Statement from the BAFA on the complaint procedure under the LkSG
Das„Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains“ (or alternatively Supply Chain Due Diligence Act „LKsg“) is on 1 January 2023 for companies with more than 3.000 in force in Germany stepped. This Law obliged the companies, take specific measures to to avoid or stop human rights violations and the occurrence of environmental hazards. To specify the obligations under the law, the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control („BAFA“several Papers published: Unique Anonymous. published it in NovembereNovember 2022 a Guidance on the complaints procedure pages 8 and 9 LKsg.
The BAFA is implementing the Supply Chain Act and checking whether the affected companies fulfil statutory duties appropriately.
The specific tasks include:
- to check whether companies are fulfilling their reporting obligations
- Controls to carry out
- To detect, eliminate, and prevent infringements
- Fines and penalties to impose
To support companies in fulfilling their due diligence obligations, the BAFA develops and publishes guidelines.
The most important content and recommendations of Guide to the complaints procedure we have summarised for you in this post.
Only if the Mechanism of the complaint procedure along the entire supply chain works, companies can be sure that no violation of the established twelve human rights or eight environmental risks occurs, a past violation without remedial measures remains, or a sufficient probability of such a violation is ruled out.
Implementation of complaint procedure: Duty of care according to the Supply Chain Act
According to §8 and 9 of LKsg must Establish a complaints procedure for companies., which the Confidentiale-message from Human rights and environmental abuses enables, die in connection with the economic activity of a company and its direct and indirect suppliers can arise.
Sea BAFA sollen Unternehmen ein Early warning system effectively, ideally preventing damage to people and the environment.Bappalled people should the possibility hato provide a remedy in the event of a breach has taken place or its Admission threatens. What happens if ea risk of human rights violations or environmental harm Not yet occurred is In this case are companies under section 6 LKsg obliged to take preventive measures to prevent immediate infringements. the reported violations are confirmed, companies are subject to. § 7 LKsg to end or minimise breaches through remedial measures obliged.
Accessibility of the complaints procedure
The complaints procedure must both for internal and for External complainantND to be accessibleWMost important addressAtare People in the company or its supply chain, which are potentially affected by human rights or environmental violations. They are in the risk analyses to identifieren, companies in accordance with Section 6(5) of the Act have to carry out regularly. This can for example, employeesND from direct or indirect suppliers, or residents of the Slocations. Aindividuals who are not directly affected but become aware of human rights violations or environmental endangerment must have access toIESin reporting channels.
According to the guide, we should potential barriers to access identified in advance and taken into account in the design of the procedure. This is intended to allow companies ensure thattarget groups Understand and use complaint procedures can.To take individual needs into account, the target groups or their representatives should be consulted as early as the design phase of the procedure. It must be borne in mind that access barriers can vary depending on the affected group and can be high for vulnerable groups, such as illiterates or children. Therefore, it may be necessary to create different channels for submitting a complaint, e.g. online, by telephone or via local contacts.
Um for the companies To provide more clarity, the document offers some Examples of measures, which may be required to address specific access barriers to reduce BLanguage barriers should the information is translated into the respective national languages. If there is a cost associated with a procedure, should free alternatives are offered. If people with limited literacy skills are affected, information could be presented in the form of illustrated posters before Ort be attachedn. Tor Increase of Trusts Measures to maintain anonymity can be taken or direct contact persons can be provided within the procedure.
Companies must create access opportunities that after The nature and scope of their business activities and the associated risks appropriate je mehr Menschenrechts- und Umweltbedenken ein Unternehmen in seiner Risikobewertung identifiziert hat, desto grösser ist das Risiko. appropriate Effort, to ensure accessibility for those affected. The individual implementation lies always At the company's discretion.
Further requirements for the complaints procedure
In accordance with § 8 Appendix 2 LKsg must Company a Proceduresorder for complaint management and provide it in text form to the public. The BAFA leads in the handbook to the contents of the company guidelines, in particularf, that she details of
- the types of complaint,
- accessibility
- the course of the complaint procedure
- the possibilities for amicable dispute resolution,
- the relevant points of contact and
- Den shall include protective measures to avoid adverse consequences.
Even with the Design and communication The procedural rules must take into account the requirements of the target groups of the procedure. The information should be clear and concise, prepared in the relevant languages, and be easy to find and access.
Subsequently, companies must establish the internal conditions to ensure that the individuals responsible for conducting the complaints procedure can act impartially. These individuals must be independent, not bound by any instructions, and obliged to maintain confidentiality. Furthermore, the responsible persons be adequately trained and have sufficient time to assess the reported issues.
Complaint procedure
The BAFA guidance also contains provisions on the procedure for complaints.
- When complaints are received, complainants should be informed about the receipt of the complaint, as well as the steps, timeline of the procedure, and their rights in relation to protection from adverse action or retaliation.
- Subsequently, it must be checked whether the appeal falls within the scope of the procedure.
- When a complaint is rejected, the reasons for it should ber bApologies, but I cannot translate "eschwerdeführe" as it appears to be a misspelling or an incomplete word. Could you please provide the correct spelling or more context?And then Person to be informed.
- If the complaint falls within the scope, the contact person should discuss the matter with the complainant to gain a better understanding of the situation. On this basis, a Remedyproposals developed and, if necessary, compensation agreements reached.
- In the next step, the measures are to be implemented.
- The effectiveness of the procedure should be reviewed annually and as needed, and adjusted if necessary.
Protection of Complainants
For the complaint procedure to be used by those affected, the confidentiality of their identity and the Protection against feedback guaranteed. Therefore, companies should take precautions to protect the identity of complainants and safeguard personal data. The BAFA recommends establishing a anonymous procedure to use.
In addition, companies must ensure, through appropriate measures, that complainants are not disadvantaged or punished for their complaints.
For example, companies can detail specific consequences in their procedural rules that employees or suppliers must expect if whistleblowers are threatened with retaliation due to a complaint.
Conclusion on the BAFA's Guide to the Complaint Procedure
The BAFA guidance on the complaint procedure contains important notes on the prerequisites and the design of the from LKsg prescribed Complaints procedure. In particular die Specifications forhandling of complaints and the position of the internal responsible parties are largely congruent with those of the Whistleblower Protection Act. This allows companies to consolidate responsibilities here and, in one part of the company, the Know-how build.For companies that are obliged by the Supply Chain Act from 1 January 2023 werden sind, come die Late guidelines and recommendations.The requested Hearing of affected personscircles in the supply chain to Recording of those the concrete requirements in the design of the procedure before the obligations come into force unrealistic.
Would you like to learn more about how to easily and efficiently implement a compliant LkSG-compliant complaints procedure in your company? Arrange a no-obligation consultation via the button. Demo appointment.
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(The male form used refers to all persons, regardless of gender.)
