TNT and PostNL used the same whistleblower policy. Aperam and ArcelorMittal also used the same

Appendix

APPENDIX 1 Data

TNT and PostNL used the same whistleblower policy. Aperam and ArcelorMittal also used the same

whistleblower policy. For this reason, these policies were counted as one. The whistleblower policy of Boskalis was asked for by phone and email since it could not be found on their corporate website. Unfortunately, Boskalis was unable to provide a whistleblowing policy and could therefore not be included in the analysis.

The AEX comprised the following companies in September 2005 (included in 2005 study):

ABN AMRO, AEGON, Ahold, Akzo Nobel, ASM Lithography, Buhrmann, DSM, Fortis, Getronics, Hagemeyer, Heineken, ING, KPN, Numico, Philips, Reed Elsevier, Royal Dutch Shell, SBM Offshore, TNT, Unilever, Vedior, Versatel, VNU and Wolters Kluwer.

The AEX comprised the following companies in December 2011 (included in 2011 study):

AEGON, Ahold, Air France-KLM, Akzo Nobel, Aperam, ArcelorMittal, ASML, Boskalis, Corio, DSM, Fugro, Heineken, ING, KPN, Philips, PostNL, Randstad, Reed Elsevier, Royal Dutch Shell, SBM Offshore, TNT Express, TomTom, Unibail-Rodamco, Unilever, Wolters Kluwer.

Date of effect

Aegon 11-6-2010

Ahold -

Air France-KLM 30-5-2007 Akzo Nobel 15-6-2009 ArcelorMittal/Aperam 1-1-2009

ASML 1-9-2011

Corio 23-4-2004

DSM 14-6-2004

Fugro 7-2-2011

Heineken 1-1-2009

ING 1-4-2004

KPN 1-8-2009

Philips 11-5-2009

PostNL/TNT 1-6-2011

Randstad 1-7-2009

Reed Elsevier 1-6-2009 SBM Offshore 1-1-2005

Shell 14-10-2010

TomTom 25-10-2011

Unibail-Rodamco 8-3-2010

Unilever 14-12-2005

WoltersKluwer 1-4-2009

Qualitative content analysis per company

1 General contents, Scope and tone AEGON AHOLD AF/KLM AKZO AM/APE ASML Corio DSM FUGRO HEINEK ING

1 Stated that the policy or code applies to all employees 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 Stated that reporting is a requirement or duty 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0

3 Stated that employees are explicitly encouraged to report 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1

4 Stated that contractors may also report wrongdoing 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1

5 Included a seperate policy for senior and executive management 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

6 Included a seperate policy for financial reporting matters 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

7 Stated that former employees can also report wrondoing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2. Nature of violations to be reported

1 Violations of code of internal policies 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 Violations of law or other regulations 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1

3 Finanical reporting matters 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1

4 Criminal offences 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0

5 Health and safety threats 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

6 Environmental issues 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0

7 Corruption, mismanagement or abuse of authority 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0

9 Misinforming of authorities or public bodies 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0

11 Conflicts of interest 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

12 Hide, destroy or manipulation of information 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0

3. Officials or bodies to whom wrondoing should be reported

1 Direct or indirect supervisor 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0

2 Compliance or Ethics officer 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

3 Special hotline 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0

4 (Chairman of) Supervisory Board or Board of Directors 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0

5 Human Resource Department 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

6 Legal department 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

7 (Chairman of) Audit committee 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

8 Internal Audit department 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

9 (Chairman of) Board of Management or Executive Board 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0

10 Confidential Advisor or Trusted Representative 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0

11 Reporting application on website 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

12 Reporting telephone line 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0

4. Reporting guidelines and formalities AEGON AHOLD AF/KLM AKZO AM/APE ASML Corio DSM FUGRO HEINEK ING

1 Reports should be in sufficient detail to allow for an investigation 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0

2 Reports can be done in native language or the reporting system is multilingual 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0

3 Included a special reporting form 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

4 Requirement to explain suspicion without requiring evidence 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0

5 Graphical representation of reporting system 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

6 Ban on employees starting investigations themselves 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

5. Confidentiality and anonimity

1 Reported violations are treated confidentially 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 Violations can be reported anonymously 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1

3 Anonymous reporting is discouraged or clearly not preferred 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0

4 Circumstances given where confidentiality cannot be guaranteed 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1

5 Publicity is allowed under clear conditions. ("going public is not allowed, unless") 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

6 Identity of the whistleblower will be protected 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0

6. Protection from retaliation

1 General statement ("there will be no retaliation") 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 Requirement of good faith 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

