By the 17th of December this year, all European Union Member States will have to implement the Whistleblower Directive into their legal systems. In Poland, draft national legislation has been published and is currently in the consultation phase.

The Directive regulates the reporting of suspected violations of EU law in selected areas including public procurement, consumer protection, public health and data protection.

Employers in the private and public sector with at least 50 employees will have to comply with the new requirements. The largest entities (with at least 250 employees) will have very little time to comply with the obligations resulting from the Directive - the whistleblower protection system should be implemented there already by the end of this year.
The Directive imposes obligations on employers, such as:

• Establishing whistleblowing channels;
• Developing compliance procedures for receiving whistleblower reports;
• Registering notifications from whistleblowers and follow up on them (e.g. conduct an investigation);
• Ensuring the protection of whistleblowers (including keeping their identity confidential).

In this special edition of PRO HR Compliance you will find out:

• What does the Whistleblower Protection Directive regulate and to whom it refers to?
• How can irregularities be reported? Should anonymous reports be considered?
• What follow-up measures should be taken and how to protect the whistleblower?
• For which actions is criminal liability possible?