Frequently Asked Questions
How to report a concern
The Integrity Helpline is a safe, secure space provided by an independent third party (Convercent) where you can raise concerns about suspected misconduct. The helpline is accessible through integrity.thoughtworks.com and operates 24/7/365 and in multiple languages, managed by an independent partner.
The helpline is also a case management system through which we will manage all reports received both via helpline and directly via our existing channels (leaders, people and legal teams, compliance email).
Any Thoughtworker, contractor, or third party who finds themselves in a situation that may raise legal or ethical issues or that is identified in Thoughtworks's Code of Conduct or the Speak Up Policy may report concerns.
It is your preference and makes no difference whether you make your report through the website or by phone. The call center agents will follow the same steps for filing a report that you would go through on the website, and either way, your concern will be received confidentially, anonymously (if you choose), and routed to only specific individuals within the organization and our outside legal counsel who are responsible for evaluating the information you provided.
What to expect in the reporting process
Yes. Convercent allows the reporting party to choose between 3 options when submitting a report:
- Remain completely anonymous;
- Remain anonymous towards Thoughtworks (Convercent may contact you confidentially to gather additional information about the report yet will not reveal your identity at any time to Thoughtworks);
- Do not care about anonymity and disclose your personal information.
You are not required to identify yourself when making an incident report. Unless you disclose your personal information (option 3), it will not be provided to Thoughtworks. We do however encourage you to reveal your identity as reporting anonymously may limit our ability to investigate thoroughly.
Any information you provide is stored privately and securely and will be treated with sensitivity and respect. It will only be shared with a limited number of people on a strict need-to-know basis or when required by law.
Read the "Do reports remain confidential?" section and the annex about protection of personal data in our Speak Up Policy for more information.
You should use the Integrity Helpline when you observe suspected misconduct and are not comfortable/feel that it is not appropriate to talk directly to the person or to the other channels we have.
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Some examples of concerns that may warrant a report include discrimination or harassment, improper disclosure of confidential information, conflicts of interest, and insider trading, to name a few. For additional information on what may constitute misconduct, please review the Speak Up Policy and our Code of Conduct.
After receiving, your report goes to a triage phase where the global compliance team first assesses the severity of it and, based on that, assigns the appropriate owner to handle it with impartiality. All of the information is reported to Thoughtworks without editing or revision by the Integrity Helpline.
Depending on the severity of the report, it should be handled by the compliance team with external investigators as needed or by selected/non-conflicted people and legal team members. The owner of the report will then review it to decide if it requires further investigation (and, if so, by whom and in which form). Once the investigation is complete, you will be informed of the overall findings respecting the confidentiality, privacy and the legal rights of all concerned
It takes a lot of courage to speak up, we know that. That is why we have zero tolerance for retaliation against people who speak up. A report on retaliation against anyone who reports misconduct is treated like any other speak up report and the same investigative procedure will be followed. No disciplinary measures or other steps may be taken against you if your genuine concern turns out to be mistaken or misguided.
While it is important to store this information immediately after the report is filed, you can call the call center (you can find the number for your country in integrity.thoughtworks.com) and they can help you track down your report. You would simply give them the information that you know and if necessary, you will have to repeat details about the report, such as when it was filed and/or the nature of the report itself.
Following up on a concern
Once your incident report is submitted, you cannot delete the report, nor can you make any changes to your incident report. As you go through the process of filing a report, it is important to note that you have the ability to go back and make changes before the report is submitted. After it is submitted, you may add to your report via the message boards.