3 Retaliation is prohibited or not tolerated 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0

4 Knowingly making false or malicious reports in punishable 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0

5 Retaliation will be punished 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

6 Requirement of reasonable grounds or beliefs 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0

7 No retaliation, even if complaint is unfounded 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

8 No immunity against punishment if complainant is involved 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

9 Liability towards subjects of malicious complaint 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0

10 Protection even if involved provided person acted in good faith 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

7. Investigation Details

1 Guarantee of investigation or serious treatment of complaint 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1

2 Obligation to cooperate in investigation for other employees 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0

5 Decision process of whether or not to investigate is described 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

6 Employees will be kept informed/feedback is provided 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

4 Term for providing feedback to employee is given 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0

9 Stated how the potential wrongdoer is handled in the reporting process 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0

10 Explicitly Gives room for wrongdoer to object accusation 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0

1 General contents, Scope and tone KPN Philips PostNL Randst Reed SBM Shell TOMT Unibail Unilev Wolters

1 Stated that the policy or code applies to all employees 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 Stated that reporting is a requirement or duty 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0

3 Stated that employees are explicitly encouraged to report 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1

4 Stated that contractors may also report wrongdoing 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0

5 Included a seperate policy for senior and executive management 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0

6 Included a seperate policy for financial reporting matters 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

7 Stated that former employees can also report wrondoing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2. Nature of violations to be reported

1 Violations of code of internal policies 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 Violations of law or other regulations 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1

3 Finanical reporting matters 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1

4 Criminal offences 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1

5 Health and safety threats 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

6 Environmental issues 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

7 Corruption, mismanagement or abuse of authority 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

9 Misinforming of authorities or public bodies 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

11 Conflicts of interest 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

12 Hide, destroy or manipulation of information 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

3. Officials or bodies to whom wrondoing should be reported

1 Direct or indirect supervisor 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1

2 Compliance or Ethics officer 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1

3 Special hotline 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0

4 (Chairman of) Supervisory Board or Board of Directors 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1

5 Human Resource Department 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1

6 Legal department 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0

7 (Chairman of) Audit committee 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0

8 Internal Audit department 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

9 (Chairman of) Board of Management or Executive Board 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

10 Confidential Advisor or Trusted Representative 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0

11 Reporting application on website 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0

12 Reporting telephone line 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0

4. Reporting guidelines and formalities KPN Philips PostNL Randst Reed SBM Shell TOMT Unibail Unilev Wolters

1 Reports should be in sufficient detail to allow for an investigation 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2 Reports can be done in native language or the reporting system is multilingual 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0

3 Included a special reporting form 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0

4 Requirement to explain suspicion without requiring evidence 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

5 Graphical representation of reporting system 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

6 Ban on employees starting investigations themselves 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

5. Confidentiality and anonimity

1 Reported violations are treated confidentially 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 Violations can be reported anonymously 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1

3 Anonymous reporting is discouraged or clearly not preferred 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1

4 Circumstances given where confidentiality cannot be guaranteed 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0

5 Publicity is allowed under clear conditions. ("going public is not allowed, unless") 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

6 Identity of the whistleblower will be protected 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1

6. Protection from retaliation

1 General statement ("there will be no retaliation") 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1

2 Requirement of good faith 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1

3 Retaliation is prohibited or not tolerated 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

4 Knowingly making false or malicious reports in punishable 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1

5 Retaliation will be punished 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1

6 Requirement of reasonable grounds or beliefs 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

7 No retaliation, even if complaint is unfounded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

8 No immunity against punishment if complainant is involved 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

9 Liability towards subjects of malicious complaint 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

10 Protection even if involved provided person acted in good faith 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

7. Investigation Details

1 Guarantee of investigation or serious treatment of complaint 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1

2 Obligation to cooperate in investigation for other employees 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

5 Decision process of whether or not to investigate is described 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

6 Employees will be kept informed/feedback is provided 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

4 Term for providing feedback to employee is given 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

9 Stated how the potential wrongdoer is handled in the reporting process 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

10 Explicitly Gives room for wrongdoer to object accusation 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

APPENDIX 2

The best practice recommendations as defined by the British Standards Institution (BSI 2008).

1) Direct or indirect supervisor should be recipients of reports

“ Rather than develop a whistleblowing scheme which is a substitute for the management line, it is both more realistic and more effective to position and promote it as a safety net both for management and the organization. Good arrangements should give the clear message that if an employee has a whistleblowing concern the organization hopes he or she will feel able to raise it with their line manager “. p.12

2) Publicity should be allowed under clear conditions

“The organization’s policy should state that, while it is hoped concerns will be raised internally, the organization recognizes that employees can also contact an appropriate external body.”

“An express provision in the policy for external disclosures which is not surrounded by caveats and conditions should be included, as it will help ensure that:

• managers concentrate on the substantive issue when a concern is raised with them;

• a concern is less likely to degenerate into a protracted personal battle; and

• regulators and other stakeholders have confidence in the arrangements and the integrity of the organization.” p. 13

3) Circumstances should be given where confidentially cannot be guaranteed.

