistance. Reporting Persons cannot, however, exempt themselves from the consequences of personal wrongdoing by reporting their own misconduct to FME. In such cases, self-reporting may be taken into account by FME in determining the appropriate form of discipline imposed by FME, but it will not operate as a waiver of personal accountability. The protections do not grant immunity for any misconduct a Reporting Person has engaged in that is revealed in their report.
FME will protect the rights and reputation of individuals accused of misconduct where possible and consistent with the Company’s legal obligations. FME recognizes that some reports are unsubstantiated and that in those instances, employees can be harmed by unnecessary publication of allegations. If permitted by applicable law and not contrary to FME’s ability to conduct a fair and complete investigation of a Report, persons named in a reported issue will be notified about: a.) the subject matter of the Reports, b.) the investigative findings (but investigative reports will not be provided) and c.) the potential remedial measures under consideration.
If you require emergency assistance, please contact your local emergency services immediately.
The areas which are particularly relevant are, for example,
You should not worry too much about whether your topic falls under one of the mentioned areas or satisfies certain conditions. In turning to us with your complaint, you are enabling us to assess the relevance of the matter and to follow up appropriately.
For the purpose of investigating matters properly, FME maintains the Global Investigation Department (GID), an independent and impartial function within Compliance.
GID is mandated by resolution of the Management Board for receiving, assessing, processing, and/or investigating – with the support of other departments within FME, as the case may be – and remedying reports. The employees of GID shall perform these tasks independently and impartially according to their due discretion, in compliance with legal requirements, the procedural principles of the FME Reporting Potential Violations Policy and the interests of FME as well as its subsidiaries. In this respect, the employees of GID are expressly not subject to any instructions from other bodies within the FME Group, including the Management Board of FME and its members. Our professionals attend to matters swiftly, discreetly and without any bias. Investigations are handled with the highest level of confidentiality.
GID is guided above all by the fundamental principles of independence, impartiality, confidentiality, professionalism and protection.
Independence: The purpose of an investigation is to determine the facts based solely on the evidence and without bias, or the perception of bias, on the part of the decision-maker. The person investigating an allegation must be independent from the events at issue or the individuals involved and must have no stake in the outcome of the investigation.
To warrant integrity, it is crucial to separate the roles and responsibilities of GID from the Compliance or legal officers’ day-to-day work. As a separate, independent and central department within the FME Compliance organization, GID ensures that all internal investigations are conducted in a proportionate, professional and consistent manner.
Impartiality: It is vital that investigations are conducted in an objective and impartial way which is free of any outside influence and is based on objective facts and evidence. Just as an investigation team must be independent, they must also be seen to be objective in their work approach.
Confidentiality: Maintaining confidentiality is paramount to the investigative process because failure to do so can impact the reliability of the findings and expose individuals to Retaliation. Therefore, information gathered in the course of an investigation should only be circulated within a previously agreed “need to know” group. Confidentiality will be maintained even after the completion of an investigation, unless details must be shared with government regulators or courts. Requests for anonymity will be honored where allowed by local law and will always be considered and handled with care.
Professionalism: The investigation team is committed to treating all participants in the investigation process with courtesy, respect and integrity. We strive to maintain the proper demeanor and attire during our work wherever we are, in line with the local/cultural sensitivities of the many different countries in which the Company conducts business.
Protection: Individuals who raise a concern or allegation and those who provide assistance to the investigation of those concerns must be protected from any form of retaliation, harassment or intimidation. GID will strive to ensure fair treatment for all individuals involved in the investigations process, including those mentioned in or impacted by the resulting report.
For example (and not exhaustively),
All reports, no matter through which channel they are made - via the Compliance Action Line (CAL), any other incoming channel or Employee Service Center (US) - will be reviewed by the Company. As a reporting person, you will receive acknowledgment of receipt of the report within seven days of receipt, unless you have not provided us with the opportunity or permission to contact you. Follow-up questions may be raised to gain further background information on the concerns.
The matter proceeds in the following steps:
All incoming reports are assessed in a timely manner. Only if enough information is provided, the company can follow-up and start, for instance, an investigation. Depending on the topic, the cases are categorized and assigned to the Subject Matter Experts. For instance, HR related cases will be assigned to HR as they can review these concerns best. Once the assignment is made, the concerns are reviewed and investigated.
The Company will review the matter at hand, which may include interviews as appropriate, fact gathering and documentation review. At the end of an internal investigation/review, the results and findings will be summarized, and conclusions will be drawn. From these conclusions, remediation measures will be proposed to and discussed with relevant stakeholders. Moreover, responsibility to implement specific remediation measures will be assigned to the appropriate teams/functions.
