Make compliance easy with the FaceUp Whistleblowing System

Meet whistleblowing laws effortlessly. FaceUp is fully compliant with the GDPR, the EU Whistleblower Directive, the Whistleblower Protection Act and can be customized to meet any legal requirements.

Finally, we monitor all legal obligations and offer guidance to keep you in step with the law.

BOOK A 1-TO-1 DEMO

ISO 27001 certified and GDPR compliant

Compliant with whistleblower protection laws

Trusted by more than 2,700 clients

ISO 27001 certified and GDPR compliant

Compliant with whistleblower protection laws

Trusted by more than 2,700 clients

Why should you use FaceUp as a part of your compliance system?

FaceUp is compliant with EU Whistleblower Directive & Whistleblower Protection Act. We monitor all legal obligations.

How does FaceUp meet the EU Whistleblowing Directive requirements?

FaceUp cumple con todos los requisitos legales sobre Whistleblowing

FaceUp es tres veces más eficaz para descubrir fraudes que las auditorías habituales

Protege la reputación de tu empresa con FaceUp

Detecta casos de fraude y corrupción con FaceUp

Key facts about whistleblowing

5%

is the average amount of revenue that companies lose to internal frauds

45%

of all fraud and illegal behaviour in companies is detected by whistleblowers

28%

of employees do not know who to tell if they encounter corruption in the company

Easy and ready to use in one day

Reporting

You’ll receive an email notification and can view the report in the administration platform.

Processing

You can give the report a priority status with a label, allocate it to another assignee, and set a deadline.

Resolution

Establish communication with the whistleblower, ask them for the details, and then resolve the issue.

How FaceUp has helped other companies?

Rohia Hakim

Compliance Officer, CTP Invest

Whenever people talk about whistleblowing, I always recommend FaceUp. We chose this platform due to their data security, clear report management, simplicity, and pricing. By using FaceUp, we also help to combat bullying in schools.

Tomas Kafka

Partner Ernst & Young, Forensics

I have followed and admired FaceUp since it started protecting schoolchildren from bullying. Today, it helps companies to protect their reputation, employees, assets and corporate culture. I'm glad my advice and feedback contributed to the development of its corporate version.

Vanessa Crawford

HR Executive, ADvTECH Group

FaceUp has helped us tremendously. Our experience with the platform so far has been exemplary. It is easy to use, works seamlessly, and has great features. The FaceUp team also provide amazing customer service.

Vladimir Valenta

Compliance Manager with many years of experience from GE Money CZ and CEZ Group

FaceUp is an easily accessible tool to obtain diverse feedback from employees. It can meet the needs of small, medium and large companies. FaceUp is a mature solution using proven approaches.

Bohuslav Lichnovsky

Partner of SEDLAKOVA LEGAL

Best value to price. Easy to use platform solving all of the needs in the whistleblowing area. No need to learn about the platform, absolute protection of privacy, possibility to work on reports in wider team and cloud-based solution.

Tomas Rodny

HR Director, Sportisimo

Employees send us various proposals and small improvement suggestions via FaceUp. So far, we have seen only positive reactions from employees who have adopted FaceUp as a friendly tool.

Let us show you FaceUp in action

We can walk you through the platform's features and answer your whistleblowing questions.

BOOK A DEMO

Let us show you FaceUp in action

We can walk you through the platform's features and answer your whistleblowing questions.

BOOK A DEMO

Let us show you FaceUp in action

We can walk you through the platform's features and answer your whistleblowing questions.

BOOK A DEMO

Keep up to date on whistleblowing

"Through whistleblowing, an organization can uncover serious fraud," says Rohia Hakim, Compliance Officer at CTP Invest

