Rules on the protection of whistleblowers
Our customers get discounts on various security products
We are there when you need insurance.
Vörður tryggingar hf. and Vörður líftryggingar hf. (hereinafter "Vörður") is an insurance company operating under act no. 100/2016 on insurance activities and is subject to the supervision of the Financial Supervisory Authority of the Central Bank of Iceland under act no. 87/199.
These rules are established with reference to article 5, paragraph 1 of act no. 40/2020 on the protection of whistleblowers (hereinafter "the law").
In these rules, the following terms mean:
Internal whistleblowing: An employee, in good faith, reporting or disclosing information or data about violations of law or other reprehensible conduct in the operations of their employer to a party within the company or to a public supervisory authority.
External whistleblowing: An employee, in good faith, reporting or disclosing information or data about violations of law or other reprehensible conduct in the operations of their employer to a party outside the company, provided the employee has reasonable grounds to believe that the conduct in question may be subject to criminal penalties, cf. article 3 of the law. External whistleblowing is generally not permitted unless internal whistleblowing has first been exhausted, cf. article 1, paragraph 4 of the law, and provided the additional conditions specified in article 3, paragraph 2 of the law are met.
Good faith: That the employee has good reason to believe that the data or information being disclosed is accurate, that it is in the public interest to disclose it, and that they have no other option in the situation to prevent the violations or conduct in question.
Reprehensible conduct: Conduct that endangers public interests, e.g., conduct that threatens the health or safety of people or the environment, without constituting an obvious violation of laws or regulations.
Employee/staff: The party who has access to information or data about the employer's operations by virtue of their role, including those who are hired, appointed, assigned, self-employed contractors, board members, interns, temporary employees, or volunteers, cf. the definition in article 1, paragraph 2 of the law. An employee retains protection under the provisions of the aforementioned whistleblower protection legislation after their role has ended.
Whistleblower: The party, an employee as defined above, who in good faith reports or discloses information or data about violations of law or other reprehensible conduct in the operations of their employer.
The purpose of these rules is to encourage the disclosure and reporting of possible legal violations and/or other reprehensible conduct at Vörður. In doing so, we also reduce the likelihood of such conduct and ensure protection for the party who discloses or reports such conduct. These rules apply to all staff of Vörður and other parties who fall under the definition of employee, cf. item 5, article 2 of these rules.
Staff of Vörður are permitted, in good faith, to report, disclose information, or share data about violations of law or other reprehensible conduct in the operations to a party within the company as specified in these rules, which may contribute to the cessation of or response to the unlawful or reprehensible conduct. It is also permitted to report directly to law enforcement authorities or other relevant public supervisory authorities, such as the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Auditor General, the Administration of Occupational Safety and Health, or other supervisory authorities as applicable.
Disclosure may be made to the immediate supervisor, the human resources manager, or the compliance officer. Reports may be submitted either under a name or anonymously. The recipient of the information is obliged to respond with the aim of ensuring that the unlawful or reprehensible conduct ceases or is otherwise addressed.
Within three months of the report, the recipient of the information shall inform the employee whether the information has given rise to action and also inform them of what actions have been taken. This applies only if the whistleblower or reporter does so under their name.
The recipient of the information shall maintain confidentiality regarding the personal information of the whistleblower or reporter, unless the latter gives unequivocal consent for the confidentiality to be lifted.
An employee who has reported and disclosed information without this having led to a satisfactory response within the company is permitted, in good faith, to disclose the said information or data to an external party, provided the employee has reasonable grounds to believe that the conduct in question may be subject to criminal penalties.
Where reporting and disclosure as described above are not possible for valid reasons, external disclosure to an outside party, so-called external whistleblowing, may, in wholly exceptional cases, be made without prior internal disclosure.
An unconditional requirement is that such disclosure be considered to serve such urgent public interests that the interests of the employer or others yield to the interests of disclosing the information. Examples of such cases are incidents intended to protect:
the security of the state or the interests of the state in the field of defence,
economically significant interests of the state,
human health,
the environment.
Reporting and disclosure of information, provided the conditions of the provisions of act no. 40/2020 on the protection of whistleblowers are met, shall not be considered a breach of the duty of confidentiality or discretion to which the employee is bound by law or otherwise, e.g., by employment contract, code of ethics, or other internal rules of Vörður. Such reporting shall not impose criminal or civil liability on the individual concerned and cannot lead to administrative sanctions or adverse measures under employment or labour law. It is prohibited to subject an employee to unfair treatment pursuant to article 4, paragraph 2 of the act. Such treatment includes, for example, diminishing rights, altering job duties in a burdensome manner, terminating a contract, dissolving it, or otherwise penalising anyone who has reported and disclosed information. Violation of this may be subject to fines or imprisonment of up to two years.
Should a dispute arise before a court regarding the status of an employee with respect to whether the reporting and disclosure of information was unauthorised, or if an employee is subjected to unfair treatment following such reporting, the employee shall be granted legal aid at the district court level, before the Court of Appeal, and before the Supreme Court. Legal aid shall be withdrawn if it is demonstrated before a court that the employee was not acting in good faith when the information was disclosed.
The compliance officer shall oversee the implementation of these rules. The human resources manager is responsible for ensuring that the procedural rules are followed.
These rules enter into force upon publication. The rules shall be reviewed as often as deemed necessary, but at least every three years. Rules on procedures for employee whistleblowing regarding legal violations or other reprehensible conduct.
Thus approved by the CEO of Vörður tryggingar hf. on 6 January 2021.