Aalto University

Ethical channel

Aalto University and its subsidiaries have an ethical channel where staff, students and other members of the university community as well as stakeholders may report any misconduct they perceive.

Ethical channel is a tool to report misconduct 

It is important to Aalto that its staff, students and stakeholders may act boldly as whistleblowers, exposing any suspected misconduct they perceive. Aalto University’s ethical channel is for notifying about illegalities or misconduct appearing in the operations of Aalto University or of companies in the Aalto University Group. 

We encourage people to send notifications of misconduct in their own name; however, the ethical channel may also be used anonymously. Aalto University is committed to ensuring the information security of the reports and to seeing that they are processed with care. All reports submitted in good faith will be investigated and any necessary measures arising from them will be undertaken. 

Aalto University’s ethical channel is the internal, confidential reporting channel required by the whistleblowing regulation. A secure WhistleB reporting tool is used to set up the ethical channel in Aalto University. (see below whistleblowing)

What is a misconduct to be reported through the ethical channel? 

Misconduct as referred to in the whistleblower act

Examples of activities that may be reported through the ethical channel: 

  • financial misconduct, such as illegalities in public procurement or financial services, breaches concerning financial support and assistance, breaches of tax law, and fraud and corruption,
  • breaches relating to EU competition law and State aid rules,
  • suspicion of bribes given or received, 
  • endangering consumer protection and food safety,
  • environmental crimes, such as endangering the safety of chemicals, nuclear safety or radiation protection, and 
  • serious breaches of information security or data protection. 

These kinds of misconduct may be reported when observed in connection with one’s work. The person reporting may receive whistleblower protection as defined in the whistleblower act (see below).

Other irregularities and misconduct than referred to in the whistleblower act

The ethical channel supplements Aalto’s already existing practices for reporting.

In matters related to inappropriate conduct and harassment, research ethics issues and security breaches or data security breaches, we encourage you to use the following reporting methods.

You may also use the ethical channel to report suspected breaches of other Code of Conduct. Inappropriate conduct, harassment and reports related to research ethics or occupational safety will be referred for investigation to the investigatory processes concerned with investigating such matters.

At Aalto University, persons who report breaches of the Code of Conduct in an appropriate manner will encounter no negative repercussions. This means that at the time of reporting they must have reasonable grounds to believe that the information regarding a breach is true.

When the ethical channel is not to be used to report?

For differences of opinion and problems within the university community, we encourage you to first contact your superior or the director or contact person with responsibility for the issue.

The ethical channel is not intended to be used as a tool for feedback or for giving development ideas.

The ethical channel is not intended for reporting security matters or emergencies concerning spaces or for notifying about occupational safety incidents. Acquaint yourself with the following guidelines for such situations:  

You can give feedback and development suggestions about Aalto’s services here: Open feedback and initiatives

Students can give development feedback on teaching in a number of ways. See: Feedback and surveys

Whistleblowing 

The ethical channel is an internal reporting channel as referred to in the whistleblower act on the protection of persons who report breaches of Finnish law or European Union law. Whistleblowers, ie. people who report breaches covered by the act, have the right to the protection referred to in the act. More information about the reporting covered and the whistleblower protection offered according to the act is available here:

Whistleblower protection | Chancellor of Justice 

Whistleblower protection means primarily that no actions against a whistleblower may be taken in retaliation, for instance, dismissal from employment, worsening of the terms of the employment, discrimination or other negative repercussions. The whistleblower protection may be received by a person who discovered a breach in connection with their work. Whistleblower protection may in some cases mean keeping the whistleblower’s identity confidential. Whistleblower protection does not release the person(s) participating in the breach from responsibility.

In order to be protected under the act, the whistleblower must have legitimate reason to believe at the time of their reporting that the breaches they describe fall under the scope of the act and that the information reported is true.

How may I use the ethical channel to report? 

You can submit a report by clicking the link below and following the instructions. When you send your report, you will receive user code and password. Save these in a secure place. You will receive a notification that your report has been received.

Note that the channel does not save any information about you that you do not provide yourself. For example, the system saves neither your IP address nor user account nor email address. Please follow up on your report in the channel for any responses or possible follow-up questions. 

How is the report processed? 

The channel is an external service maintained by a service provider of the university. Reports are sent securely and can be submitted anonymously. Aalto University employees who have been expressly assigned to the task are responsible for receiving and the further processing of the reports. Should your report lead to follow-up measures, your report will be handled by only the persons who are responsible for processing it.

In matters related to inappropriate conduct and harassment, research ethics issues, occupational safety, security and data security breaches the reports will be handled following the specific Aalto university processes.

What will happen after you have submitted the report?

The person submitting the report will receive a notice of the matter being taken up for processing and a notice when the processing has concluded. The submitter is asked to be prepared to answer any follow-up question about the matter.

However, the submitter will not necessarily receive information about what consequences there were for the person(s) who were reported. As an employer, the university may usually not, for example, disclose warnings or other measures regarding the employment relationship to persons other than the parties.

Ethical channel of Aalto University

Code of Conduct and raising your concern

Code of Conduct - Values into practice

The Aalto University Code of Conduct is one way of putting our values and way of working — the foundation of our community culture — into practice

Kaksi henkilöä kampuksella.

Intervening in the harassment and inappropriate treatment experienced by the personnel

The Code of Conduct is one way of putting our values and way of working - the foundation of our community culture - into practice.

People sitting around tables in BIZ premises

Handling of misconduct, violation of research integrity guidelines, at Aalto University

Guidelines on how research ethics misconduct cases are handled in Aalto

Aalto-yliopisto / Harald Herlin -oppimiskeskus / kirjahyllyt / kuva: Tuomas Uusheimo

Whistleblower protection, confidentiality, openness and secrecy 

Aalto University activities fall under the scope of the Act on the Openness of Government Activities. As a rule, this act therefore also applies to reports and documents residing at or submitted to the university. The university has an obligation to follow the secrecy obligations of the act, but also the openness required by the act. Parties concerned generally have a right to obtain information concerning themselves. The person reported must receive basic information about what claims concerning them have been presented and on what grounds.

The person reporting misconduct must avoid including unnecessary private or confidential information about themself or others in their report or in other materials.

Whistleblower protection for the person reporting may be ensured only when their identity is known by the university.

Reporting channel of the Office of the Chancellor of Justice

If the whistleblower has a legitimate reason to believe that their internal report has not resulted in measures within the time prescribed or that it is ineffective, or if the whistleblower has a legitimate reason to believe that they may face retaliation due to their report, breaches may be reported through the Chancellor of Justice Office’s centralised external reporting channel.

Centralised external reporting channel | Chancellor of Justice

Privacy notice

Read more on processing personal data when using the ethical channel to report a suspicion of misconduct. 

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