The purpose of the whstleblower protection is to provide a confidential way of reporting an irregularity without the whistleblower having to fear the subsequent retaliatory measures. Whistleblower protection is based on the Whistleblower Protection Act and the European Union Whistleblower Protection Directive.
Whistleblower protection allows people to safely report breaches without their identity being compromised. The whistleblower’s identity remains confidential information in the subsequent processing of their report.
Whistleblower protection prohibits retaliation against whistleblowers. For example, an employer may not worsen a whistleblower’s terms of employment, dismiss them, or lay them off because of their report.
There are three general requirements for receiving whistleblower protection:
At the time of the report, the whistleblower must have a legitimate reason to believe that their information about a breach is true.
The information about a breach must be included in the scope of the Whistleblower Act.
The whistleblower must be reporting a breach they have discovered in the course of their work.
Breaches of European Union or national law may be reported, if they
are punishable offenses
may result in a penalty fee, or
may seriously endanger the realisation of public interest.
Reports may be made about breaches in the following sectors:
Public procurement (excluding defence and security spending)
Financial services, products, and markets
Prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing
Product safety and conformity
Traffic safety
Environmental protection
Radiation and nuclear safety
Food and feed safety and animal health and welfare
Public health (as defined by Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union)
Consumer protection
Privacy and personal data protection
Network and information system security.
In addition, the following may be reported
Violation of rules concerning European Union fund management or expenditure implementation or European Union income or fund collection
Violation of rules concerning the granting, use, or recovery of grants or state aid
Violation of competition rules
Violation of tax rules for businesses and corporations or arrangements made to obtain a tax advantage
Violation of legislation enacted to protect consumers.
As an exception to the scope, the Act does not apply to violations of the Medicines Act.
Intentionally reporting false information is a punishable act and may result in liability for damages.
The Whistleblower Act provides protection for people who report breaches they have discovered in the course of their work.
The whistleblower may be
An employee or public servant
A self-employed person
A shareholder
A member of the board of a corporation or foundation or the managing director
A volunteer worker
A trainee.
In addition, the protection extends to persons who assist the whistleblower in their reporting or are connected to the whistleblower and risk post-report retaliation because of their work or station. For example, the above could be a shop steward, trusted representative, health and safety representative, other employee representative, or the whistleblower’s contractual partner, colleague, or relative.
Where will breached be reported?
The reports of breaches shall primarily be made to the internal reporting channel of the organisation concerned. The judiciary has its own internal reporting channel.
Persons who do not have the possibility to report to an internal reporting channel, such as former employees, part-time experts, lay members of the coourt or service providers, may report to the Office of the Chancellor of Justice’s central external reporting channel.
If the breach relates, for example, to personal relationships, inappropriate treatment or terms of employment, a report shall be made to the party to whom the handling of the matter belongs.4
Any person who does not belong to the staff of the judiciary may report breaches within the scope of the Act to the Office of the Chancellor of Justice’s external channel.Breaches may be reported through the Office’s centralised external reporting channel, if:
At the time of the report, the whistleblower must have a legitimate reason to believe that their information about a breach is true.
The information about a breach is be included in the scope of the Whistleblower Act.
The whistleblower is reporting a breach he or she has discovered in the course of his or her work.
The whistleblower has a legitimate reason to believe that their internal report has not resulted in measures within the time prescribed or that it is ineffective.
The whistleblower has a legitimate reason to believe that he or she may face retaliation due to his or her report.
The Office of the Chancellor of Justice does not investigate reports and instead forwards them to the competent authority. The Office of Chancellor of Justice does not forward reports that are clearly excluded from the scope of whistleblower protection. These reports are also not processed as complaints by the Office of the Chancellor of Justice.
The whistleblower protection referred to in the Act is not guaranteed to a whistleblower who publishes information in the media without first submitting a report to the external channel.A report may be submitted to the Office of the Chancellor of Justice
A report on breaches may, for example, lead to the need to develop processes, controls or agreements for the activities, but it may also lead to personal administrative measures, administrative sanctions or legal proceedings. Follow-up actions and consequences are always case-specific. If the offence is minor or the report proves to be incorrect, the investigation may also be terminated without further action.
It is possible that the whistleblower will be targeted or attempted to take retaliatory action in relation to the report of a breach or its submission.
All negative measures aimed at preventing the submission of a report or resulting from the submission of a report shall be considered as countermeasures. These include lay-offs, termination of the employment relationship, general mistreatment or discrimination, and weakening or threatening the terms of the employment relationship.
If the notifier is subject to retaliation, he or she shall be entitled to damages. However, the protection referred to in the Whstleblower Protection Act shall be valid only if the notification has been made in the manner specified in the Act and in the legal areas referred to in the Act.
The whistleblower shall be discharged from liability in relation to the information disclosed in connection with the report if the report has been made in accordance with the law. This means that the whistleblower cannot be accused of violating restrictions on disclosure if the whistleblower has reasonable grounds to believe that disclosure of the information is necessary to reveal the breach.
On the other hand, the whistleblower violates the law if he or she deliberately reports a misconduct, with the aim, for example, of reporting or disclosing false information or defamation of another person.
The person subject to the disclosure is subject to the same personal data protection as the reporting person. The information provided by the whistleblower and the subject of the report is subject to the obligation of secrecy.
