Complaints Channel

This policy applies to all companies that make up EDUCA EDTECH Group, as established in art. 11 of this law, by which the dominant company may approve a general policy regarding the internal information system applicable to all entities of the group, without prejudice to the autonomy and independence of each company. 

For these purposes, EDUCA EDTECH Group is understood as all the entities that make up and make up its business group, as well as those entities that, although they are not currently part of the aforementioned group, may be part of it directly or indirectly.

In this sense, the Head of the System must be a director of the entity, may be one for the entire group and must carry out his functions independently and autonomously with respect to the rest of the entities' bodies, without receiving instructions of any kind in his exercise, having all the personal and material means necessary to carry them out. In turn, System Managers may be established in each of the companies that make up the group. 

The Board of Directors of EDUCA EDTECH Group has among its functions the following: to establish the bases for adequate and efficient coordination between the Company and the other companies belonging to the EDUCA EDTECH Group, both Spanish and foreign; respecting, in all cases, the decision-making autonomy of the administrative bodies and directors of each company, in accordance with the social interest of the Company and of each of the companies that make up the Group.

Therefore, it is up to the Board of Directors of EDUCA EDTECH Group to approve this Policy, thus fulfilling its function of establishing the bases, establishing the instruments and designing the necessary mechanisms for adequate and efficient coordination in activities related to the management of complaints; without prejudice to the autonomous decisions that correspond to each company of the Group and the particularities of its business.

The System Manager will periodically report on the activity related to the Complaints Channel. In this sense, periodic information will be received on all relevant complaints received in the Group.

The area responsible for each company will be in charge of recording and communicating the complaints received in the company itself, transferring them to the Group's general complaints channel. Once the complaints are recognized as such, the System Manager will proceed to verify and review the reported facts. Once this verification is completed, the file will be transferred to the affected areas for the appropriate purposes.

The System Manager will guarantee at all times the widest access to the content of the Whistleblowing Channel to the Compliance area; which will receive any reports issued derived from reviews of reported events. The areas affected by the reported events will participate in the design and follow-up of the action plans.

In this sense and for the purposes of mitigating the consequences associated with a possible violation, if the reported events have an impact on compliance aspects, the Compliance area - in the exercise of its remediation function - may request to be involved in the design and monitoring of the respective action plans. Likewise, it will be informed of the development of the analysis work on said reported events.

In the management of the Whistleblower Channel, the legal regulations on the protection of personal data applicable to the different companies of the Group will be complied with. In particular, the following aspects will be taken into account:

• All companies must implement the security measures for personal data that are applicable according to the level of risk established for the Whistleblowing Channel or, where appropriate, the measures that are mandatory under the applicable legal regulations and the internal regulations relating to this aspect of the Group. The level of security must be, at least, equivalent to that provided for in the data protection compliance system for sensitive or special category data, in accordance with the applicable data protection regulations.
• Considering that EDUCA EDTECH Group is the managing entity of the platform on which the complaints channel operates, an agreement must be formalized that establishes the rights and obligations of the parties (EDUCA EDTECH and the Group companies), especially those related to data protection.
• Adequate compliance with the processing of personal data must be guaranteed, and in particular with respect to the rights of the owners of said data to be informed about their processing. All of this, in accordance with the applicable legislation in each country.

4.1     Access and operation of the Channel

The Complaints Channel will be accessible through: 

• The web page from EDUCA EDTECH GROUP.
• a phone number. In such case, the complaint will be recorded and retained as an audio recording, in accordance with the law.
• Addresses of email specific to the reporting channel, as determined.

Complaints or complaints may also be submitted by letter addressed to the System Manager or their representatives in the companies.

The Complaints Channel is unique for all Group companies, although the system managers of each of the companies may receive complaints, sending them to the Group System Manager. The complainant who wishes to remain anonymous may do so with the sufficient guarantees established in this Policy. 

Any action aimed at preventing an employee from making a communication through the Whistleblowing Channel will be sanctioned in accordance with the applicable labor and disciplinary regime.

The set of activities for the registration, admission for processing, verification and resolution of the communications received in the Complaints Channel will be carried out in the shortest possible time, taking into account the characteristics of the reported events and the other concurrent circumstances.

4.2     Registration and classification of complaints

All complaints received will be analyzed by the System Manager independently and the confidentiality of the identity of the person who makes the complaint and the person reported will be guaranteed.

Once the communication is received, a correlative identification code will be assigned to it and it will be incorporated into a database, in which the rating given to said complaint and its processing status will be recorded. The database will be updated throughout the different phases of the procedure.

The complainant, within a period of 7 days, will be provided with proof of the presentation and registration of the communication made on the channel, in order to prove compliance with the general duty of cooperation referred to in section 1 of this policy.

