Safecall and Beyond Governance team up to co author a white paper explaining what the new EU Whistleblowing Directive is and how it effects business' within the EU and UK.
On October 7th 2019 the Council of the EU formally adopted a set of principals intended to set a minimum standard of protection for whistleblowers across all EU member states.
At a high-level, member states must;
- Make organisations, within their jurisdiction with over 50 employees, establish effective internal reporting channels; *
- Create or appoint a competent authority as an escalation route, should an organisation fail to manage a whistleblowing complaint;
- Provide a wide range of legal and financial protections for whistleblowers; and
- Invalidate non-disclosure type agreements (NDAs) in relation to whistleblowing cases.
Member states have until December 2021 to adopt the new rules into their national legislation. The precise implementation of these rules will vary between member states. 10 of the 27 member states, and indeed the UK, already have some whistleblower protections within their national legislation, and some member states may choose to further enhance protections for whistleblowers.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.