“While openness is the ideal, in practice some staff will have good reason to feel anxious about identifying themselves at the outset and so a whistleblowing policy should ensure they can also approach someone confidentially. This means that their name will not be revealed without their consent, unless required by law ”. p. 13

4) Anonymous reporting should be possible

“Whether or not an organization enables or promotes a route for anonymous reports, it may receive information in this way in any event. Where this happens, it should assess the information and establish whether it is possible or prudent to follow it up. A policy of automatically ignoring all anonymous reports is not recommended as it is unlikely to be in the organization’s best interests.” p.14

5) Anonymous reporting is discouraged or clearly not preferred

“Whistleblowing policies should not actively encourage or solicit employees to raise concerns anonymously (where the employee does not identify him or herself at any stage to anyone). This is because anonymity makes it difficult to investigate the concern and to deter misuse and impossible to liaise with the employee (to seek clarification or more information, to assure them or to give them feedback)” p. 14

6) Confidential advisor or Trusted Representatives.

“Organizations should tell employees how to obtain free confidential advice from an independent helpline on whether and how to raise a concern. As the purpose of a helpline is to provide a safe haven where the employee can confidentially discuss whether and how best to raise a whistleblowing concern, the

information given and advice provided on a helpline are confidential between the helpline provider and the

employee.” p. 16

7) Reporting should be encouraged instead of required.

“Organizations should not make it a requirement that employees blow the whistle as such a duty is unlikely to bolster staff confidence in the arrangements or help foster or embed a more open and accountable culture. If the organization decides itself to make whistleblowing a duty then the law is likely to say that it is unfair if that duty is not enforced consistently. This would likely mean that whenever an employee does correctly blow the whistle, the organization would be expected to see if there are colleagues who have failed to do so and consider taking action against them. Finally, such a duty is difficult to operate in a pragmatic way as some staff may feel obliged to report each and every infraction they see or suspect.”

p. 17

8) Feedback should be provided to the whistleblower

“The whistleblowing policy should state that the organization will provide feedback to the employee on the outcome of the concern. This will help reassure employees that the policy works. If the employee receives no feedback, he or she may assume that nothing has been done and decide to take their concern outside.”

p. 21

9) Reporting should be done in good faith

“the organization will not tolerate the victimization of anyone who blows the whistle in good faith in line with the law or the policy; and” p. 18

10) Retaliation should be prohibited or not tolerated

“does not tolerate any reprisal against an employee because he or she has raised a concern under the policy” p. 23

11) Retaliation should be punished

“will treat any such reprisal as a disciplinary matter which might lead to dismissal” p.23 12) Knowingly making false or malicious reports is punishable

“To protect the integrity of the whistleblowing arrangements and to discourage their misuse, the policy

should also state that this assurance is not extended to those who maliciously raise a concern that they

know is false.” p. 23

APPENDIX 3

Amount of critical content provisions per company (max 12)

Aegon 6

Ahold 4

Air France-KLM 10

Akzo Nobel 8

ArcelorMittal/Aperam 5

ASML 9

Corio 5

DSM 9

Fugro 7

Heineken 10

ING 6

KPN 5

Philips 9

PostNL/TNT 6

Randstad 10

Reed Elsevier 8

SBM Offshore 4

Shell 4

TomTom 7

Unibail-Rodamco 0

Unilever 5

WoltersKluwer 9

APPENDIX 4

Reports on the use of whistleblowing policies per company

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Aegon Unknown Unknown Unknown Use Use 1

Ahold Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown 0

Air France-KLM Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown 0

Akzo Nobel Use Use Use Use Use 1

ArcelorMittal/Aperam Unknown No use Use Use Use 1

ASML Unknown Unkown No use No use No use 0

Corio No use No use No use No use No use 0

DSM Use Use Use Use Use 1

Fugro Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown 0

Heineken No use No use No use Use Use 1

ING Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown 0

KPN Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown 0

Philips Use Use Use Use Use 1

PostNL/TNT Unknown Use Use Use Use 1

Randstad Use Use Use Use Use 1

Reed Elsevier Unknown Unknown No use No use No use 0

SBM Offshore Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown 0

Shell Use Use Use Use Use 1

TomTom Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown 0

Unibail-Rodamco Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown 0

Unilever Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown 0

WoltersKluwer Unknown Use Use Use No use 1

Unknown No reference made to the use of the whistleblowing policy 0

No use The whistleblowing policy is not used 0

Use The whistleblowing policy is used 1

Non-transparent companies 0

Transparent companies 1

APPENDIX 5

Statistical output obtained from SPSS

Mann-Whitney Test

Ranks

Group N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks

Amount of critical content provisions

Non-transparent companies 12 9,54 114,50

Transparent companies 10 13,85 138,50

Total 22

Test Statistics

Amount of critical content provisions

Mann-Whitney U 36,500

Wilcoxon W 114,500

Z -1,565

Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) ,118

Exact Sig. [2*(1-tailed Sig.)] ,123

Exact Sig. (2-tailed) ,122

Exact Sig. (1-tailed) ,061

Point Probability ,004

a. Not corrected for ties.

b. Grouping Variable: Group