ITS Academy

PRE-ENROLLMENT 2026/2028

Whistleblowing

Whistleblowing legislation is intended to protect those who report violations of national or EU laws of which they have become aware and attributable to a specific administration. To this end, Legislative Decree 24/2023 imposes certain obligations on employers to ensure the effectiveness of the protection afforded to workers and third parties.

Who is responsible for managing reports?
Article 4, paragraph 5 of Legislative Decree 24/2023 stipulates that public sector entities required to appoint a Corruption Prevention and Transparency Officer (RPCT) must entrust the latter with managing the internal reporting channel. In this regard, it is recalled that, pursuant to ANAC Resolution 430/2016: "taking into account the peripheral structure of the school system and the relationships between schools and the ministerial administration, it is considered appropriate to identify the RPC as the Director of the Regional School Office, or, for regions where one is required, the regional coordinator. Given the particularly extensive territorial scope, in order to facilitate the RPC, the regional managers act as the RPC's contacts." Therefore, in the school environment, management of the internal reporting channel is entrusted to the RPCT, i.e., the relevant USR.

What happens if I write directly to the school?
Legislative Decree 24/2023, Article 4, paragraph 6, provides that if an internal report is submitted to a party other than the RPCT (e.g., the school), it must be forwarded to the competent party within seven days of receipt, with the reporting party immediately notified of the forwarding. For this reason, while recalling the obligation to report directly to the RPCT identified in the relevant USR, if the reporting party writes to this School, the latter will ensure that the report is forwarded to the competent party within the timeframes and methods required by law.

What can be reported?
Behaviors, acts or omissions that harm the public interest or the integrity of the Administration and which consist of:

  • administrative, accounting, civil or criminal offences;
  • offenses falling within the scope of European Union or national acts relating to the following sectors: public procurement; financial services, products and markets and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; product safety and compliance; transport safety; environmental Protection; radiation protection and nuclear safety; food and feed safety and animal health and welfare; public health; consumer protection; protection of privacy and protection of personal data and security of networks and information systems;
  • acts or omissions detrimental to the financial interests of the Union;
  • acts or omissions relating to the internal market;
  • acts or behavior which frustrate the object or purpose of the provisions set out in Union acts.

 

What are the reporting channels?
Several reporting channels have been set up which can be accessed by following the rules listed below.

  • internal (at the relevant Regional School Office)
  • external (ANAC)
  • public disclosure
  • complaint to the judicial authorities

 

How to choose the reporting channel?
As a priority, whistleblowers are encouraged to use the internal channel and, only under certain conditions, may make an external report or public disclosure.

  • 1. Reporters can use the external channel and therefore report to ANAC when:
    • the mandatory activation of the internal reporting channel is not foreseen or this, even if mandatory, is not active or, even if activated, does not comply with what is required by law
    • the reporting person has already made an internal report and it has not been followed up
    • the reporting person has reasonable grounds to believe that, if he or she were to make an internal report, it would not be followed up effectively or that the report itself could lead to a risk of retaliation
    • the reporting person has reasonable grounds to believe that the violation may constitute an imminent or manifest danger to the public interest
  • 2. Whistleblowers may directly make a public disclosure when:
    • the reporting person has previously made an internal and external report or has directly made an external report and no feedback has been given within the established timeframes regarding the measures envisaged or adopted to follow up on the reports;
    • the reporting person has reasonable grounds to believe that the violation may constitute an imminent or manifest danger to the public interest;
    • the reporting person has reasonable grounds to believe that the external report may entail the risk of retaliation or may not be effectively followed up due to the specific circumstances of the specific case, such as those in which evidence may be hidden or destroyed or in which there is a well-founded fear that the person who received the report may be in collusion with the perpetrator of the violation or involved in the violation itself

 

How is the confidentiality of the whistleblower protected?

  • The reporter may decide not to remain anonymous. In this case, the reporter's identity cannot be revealed to anyone other than those responsible for receiving or following up on reports.
  • The protection concerns not only the name of the whistleblower but also all the elements of the report from which the identification of the whistleblower can be deduced, even indirectly.
  • The report is excluded from access to administrative documents and the right of generalized civic access
  • Confidentiality protection is extended to the identity of the persons involved and of the persons mentioned in the report until the conclusion of the proceedings initiated on the basis of the report, in compliance with the same guarantees provided for the benefit of the reporting person.

 

What is meant by retaliation?
Any behavior, act, or omission, even if only attempted or threatened, carried out as a result of the report, the complaint to the judicial or accounting authorities, or public disclosure, and which causes or may cause, directly or indirectly, unjustified harm to the reporting person or the person who filed the complaint, shall be considered unjustified harm.

Some examples of retaliatory behavior?

  • dismissal, suspension or equivalent measures
  • demotion or failure to be promoted
  • change of duties, change of workplace, reduction of salary, change of working hours
  • the suspension of training or any restriction of access to it
  • negative marks of merit or negative references
  • the adoption of disciplinary measures or other sanctions, including pecuniary ones
  • coercion, intimidation, harassment, or ostracism

 

Who does the protection extend to?
The protection also applies to:

  • to the facilitator (natural person who assists the whistleblower in the reporting process and operates within the same work context)
  • to people in the same work context as the reporting person, the person who filed a complaint or the person who made a public disclosure and who are linked to them by a stable emotional or kinship bond within the fourth degree
  • to work colleagues of the reporting person or of the person who made a complaint or made a public disclosure, who work in the same work context as the reporting person and who have a habitual and ongoing relationship with that person
  • to entities owned by the reporting person or for which the same persons work as well as to entities operating in the same work context as the aforementioned persons.