How does corporate culture influence the success of companies? What does compliance entail, and what role does whistleblowing play in it? These questions were answered by Rohia Hakim, who worked as a Compliance Specialist for Ernst & Young (EY) for almost 10 years and now serves as a Compliance Officer for CTP Invest. Your experience in compliance is extensive, for nearly 10 years you worked as a Compliance Specialist for Ernst & Young (EY), and now you work as a Compliance Officer for CTP Invest. What drew towards this kind of work?Compliance probably found me, rather than the other way around. At the time I was working for a multinational company. After several acquisitions and mergers, it became necessary to improve the company culture. So a huge HR program was implemented to change the company culture, for which I was the main face. Thanks to its successful implementation, I was ‘discovered’ by Ernst & Young and in 2011 accepted a job offer with them. That’s how I gained experience in compliance across various sectors and organizations, both in the private and public sphere. Compliance is definitely a fulfilling job and, in some ways, a calling. Many people still don’t exactly know what ‘compliance’ means. How would you briefly describe ‘compliance’?In my view, compliance is a lot more than simply adhering to laws and rules. Compliance is about obeying legal requirements, regulatory requirements, internal regulations, ethical standards, and ‘going the extra mile’. Especially from an ethics point of view, co-existing with the company’s surroundings and the like. I’m of the view that the law cannot cover all of life’s situations. Ethics improves an organization’s performance, reduces transaction costs, and strengthens employee loyalty. I believe that everyone would like to work in an ethical organization. In addition, it is clear that public pressure is increasing for corporate social responsibility. How does compliance help managers and companies? Does a company’s culture and ethics impact its success?Today it is absolutely clear that conducting their business ethically is critical for companies. Perhaps not globally, but definitely in developed countries. For example, I definitely see this sensibility among the younger generation, who prefer companies with higher ethical standards – whether they are a customer or potential employees, they are not willing to compromise or make concessions. What is the role of whistleblowing in compliance? Various analyses have long shown that whistleblowing is clearly the most common way companies uncover fraud. And it makes sense. Typically, it is employees that uncover fraud, since employees can catch or witness unusual behavior. What is your experience with whistleblowing? Do you have any examples?I have many years of experience with whistleblowing. I have seen how companies can uncover instances of serious fraud through whistleblowing. It often reveals the possible manipulation of public contracts or details of corruption. Specifically, we could look at the case of whistleblowing in the tobacco industry, which was beneficial for the public at large. In that case, an internal whistleblower revealed that cigarettes (which, up until that point, were hugely promoted and consumed en masse) were harmful to our health and highly addictive. Something which cigarette producers until then vehemently denied. What are the biggest challenges in your job?The challenge is definitely that you have to constantly make yourself known to colleagues. So that compliance becomes an integral part of their daily lives. A positive part. I want to be a partner, not a threat or punitive agent. To be supportive rather than an obstacle to business. And also the fact that compliance is constantly changing. I don’t just mean legislation and requirements, but also the overlap of the two. A modern compliance officer also needs to know their way around data protection, ESG, and cyber security (IT). These are complex areas and require further professional development. And lastly communication. Communication is key, as with everything.

7/26/2023 • min read

What is an ethics hotline?

An ethics hotline is a way for employees or other company stakeholders to report instances of wrongdoing or offer suggestions for improvements. An ethics hotline used to simply refer to a physical phone line that was used for whistleblowing, whereas now the meaning has expanded to include whistleblowing software more generally. You may also hear an ethics hotline referred to as a whistleblowing system, speak-up line, fraud line plus a number of other names. How does an ethics hotline work?When a whistleblower wishes to alert a company’s management of their suspicions, they can do so through an ethics hotline. Traditionally, this would mean calling an ethics hotline on a physical phone, or leaving a note in a trust box. However, these days the most common method is to use an online whistleblowing system, which has the added bonus of anonymity for the whistleblower, plus a range of other helpful features. The report is received by the individual in the company who is designated to deal with them (known as the ‘assignee’) and the matter is subsequently looked into. Some whistleblowing systems, such as FaceUp, then allow for follow up communication between whistleblower and assignee. Who counts as a whistleblower?A whistleblower is anyone who works in or for an organization with suspicions that some kind of misconduct of wrongdoing is taking place. Wrongdoing can range from bullying and harassment, through to fraud and theft. Whistleblowers are most commonly company employees, but can also be suppliers, contractors, freelancers, or anyone else who interacts with an organization. What are the benefits of an ethics line?A properly implemented ethics line will: help foster a culture of openness and transparencyprotect the whistleblower from retaliationreduce money lost to fraud or employee turnoverprotect your reputation by keeping matters internalimprove productivity by removing unprofessional employeesunearth areas for improvementensure your organization remains compliant with the relevant whistleblowing legislation in your regionWhich ethics hotline should I choose?There are a whole host of different ethics lines on the market today. Here at FaceUp, we put together a list of some of the leading contenders in a recent post. Are you looking for en ethics hotline?For a reasonably priced, feature-rich ethics line with the highest level of security and usability, why not give FaceUp a try? Book a consultation with our whistleblower specialist today.

7/19/2023 • min read

‘I recommend FaceUp to other companies whenever whistleblowing comes up’, says Rohia Hakim from CTP Invest

