EU Whistleblowing Directive FAQs answered

With the EU Directive coming into force, you may still have questions about the EU Whistleblowing Directive and what it means for you.

To get quick and simple answers, we’ve put together the most frequently asked questions that we get from companies.

Have a read and if you still have questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Why is there a new EU wide whistleblowing directive?

The EU put the new Directive into force in the hope of providing a fairer and safer environment for businesses and citizens across all its member states.

How does the EU hope to achieve this?

Just a quick glance at the full title of the EU Whistleblowing Directive ‘the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law’  indicates this. Put simply, the EU wants to better protect its citizens if they speak up and report suspected unlawful activity.

The EU requires all Member States to adopt their own version of the Directive into the national law.

Why does the EU want to encourage this?

Encouraging people to speak up can prevent serious negative consequences, which may otherwise have occurred if the breach was left undetected.

Who does it impact?

The aim is to protect individuals who raise concerns about breaches of EU law. So, it impacts anyone who may have information on suspected misconduct.

But, it is specifically companies with more than 50 employees and municipalities with 10,000+ inhabitants that the Directive calls on to have secure reporting channels in place.

What do organisations need to do?

The affected organisations must provide secure and efficient reporting channels for individuals to report wrongdoing that meet several legal requirements.

Visit our Get Compliant page for more details about reporting channels and the legal requirements of the EU Whistleblowing Directive.

What kind of reporting channel do organisations need to implement?

The Directive doesn’t set the exact requirements, apart from that it must be secure and ensure confidentiality. Options that are mentioned are, an online platform or a telephone service.

Whistlelink, is an example of on online platform. It has been built to meet the Directive requirements and also be a really simple tool for the Whistleblower and owners of the system to use.

What if organisations don’t comply?

The Directive doesn’t set minimum penalties, but it does require national versions of the law to penalise against those who prevent reporting, break confidentiality or retaliate against whistleblowers.

When does it come into force?

The EU Whistleblowing Directive (2019/1937) entered into force in December 2019.

Member states must implement the Directive into national law by 17th December, 2021 and must include the minimum requirements set out in the Directive.

Still have unanswered questions?

Would you like to learn more about a whistleblowing service and safe internal reporting channels? Read more about the EU Whistleblowing Directive here and at EUR-Lex.

Are you looking for a safe and secure whistleblowing solution? Read more here.

Would you like to discuss a whistleblowing system for your organisation?
Please contact us or book a free demo!