Complaints must be classified in order of importance. As aspects considered most relevant:

• Situations that may give rise to possible criminal liability of the company or its directors, including (but not limited to) those that may involve acts that, if confirmed, could be classified as corruption in the public sphere, in some of its forms.
• Situations in which there is a risk of violating any current legislation.
• Situations that, if known outside the company, could cause damage to the group's image.
• Situations that pose a risk in the “business continuity”.
• High amount associated with the well-founded complaint.
• Number of people or areas affected by the reported events.

The assessment indicated in this section will determine the priority when beginning the review and allocation of resources. Once the preliminary analysis of the communication has been carried out, the level of relevance will be indicated. 

In the event that, subsequently, new data or indications are obtained that advise changing the relevance of the complaint, the change in priority will be justified and duly documented.

The communications received on the channel will be classified according to their nature and according to the categories indicated in the Annex. This classification may be updated as the information needs in this regard evolve.

Complaints received through the Complaints Channel and those that are related to situations of discrimination, mobbing and sexual or gender-based harassment, will be processed, where appropriate, in accordance with the specific procedures that may exist for these specific matters in the company that employs the complainant.

4.3     Preliminary analysis of the reported facts

Once a communication is received, the System Manager will determine whether or not to process it, considering whether it meets the minimum requirements for it. In the event that the communication is manifestly unfounded or that, being anonymous, it does not provide sufficient information to verify the reported facts, it will not be admitted for processing, such decision being documented.

In the event that the reported events could affect more than one Group company or professionals assigned to several of them, the communication will be sent by any of the affected companies to the Group System Manager to adopt the appropriate coordination measures, including the endorsement of the decision on its admission for processing and the determination of the company responsible for the verification.

4.4     Verification of the reported facts

When, in accordance with the preliminary analysis of the complaint, this is required, the System Manager will proceed to verify and analyze the reported facts; for which, where appropriate, the collaboration of other areas of the company or third parties may be required if necessary.

Throughout the investigation process, the presumption of innocence is guaranteed to all affected persons. 

4.5     Resolution of the complaint

Once the verification of the reported facts is completed, the System Manager will reach conclusions that will be transferred to the competent areas and in accordance with the provisions that develop this Policy, said conclusions may be formalized in a report.

Additionally, adequate compliance with the protection legislation must be ensured.

of applicable data and in particular, with respect to the rights of the owners of said data.

1. If the existence of a violation is considered not proven: File the file

If it is determined that the commission of any irregularity has not been proven, the act

contrary to legality or internal regulations, it will be agreed to conclude the file without the need to adopt any measure, proceeding to file it. Documenting such decision.

2. If the existence of infringement is considered proven:

If it is determined that the commission of any irregularity, an act contrary to the law or the internal rules of the Group, has been proven, it will be transferred to the person responsible for the affected area and to the Human Resources area for the appropriate disciplinary effects. Regardless of whether the Compliance area has full and permanent access to the Complaints Channel and is periodically informed of the development of the verification and analysis of the complaints, it will formally have access to any complaint resolution reports that are issued.

In those cases that, due to their relevance, are considered necessary, at the request of any of the aforementioned areas, the following may be transferred:

• to the Disciplinary Action Committee or equivalent body of the company to which the facts that are the subject of the file refer.
• to the Legal Services of the corresponding company.
• If applicable, to the corresponding Global Controller.

The maximum period to respond to the investigative actions may not exceed three months from the receipt of the communication or, if no acknowledgment of receipt was sent to the informant, three months from the expiration of the period of seven days after the communication was made. In cases of special complexity that require an extension of the term, this may be extended up to a maximum of another three additional months (Art. 9.2.d) Law 2/2023)

4.6     Conservation of information

The information will be hosted and preserved in accordance with the legal requirements that apply in each case in this matter. The processing of personal data will also be appropriate to the applicable legislation on the matter. In any case, possible requirements from public administrations, courts and tribunals will be considered, in the terms established by the legislation in force, and only during the prescription period of the actions that may arise from the treatment in question.

All personal data related to the information received and internal investigations will be kept for the period necessary and proportionate in order to comply with Law 2/2023.  If it is proven that the information provided or part of it is not truthful, it must be immediately deleted, unless said lack of truthfulness may constitute a criminal offense, in which case the information will be kept for the necessary time. In any case, after three months from receipt of the communication without investigation actions having been initiated, it must be deleted, unless the purpose of conservation is to leave evidence of the operation of the system. In no case may the data be kept for a period of more than ten years. 

4.7         Complaints from personnel outside the EDUCA EDTECH Group

If a third party forwards a complaint to an employee, he or she will have the obligation to communicate it to the System Manager.

In accordance with the requirements of the Law, a third party outside the EDUCA EDTECH Group (that is, a shareholder, client, supplier, etc.) who has information about any irregular practice and brings it to the attention of an employee of the Group, -regardless of the procedure used to send this information-, that employee has the obligation to communicate this information to the Heads of the appropriate companies or countries (who must act as previously provided in this policy).

Failure to process complaints or complaints received by an employee will, where appropriate, be considered an infraction, under the terms established in the applicable legislation in force. 

