We have established a corporate culture based on performance, autonomy and trust. It combines appreciation and enjoyment of what we do with consistency and transparency in decision-making.

As an integral part of our corporate culture, we are committed to adhering to principles of conduct. These naturally include compliance with existing laws and regulations as well as observance of and adherence to the principles of honest and irreproachable business conduct.

The success of our Group is also based on the good reputation that our company enjoys among the public, our business partners and the authorities. The good reputation and integrity of our company are the basis of trust and therefore the prerequisite for the business we conduct. Integrity must have an external and internal impact and is shaped by people. The honest and impeccable conduct of managers and employees plays a decisive role in this.

When problems or conflicts arise, we aim to deal with them personally and as equals. This means that suspected compliance violations can and should be reported openly and addressed directly - if necessary, not only to your own manager, but also to the next level up. We foster a corporate culture in which open action when reporting violations should be the rule.

You can report in various ways. In many matters, speaking directly to the person concerned can be a good first step. For us, an open communication culture is an essential part of well-established compliance.

If a direct approach is not possible or not an option for you, please contact your manager. As a third party, please speak to your respective business contact at Vorwerk.

If you feel that you cannot approach your manager or business partner with your concerns, for whatever reason, please contact the local HR or Compliance department. We are committed to dealing with concerns personally.

However, if colleagues feel that they cannot openly report a suspected compliance violation to their potential personal contacts (managers, People & Culture, employee representatives), we have introduced a whistleblower platform. This platform makes it possible to provide information completely anonymously and can also be used by business partners and independent sales representatives.

With our whistleblower system, we offer various ways to confidentially report concerns regarding a suspected violation of the Code of Conduct, our policies or applicable laws and regulations, a human rights or environmental risk or a corresponding violation in our operations or supply chain. Some non-exhaustive examples of this are

•  Violations of antitrust law
• Money laundering or violations of trade sanctions
• Violation of data protection regulations
• Environmental, health and safety concerns
• Human rights violations
• Violations of the Vorwerk Code of Conduct
• Suspected fraud (embezzlement or misconduct in financial reporting)
• Bribery and corruption
• Abuse of power and conflicts of interest
• Bullying or discrimination
• (Sexual) harassment
• Disclosure of confidential business information
• Retaliation against whistleblowers who speak out in good faith

The whistleblower system is not for reporting e.g:

• routine employment issues (e.g., related to vacation days, pay and benefits, performance reviews); please discuss these with your manager or Human Resources.
• Customer complaints in connection with, for example, a late delivery or a problem with order entry.
• Private (legal) disputes.
• Accusations that you know are false. Under certain circumstances, you may even be liable to prosecution.

Our electronic whistleblower system can be accessed at any time via the following link:

Here are the phone numbers you can use to report as well:

All information received will be treated confidentially. Information will only be shared with a limited number of people on a strict need-to-know basis. Any whistleblower acting in good faith is protected.

Reports of possible compliance violations against a person can have serious consequences for that person. Therefore, please only use our whistleblower system as a last resort (“ultima ratio”).

Your report will be logged in a case management system and processed by a "Clearance Team" of the Group Corporate Governance and Group People & Culture departments of Vorwerk SE & Co. KG.

We will send you a confirmation of receipt within seven days. We subject each report to a preliminary review in which the report is evaluated and assessed to determine whether further review and investigation is required. If necessary, we will contact you for further information. We conduct our preliminary reviews and investigations confidentially, independently, fairly and impartially with respect to all parties involved. You will receive feedback within three months of the confirmation of receipt being sent.

In principle, we inform every person concerned that a complaint has been filed against him/her.