Poland has announced that the transposition of EU Directives – including the Directive on Whistleblower Protection will be a priority of the new coalition government, sworn into office in Poland in December 2023. A new draft law on protecting persons reporting breaches of law was published in January 2024.
The subject of whistleblowing has been gaining traction in recent years, with both companies and the authorities looking for ways to protect whistleblowers when they speak up about unethical conduct in their workplace.
On December 9th, 2022, the Italian Government approved a draft implementing the EU Whistleblowing Directive into national law. The draft expands the retaliation protection for whistleblowers in Italy. Previously, only employees were protected from retaliation.
Finland’s Whistleblower Act went into effect on January 1st, 2023. Private sector employers with at least 250 employees and public sector employers with 50 or more employees will be required to set up a whistleblowing channel by April 1st, 2023.
On December 15th 2022 Belgium passed a bill transposing the EU Whistleblowing Directive into national law.
Ireland is preparing to implement the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022 which dramatically expands who is covered by whistleblowing laws. Additionally, the act places the burden of proof on employers in cases involving suspected retaliation against the whistleblower.
According to the EU Whistleblowing Directive, all companies in the EU with more than 50 employees must introduce an internal reporting channel to provide protection for whistleblowers.
At the end of July 2021, the International Organisation for Standardisation published ISO 37002:2021 (ISO 37002 Whistleblowing management systems - Guidelines). This standard is a guide for the effective implementation of an internal whistleblowing and management system related to this.
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