The complaints channel is governed by the principles of confidentiality, respect and foundation.

Any person who reports in good faith will enjoy due protection in accordance with the provisions

in the applicable regulations.

Specifically, any employee who uses the Whistleblowing Channel in good faith to report possible irregularities or acts contrary to the law or internal rules of which they are aware, whether anonymously or by making their identity known, will have the right to be protected as established by Law 2/2023, of February 20, regulating the protection of people who report regulatory infractions and the fight against corruption. 

The Whistleblower Channel has been designed so that the whistleblower who wishes to remain anonymous can do so with sufficient guarantees. In this sense, if the complainant freely chooses not to hide his or her identity, the complaint resolution report will try not to make reference to the identity of the complainant or the parties involved, in order to guarantee due confidentiality.

If the name of the complainant becomes public, for any reason, when it is an employee, the Human Resources area of ​​the Company in which he or she provides his services will be informed so that it can monitor the job stability of this employee, granting him, if deemed appropriate, a transfer from his current job.

Any action against the reporting employee that could be understood as a threat, discrimination or retaliation for making a complaint will, where appropriate, be considered a labor violation in the terms established in the applicable legislation in force.

Without prejudice to the obligation that employees have to know and act in accordance with the provisions of the Internal Regulations in the performance of their duties, the proper dissemination of this Policy and the existence of the Whistleblowing Channel will be promoted and ensured.

This Policy will come into force upon its approval by the Board of Directors of EDUCA EDTECH Group.                 

ANNEX: CATEGORIES OF COMMUNICATIONS COMPLAINTS CHANNEL

Labor conflict

• Mobbing/Harassment: Moral harassment at work, also known as "mobbing", is any conduct, practice or behavior that, systematically and recurrently over time, represents, within the employment relationship, an impairment or attack on the worker's dignity, attempting to subjugate him emotionally and psychologically and seeking to nullify his capacity, professional promotion or permanence in the job, creating a hostile environment and negatively affecting the work environment.
  
• Sexual Harassment/Sexual Harassment: Any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that may be perceived as causing offense or humiliation to a person. When such conduct interferes with work, or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment. While it usually involves a pattern of behavior, it can also take the form of a single incident.
  
• Discrimination: Any unfair treatment or arbitrary differentiation based on a person's race, sex, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, age, language, social origin or any other social condition.
  
• Inappropriate behavior and other conflicts in the work environment: Specific or recurring behaviors of abuse of power both by management of the company's managers or those responsible for their subordinates, as well as mistreatment towards an employee that occurs between people who do not maintain a command or hierarchy relationship with each other.
  

Working Conditions

• Working Conditions: Errors in the employee compensation process (payment of salaries, overtime, bonuses, etc.) that are not associated with fraud issues. Likewise, situations that pose an occupational risk for the worker (unhealthiness, fire danger...) are also included.

Privacy/Information Security

• Privacy/Information Security: Use of information about the company, clients, employees, shareholders or suppliers for their own benefit or that of third parties. Breach of processes that manage the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information assets.

Acts contrary to the integrity of the company

• Conflict of Interest: Situations in which a personal or private benefit or interest influences the professional decisions made by an employee, and this personal interest or benefit may conflict with the interests of any company in the EDUCA EDTECH Group.
  
• Corruption of Public Officials: Conduct carried out by EDUCA EDTECH employees or through third parties that consist of promising, offering, paying, giving or authorizing the delivery of gifts, invitations or other types of incentives to a public official or employee with the objective of influencing or obtaining a benefit for the Company.
  
• Acts contrary to integrity in the private sphere: Conduct that consists of promising, offering or delivering incentives to any person in the private sphere with the aim of conditioning their behavior, or receiving them with the aim of obtaining an advantage or reward.
  

Property fraud

• External Fraud: Intentional or deliberate action against the company in order to deprive it of property or money by deception. In this case, NO employees or public officials are involved.
  
• Internal Fraud: Intentional or deliberate action against the company in order to deprive it of property or money by deception. In this case YES employees are involved.
  

favor treatment

• Favor Treatment: Act by which privileges, concessions or benefits are granted to a third party or an employee of the Group, granting the other party an advantage over others in such a way that there is no equality of conditions.

financial report

• Internal Control over Financial Reporting: Accounting irregularities, related to internal control over financial information or audit issues.

Legal/regulatory/contractual breach

• Breach of Law: Any breach of laws, legislation and regulatory obligations, both national and international, not included in the previous categories.
  
• Regulatory Non-Compliance: Any breach, intentional or unintentional, of local or corporate internal regulations not reflected in the previous sections.
  
• Breach of Commitments to Clients: Failure to comply with the commitments made to clients in relation to contracted services, billing, quality of products and services, or bad practices contrary to the client's interests.
  

Others

• Others: Any other complaints that cannot be assigned to any of the natures indicated above. We will try to use this category as little as is essential.