Whistleblowers Blog

More Member States are adopting the EU Whistleblower Directive and companies are faced with the task of modifying some of their processes and taking into account country-specific requirements and the transposition of EU-wide rules. In recent years, high profile corruption cases have led to public pressure on policy makers

As of April 25th, 2023, all European Union Member States have either introduced draft bills or adopted new national laws that will transpose the EU Directive on whistleblowing. Seven nations continue to face roadblocks in approving the new provisions. Slovakia, Poland, Luxembourg, Hungary, Estonia, Czechia, and Germany continue to

You may want to consider a whistleblowing software demo if you’re exploring your options or simply curious about how a whistleblowing tool works. Having the right whistleblowing software means you can catch early warning signs and address potential problems before they get unmanageable. Your whistleblowing software can protect you

EU Member States continue to transpose the EU Whistleblower Directive into national law, but several are now the focus of an ongoing legal proceeding initiated by the European Commission. The EU recently issued fines to several countries, including Germany, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, and Hungary.

Portugal’s whistleblowing law transposing the EU Directive was approved on December 20th, 2021 and has been in force since June 18th, 2022. The new national rules are an upgrade. Portugal went from having one of the weakest legal protections for whistleblowers in Europe to being one of the first

Irish businesses and public sector organisations are busy implementing the new whistleblowing law Ireland legislators adopted on the first of January 2023. Member States are in the process of transposing the EU Whistleblowing Directive, legislation that will provide employees who disclose misconduct in their workplace with strong protection from

Most whistleblowing cases are likely to warrant legal action and end up in the court system. Historically, the European Court of Justice has set a precedent for reversing the burden of proof in cases where the balance of power between the whistleblower and the corporation is unequal. Understanding why

Seven EU Member States are still facing delays to the transposition of the Directive, and one, Hungary, has not even begun drafting legislation for whistleblowing in the EU. Here are some of the latest highlights. As of February 19th, 2023, 19 nations have adopted whistleblowing legislation, and most have

It’s not enough to implement a whistleblowing policy; company leadership must also effectively communicate it and encourage a compliance culture among employees. Researchers Henriksen and Dayton define organisational silence as the collective phenomenon of saying or doing nothing in response to problems an organisation face. This is concerning and

More and more companies in the EU learn the ins and out of receiving a whistleblower report. Knowing what information and the whistleblowing criteria your employees should follow before they submit the whistleblower report is important. The data your organization or business collects during the initial report will be

The EU Directive recommends but does not mandate full whistleblower anonymity when it comes to reporting wrongdoings. Generally, anonymous whistleblowers are not protected in most EU Member States. Employees who disclose misconduct must do so under the condition that they will be identified during the investigation. Croatia, Cyprus, France,

In July 2022, the Whistleblower Protection Act, a draft law transposing the EU Whistleblower Directive in Germany, was adopted by the nation’s Federal Cabinet. The law, which was recently passed in the German Parliament, gives whistleblowing protection to employees who disclose wrongdoing in the private and public sectors. The

The consequences of not having a whistleblower system in your company can be steep, and you should make this a part of your risk management strategy to avoid the negative consequences. If you believe a whistleblower system is unnecessary, think again. Not having one can mean not being able

Rio Tinto Group is the world’s second-largest metals and mining corporation and a company with operations in multiple countries. In 2019, the company faced a public scandal when executives failed to report significant delays in the expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia. After having sounded the

Your business can learn a lot from some of Europe’s most significant recent whistleblowing cases. Whistleblowing is about “speaking truth to power” when internal corporate mechanisms for preventing fraud and corruption fail. Whistleblowers are often seen as heroes who put their lives on hold and careers at risk to

How do you determine what is a whistleblowing case and what isn’t? While this article doesn’t replace the specialized determinations trained investigators perform, it examines three common cases where breaches fall under the EU Whistleblower Directive. Whistleblower cases reported by employees have been instrumental in fighting tax evasion, fraud,

One year after the deadline for transposing the EU Whistleblower Directive into national law, many EU Member States continue to lag behind when it comes to whistleblower protection. In November 2019, the Directive came into force. The whistleblowing EU directive includes provisions for establishing internal mechanisms for reporting wrongdoing

Instilling workplace ethics and a ‘speak up’ culture involves encouraging employees to do the right thing and escalating problems when they aren’t addressed or resolved. In the EU, enforcement agencies have been frustrated with the scale of misconduct, even after some Member States passed strict laws. In fact, 7