CTP Invest is the largest owner, developer and manager of logistics and industrial property in Europe. In 25 years they have become the largest publicly traded I&L developer in Europe and currently has around 900 employees and external workers. CTP Invest introduced a whistleblowing system in 2022 for several reasons. Besides getting themselves prepared for the new whistleblower protection law, the company’s leadership wanted to increase their credibility, accessibility, and also to provide the option for anonymous reporting. Compliance Officer Rohia Hakim, who has more than 10 years of experience in the compliance field, was in charge of the implementation of the whistleblowing system. Mrs. Hakim describes what was important in implementing the whistleblowing system: I consider the choice of whistleblowing tool to be key. Unfortunately, many contradictions still persist, such as a trust box next to the manager’s door, sitting under a CCTV camera. And as always, clear communication is important. Employees must be assured that their reports will be properly investigated and that they won’t face any kind of backlash if their report was made in good faith. Why did you choose FaceUp?For me, an important factor was security and clear report management. FaceUp is also available in all the languages and jurisdictions in which we operate. Another plus was their compliance with ISO standards and GDPR requirements. I like the simplicity, accessibility and affordability of the platform. Moreover, I was intrigued by the story behind FaceUp’s founding and the fact that by using their platform, we are contributing towards a good thing – combating bullying in schools. FaceUp has absolutely fulfilled my expectations.” Mrs. Hakim explains that when introducing a whistleblowing platform in her organization, she had to start by explaining exactly what one was and what its benefits were: “It’s important right at the beginning to create a positive view of the tool’s effectiveness in tackling fraud and corruption. Any negativity, e.g. from management, can completely derail your efforts to set up effective whistleblowing. It’s also important to choose the right assignee, someone with experience in the area, but who most importantly has the confidence of employees.” CTP Invest first notified their employees about FaceUp via email, then through the company intranet and compliance training. They also included information about whistleblowing on their website, in their code of ethics and in other guidelines and company documents. So how did the employees react to its implementation? Our employees reacted positively to the FaceUp whistleblowing system. Almost immediately we received several suggestions on how to improve our working environment through the application. In total, we have received 45 reports through FaceUp since its introduction, compared to 0 before. Every report was relevant. The benefits are clear. Employees have been given a signal that we take their reports seriously, which is why we have enabled an external solution to give whistleblowers the chance to send reports securely and truly anonymously. CTP Invest have largely received suggestions to improve their company culture through FaceUp, or matters concerning their working environment - more specifically, conflict in the workplace. “I recommend FaceUp to other companies whenever whistleblowing comes up,” concludes Rohia Hakim.

7/10/2023 • min read

FAQ about FaceUp & whistleblowing

What do whistleblowers report the most?

It depends on how you wish to use the whistleblowing platform. Usually, employees can send suggestions for improvements or use FaceUp to notify you of issues that affects them or even their colleagues. That can include workplace bullying (mobbing, bossing, staffing, sexual harassment, etc.), discrimination, unpleasant work atmosphere, non-compliance with occupational health and safety and company regulations or guidelines, theft, fraud, property or reputation damage, damage to colleagues' property, mental health issues (depression, anxiety, burnout, etc.), or even physical violence.

Is FaceUp Whistleblowing system truly anonymous?

FaceUp whistleblowing system is completely anonymous for the report senders. If the author does not state their name, no one has a way of finding out who sent the report. When there are names displayed in a report, the information is sent to the person responsible for solving such cases. However, not even this person will know who sent the report and from which device it came from. Everything is fully protected.

Is FaceUp compliant with EU Whistleblowing Directive and other whistleblowing laws?

We have mainly blue-collar positions. What if a whistleblower doesn't have a smartphone or internet access?

If an employee is worried about something, FaceUp whistleblowing system offers many ways for them to share it. If they don’t currently have internet access, they can call the ethics line (a special telephone number, sometimes also known as a ‘hotline’) from a physical phone.

Alternatively, they can send their report via the online form, either in written or voice message form. Finally they can also use the FaceUp app.

What about our data? Is it stored securely?

It is. The data safety of your employees and the whole company is our top priority. We don't process our users’ data in compliance with GDPR, which sets the highest standard for privacy and personal data protection in the world. Neither FaceUp nor any third parties have access to your data which is safely encrypted and stored on AWS. All communications are encrypted with E2EE technology. FaceUp doesn’t keep the IP addresses of its users, making the platform 100% anonymous. Everything is set so that sensitive data stays where it belongs - in your hands.

How can whistleblowers report an issue through the FaceUp whistleblowing system?

It’s simple. An employee can call a special telephone number, known as a ‘hotline’, or they can write out/record a message on their phone or PC and submit it through the online form where they can provide the necessary information and choose whether to send the report anonymously or put their name to it. They can then discuss their report further with the individual designated to receive and investigate reports (known as an ‘assignee’), all within the FaceUp whistleblowing platform and anonymously if they wish.

What does compliance mean in terms of whistleblowing?

In the context of whistleblowing, "compliance" refers to the adherence to laws, regulations, and internal policies within an organization. It involves ensuring that employees and the organization as a whole operate in accordance with legal and ethical standards. Specifically, in terms of whistleblowing, compliance refers to the process of reporting and addressing instances of wrongdoing or misconduct in a manner that aligns with legal requirements and internal procedures. This includes following established protocols, maintaining confidentiality, and protecting the rights of both the whistleblower and the accused party.