We are delighted to welcome DCM | Littler law firm to the WhistleB Partnership Programme. This is a timely partnership after the Portuguese Parliament published its law on whistleblower protection (Law no. 93/2021) on 20 December 2021. Companies with operations in Portugal need to be ready to comply with the law by June 2022.
"For the first time in the Portuguese legal framework, companies with more than 50 employees are obliged to establish a whistleblowing system. Market agents covered by this law face multiple challenges. Partnering with WhistleB combines labour and employment law expertise with a practical and efficient solution, thus providing a leading-level response to clients' needs," says David Carvalho Martins, Managing Partner of DCM | Littler in Portugal.
David Carvalho Martins highlights a number of the main challenges for organisations including:
- to comply and steer clear of (serious and very serious) administrative sanctions,
- to adjust or reshape organisational models of work,
- grant protection of internal sensitive data (personal data and trade secrets),
- achieve these protection standards in less than 6 months.
Portugal is one of the first countries to announce its transposition of the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive. Under this law, whistleblowers are accorded greater protection, affected organisations are required to create and operate institutional whistleblowing channels, and all forms of retaliation are prohibited.
"The market for whistleblowing advice and services in Portugal is about to explode. We are very happy to have such a strong partner as DCM | Littler in the country, not only to support organisations in their compliance with the new law, but also to help them gain value from increased business transparency," says Jan Tadeusz Stappers, WhistleB Senior Manager, Partnerships.
DCM | Littler is a dynamic and informal law firm dedicated primarily to labour law, data protection law and intellectual law related to labour organisations. The firm provides advice to employers and workers, Portuguese and international, in all areas of employment (e.g. hiring, collective bargaining, economic unit transfers, restructuring and redundancies).
WhistleB is a user-friendly, online whistleblowing system that employees and external stakeholders can use to report suspected ethical, legal and compliance-related misconduct. The system is highly secure, available in many languages, and complies with all applicable legal requirements, including the EU GDPR. WhistleB is a NAVEX solution, the worldwide leader in integrated risk and compliance management software and services.
More information about the WhistleB Partnership Programme is available on our website, or feel free to contact us.
Originally Published 25 January 2022