When a report is made via the Compliance Action Line or directly to the GID, you will receive acknowledgment of receipt of the report, in cases where such communication is possible, within seven days of that receipt, unless you have explicitly requested otherwise, or the Company believes that acknowledging receipt of the report would jeopardize the protection of your, the Reporting Person’s, identity.
GID will provide feedback to you in a reasonable timeframe not exceeding three months from the acknowledgment of receipt, or six months in duly justified cases. GID will communicate to you the final outcome of the investigation triggered by the report, in accordance with procedures provided for under applicable national law and in accordance with the interests of the Company. Whilst a reasonable timeframe for a standard investigation should not exceed three months, the nature and complexity of the matter may sometimes require a longer investigation period. In such cases, and where the determination of the appropriate follow-up takes more time, you may be informed about this and about any further feedback to expect.
At a minimum, you will hear whether your matter is still under investigation, and you will hear when it is closed. We understand that informing Reporting Persons comprehensively, to the extent legally possible, is crucial for building trust in the effectiveness of our investigations. We do our best to meet Reporting Persons’ reasonable expectations to that effect. The circumstances and applicable law, however, may not allow for us to share information about, e.g., the precise status, parties involved, the findings or the result of the investigation, including possible actions taken to address the issue.
Even if you have reported anonymously to the Compliance Action Line, you will receive a complaint number and a password and will have the opportunity to check the status of your matter online, if you chose this option at the time of filing your report.
In certain cases, with a human rights and environment impact, the Reporting Person may appeal the resolution with a period of 7 days of receipt of FME’s notice that the investigation was closed. The appropriate team will handle the appeal and review the matter independently and impartially. The appeal will be decided upon within a period of 3 months, and the Reporting Person will receive a notification that the internal investigation/review has been concluded and the proposed resolution of the concern is communicated to them.
At the end of any appeal, any responsibility to implement appropriate remedy actions and measures will be assigned. The outcome of the appeal is final. For more information on the appeal process, please contact humanrights@fmc-ag.com
In cases not subject to an appeal, the Reporting Person will receive a notification, that the internal investigation/review has been concluded. As mentioned above, the level of details shared depends on the specific local legal legislation or other important considerations. The circumstances and applicable law may not allow for us to share information about, e.g., the precise status, parties involved, the findings or the result of the investigation, including possible actions taken to address the issue.
The outcome of the internal investigation/review and the appeal is recorded in the company’s case management system and periodically monitored, to ensure proper implementation of any remedy. At the end of an internal investigation/review and/or appeal, the documentation will be filed in the respective directory of the investigating body.
When a report is made via the Compliance Action Line or directly to the Global Investigations Department (GID), you will receive acknowledgment of receipt of the report, in cases where such communication is possible, within seven days of that receipt, unless you have explicitly requested otherwise, or the Company believes that acknowledging receipt of the report would jeopardize the protection of your, the Reporting Person’s, identity.
GID will provide feedback to you in a reasonable timeframe not exceeding three months from the acknowledgment of receipt, or six months in duly justified cases. GID will communicate to you the final outcome of the investigation triggered by the report, in accordance with procedures provided for under applicable national law and in accordance with the interests of the Company. Whilst a reasonable timeframe for a standard investigation should not exceed three months, the nature and complexity of the matter may sometimes require a longer investigation period. In such cases, and where the determination of the appropriate follow-up takes more time, you may be informed about this and about any further feedback to expect.
At a minimum, you will hear whether your matter is still under investigation, and you will hear when it is closed. We understand that informing Reporting Persons comprehensively, to the extent legally possible, is crucial for building trust in the effectiveness of our investigations. We do our best to meet Reporting Persons’ reasonable expectations to that effect. The circumstances and applicable law, however, may not allow for us to share information about, e.g., the precise status, parties involved, the findings or the result of the investigation, including possible actions taken to address the issue.
Even if you have reported anonymously to the Compliance Action Line, you will receive a complaint number and a password and will have the opportunity to check the status of your matter online, if you chose this option at the time of filing your report.
…means that we know how to work together for our shared purpose and to achieve our goals as one company.
We care about sharing the information and experiences as this helps us learn from our mistakes and help each other. We tackle challenges together by reaching out to colleagues both near and far. We communicate openly.
…means that we are good at taking the initiative to make an impact with our work.
We challenge the status quo and show interest in what happens around us. We ask questions to clearly understand what needs to be done and take ownership of the results.
…means that we are a trusted companion to our patients, partners and colleagues.
We live up to our own expectations, show respect and lead by example. We act with integrity and in line with our standards every day.
…means that we continuously drive quality and progress to lead the business into a successful future.
We make things better today than they were yesterday. We pitch ideas on how to improve and innovate.