29 Mar The protection of whistleblowers
The law for the protection of individuals who report violations of EU or domestic law observed within a legal entity of the private sector (“Whistleblowing protection Act”) came into force on 15 February 2023. This law transposes a European directive dedicated to the protection of whistleblowers.
A whistleblower is a person who reports certain law infringements that occur in a professional context. Whistleblowers may either be employees, but also trainees, volunteers, former employees, applicants, directors, shareholders, or agents of independent service providers, suppliers or subcontractors.
The scope of legal infringements that are targeted by the by the Whistleblowing protection Act involve: i) public procurement; ii) financial services, products and markets, and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; iii) product safety and compliance; iv) transport safety; v) protection of the environment; vi) food safety, animal health and welfare; vii) public health; viii) consumer protection; (ix) protection of privacy and personal data, and security of network and information systems; x) the fight against tax fraud; xi) the fight against social fraud; xii) breaches affecting the financial interests of the European Union and breaches relating to the European internal market.
This new piece of legislation introduces the obligation for companies of 50 and more employees to establish reporting channels so that the aforementioned breaches can be detected and dealt with within the said companies, and that appropriate protection is provided to the whistleblowers. Companies employing 50 to 249 workers have until December 2023 to adapt their internal regulations to this new piece of legislation. Bigger ones (250 and +) must abide immediately.
Under the Whistleblowing protection Act, Whistleblowers are protected against retaliation in the broadest sense (dismissal, demotion, non-renewal of the contract, disciplinary sanctions, etc.). When the victim of the retaliatory measure is an employee, he’s entitled to compensation comprised between eighteen and twenty-six weeks’ pay.
In addition to the obligation to compensate the victim, the company that fails to comply with its obligations will be subject to a level 4 sanction under the Social Criminal Code (administrative fines ranging from EUR 2,400 to EUR 24,000 or criminal sanctions ranging from EUR 4,800 to EUR 48,000 and/or imprisonment ranging from six months to three years).
For more information on this topic, please feel free to get in touch with Me. Carl VANDER ESPT
With our best regards.
The Cairn Legal team