Raise a concern

1. What is the IKEA Trust Line?

The IKEA Trust Line is a legally required system to report misconduct. The Trust Line can process reports of misconduct. Whistleblowers are given special protection. The Austrian Whistleblower Protection Act forms the basis for this Trust Line. The aim of this law is to increase the willingness to act lawfully in areas of particular public interest by providing simple procedures with predictable processes for indication of violations of the law. IKEA Austria operates the Trust Line within the framework of the statutory requirements.

2. Who can contact the IKEA Trust Line?

All (former) IKEA employees, applicants and (former) employees of contractors and (sub)suppliers of IKEA can contact the Trust Line.

3. What kind of information can be reported to the IKEA Trust Line?

The Trust Line can handle cases of misconduct that have legal consequences. These are anchored in the Austrian Whistleblower Protection Act. Examples of such misconduct:

• Suspicion of corruption
• Consumer protection
• Product safety and compliance
• Food safety
• Environmental protection
• Protection of privacy and personal data as well as security of network and information systems
• Financial services, money laundering

Exceptions are, for example, the areas of labor law (such as the Working Hours Act, Maternity Protection Act, Anti-Wage and Social Dumping Act) and criminal law (except for facts related to corruption).

4. Can raising a concern harm my position?

​If you have raised your concern in good faith, it will in no way harm your position. Compliance with internal rules (e.g., the IKEA Group Code of Conduct and policy documents) and applicable laws and regulations is extremely important to us at IKEA Group. Our success is based on our core values: honesty, respect, fairness and integrity. You can be certain that your attempt to uphold these values will in no way harm your position. In the IKEA Group, we therefore do not accept or tolerate any discrimination or punishment for doing the right thing.

5. Who handles information in the IKEA Trust Line?

The Trust Line is operated in close cooperation by Group Risk Management & Compliance and Group People & Culture. It consists of a small team of specially trained and appointed employees from Group People & Culture and Group Risk Management & Compliance. They are the only IKEA employees who initially have access to the concerns reported to the IKEA Trust Line. The People & Culture or Business Risk & Compliance Manager who is appointed to be responsible for the further investigation or action works at least one level higher in the organization concerned than the employee who reported the problem (at least at the country level). He/She can get the support of a suitable member of staff to process the case. In principle, the Trust Line tries to involve as few people as possible in the processing of a case. All employees who process a case are specially trained and are bound to confidentiality.

6. I raised a concern. What's next?

Your concern (and your identity, if you have disclosed it) will be forwarded to the managers of the Trust Line and evaluated by them according to the 4-eyes principle. Should further investigations be carried out, this information will also be sent to those responsible who will continue to process your case. You will receive a response within one week of creating your case with information on how the Trust Line will proceed with your report. If you have provided all the required information and it is a serious misconduct, your case will be sent to the responsible P&C or Risk Manager (at least at country level) for further investigation. If your report is further investigated, the responsible P&C or Risk Manager will decide what next steps to take. This may be an investigation, a less formal action, or disclosure to the appropriate authorities. The P&C or Risk Manager may enlist the support of a suitable member of staff to handle your case. The responsible P&C or risk manager can also decide not to take any further steps, for example because he/she has too little information. Therefore, you should describe your concern as precisely as possible. If we don't have all the information we need about your case yet, we'll ask you for more details. If we do not receive these details, we cannot continue to process the case and will have to close it. If your concern does not fall under the responsibility of the Trust Line, we will explain to you where you can report your concern instead and how this works.

7. How will I know about the progress of my case?

After reporting your concern to the IKEA Trust Line, your case will be assigned a number. You can use this number to log into the IKEA Trust Line system at any time to call up your case and further communication. It is important that you regularly log into the Trust Line system with your case number, as we may ask you additional questions or ask you for important additional information about your report.

8. I raised a concern. Can I provide more information later?

The manager of the IKEA Trust Line may have additional questions for you. These questions are stored for you in the IKEA Trust Line system. You can retrieve them with your case number. You can submit your responses using the same system as for your concern. In order to prevent false accusations and the corresponding investigations, we do not recommend creating a report anonymously. Instead, you should leave your name as described in this document. We will take all necessary measures to protect your identity.

9. Who has access to my case and how is it stored?

IKEA takes all necessary technical and organizational security measures to protect the confidential data provided to the Trust Line in a case so that it is not destroyed, tampered with (accidentally or intentionally), lost or accessed by unauthorized persons. We are committed to ensuring that your case is treated with the utmost confidentiality. This means that we only forward your report to the relevant people to the extent necessary.

10. Can raising a concern harm the position of the people concerned?

Everyone is treated fairly and equally. If it is decided that an investigation is necessary, the individuals concerned will be informed. We give accused persons the opportunity to present their point of view. Any consequences will be decided on the base of facts.

11. Who can I contact if I have questions about the organization/function of the IKEA Trust Line?

The IKEA Trust Line is operated by an independent third party, People Intouch. The anonymity of those reporting and the confidentiality of their reports are guaranteed. Visit the People Intouch website for more information.

12. How do I raise a concern?

To do this, click on the link below.

Rights under data protection laws

IKEA Austria GmbH is responsible for the IKEA Group's Trust Line in Austria, i.e. for the processing of your case and your confidential data. You can request information from the person responsible (i) as to whether and what data about you is stored and receive copies of this data, (ii) request the correction, supplementation or deletion of your data, (iii) request the restriction of the processing of your data, (iv) for reasons arising from a special situation on your side, object to the processing of your data, insofar as the processing is carried out to protect legitimate interests, (v) request data that you have given us in a transferrable format and (vi) revoke your consent to the processing of your data.

To assert any of the aforementioned rights, please contact: Post: IKEA Austria GmbH, Südring, 2334 Vösendorf, Austria

E-mail: [email protected]

Transmission of Confidential Data

Some confidential data may be processed by and transferred to IKEA Group entities. IKEA always ensures that this is done in compliance with data protection laws.