The draft of the  'Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers', a law implementing the directive on the protection of whistleblowers, was published yesterday. 

Although it is only a draft submitted for consultation with, among others, trade unions, employers and local governments, there has been an uproar in the media.

Amidst the information noise, we highlight the most important issues.

What you need to know at this point:

• Employers with more than 250 employees will have little time to comply with the requirements of the directive (the law is expected to come into force 14 days after publication). The provisions of the Whistleblower Protection Directive will already enter into force on the 17th of December. 
• Employers employing between 50 and 250 people have until December 2023 to comply with the requirements of the Directive (specific regulations apply to selected sectors, including finance).
• The Internal Reporting Regulations, as the key document of the whistleblowing system, will require consultation with the social side.
• Employers can extend the whistleblowing system to other irregularities not mentioned in the Act (e.g. mobbing, harassment, discrimination, conflict of interest)
• For non-compliance with the requirements of the Act, the legislator has provided for criminal sanctions, with imprisonment of up to 3 years.

We will keep you updated on what is relevant.
 

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