When developing a whistleblower policy and managing their whistleblowing program, the Directive recommends employers include these important elements. Since the EU Whistleblower Directive was adopted in December 2019, businesses and public organisations have been working hard to develop their whistleblowing programs and implement effective internal reporting channels. This article

Metadata is information about the data you create, especially through communication. Metadata is collected about your location, when you communicate, the device your use, search habits, duration of communication, and similar data about the people you are communicating. Reveals relationships. It can be used for advertising to understand what

The transposition of the EU Directive into national laws continues to make advances. As of November 2022, 10 EU Member States, including Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, and Sweden, have finalized the transposition of the EU Directive. Other countries like Estonia, the Netherlands, and Greece

Providing employees with a secure, anonymous internal whistleblowing system where they can disclose their concerns about potential wrongdoings can help managers identify problems they may not otherwise learn about through traditional monitoring. Having an option for anonymously reporting something is especially important when the supervisor is part of the

Recent disclosures like the Panama Papers, Cambridge Analytica, and the Fipronil egg contamination case reveal serious wrongdoings and raise questions about whistleblower rights and protection. These revelations were made by employees who were the first to know about the wrongdoing and made the difficult decision to blow the whistle

Knowing the top features of a high-quality whistleblowing system can help organisations and companies offer employees the right information, advice, and channel for reporting wrongdoings, while staying compliant with the EU Whistleblower Directive. This includes ensuring employees are equipped to identify the organisation’s ethical values and report any wrongdoings.

‘Speak up’ culture is a workplace culture where employees are willing and able to raise questions and concerns when they witness or experience misconduct. In June 2020, the German firm Wirecard AG admitted it was missing $2 billion from its accounts. Allegations of money laundering, fraud, and corruption soon

With no time to spare Germany & Slovenia scramble efforts to move closer in line with the EU directive. Cyprus faces high-profile retaliation cases, meanwhile Uber makes the news in a not-so-positive way with whistleblowing claims of misleading the world about the benefits of the gig economy. This is

Having high-quality metrics for whistleblowing reporting (whistleblowing KPIs) means capturing useful data collected from and for your whistleblower program. This can help measure the effectiveness of the whistleblowing process and ensure it remains effective. There is growing global pressure to motivate businesses to conduct responsible and ethical activities, and

ESG, or Environmental, Social, and Governance credentials that include a whistleblowing system are a crucial part of helping a business maintain its reputation with the public, promote compliance and accountability internally, and create a strong work culture. Having high standards for whistleblowing and ESG policies can help organizations mitigate

Receiving the first report of wrongdoing within the organization can be scary, let alone the whistleblower investigation process which follows. Not only will it say that there’s something bad going on within the business, but it will also imply that someone is feeling hurt directly or indirectly by this

As of December 17 2021, all companies with 250 or more employees need to implement a whistleblowing system compliant with GDPR and their national EU Whistleblowing Protection Directive. The board members share a responsibility to oversee the organization’s arrangements for whistleblowing and ensure that the procedures lead to positive

Not sure whether an incident applies to the whistleblowing policy, or do you fear disclosure to the person you’re reporting within your previous, current, or future organization? The fear of being disclosed to one or several individuals you want to report for misconduct is the most common objection to

The fundamentals for great company culture, happy employees, and compliance with the EU whistleblower protection directive. Having a good, reliable whistleblower policy is crucial for any organization that wants to encourage a healthy and transparent atmosphere and stay compliant with the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive (2019/1937). The directive requires

Accountants in the industry are often key to the planning and control processes of their organizations. These accountants may find themselves faced with the dilemma of whether or not to blow the whistle on an organizational wrongdoing. Some people, both inside and outside the profession, would view the accountants’

The Swedish government presents a bill to transpose the EU Whistleblower Directive. This means, among other things, that all businesses with at least 50 employees will be obliged to introduce channels for reporting malpractice, and whistleblowers’ identities will be protected. – A strong protection for our whistleblowers is important

NorthWhistle is designed with anonymity, confidentiality, and security as top priorities. With our engineering background, we’ve raised the bar for how to guarantee total anonymity for the reporter resulting in a tool we wouldn’t hesitate to use ourselves. How do we ensure confidentiality? With both an interface that helps

At NorthWhistle we have broken down the EU directive to ensure compliance for all our customers. To further strengthen our offer we have looked at best practices from around the globe and implemented these into our tools.   Designed, established and operated in a secure manner (art. 9.1.a)NorthWhistle is

A good whistleblowing policy will encourage your employees to speak up when any wrongdoing occurs, here are 7 steps to get you started with yours.   Explain how the confidentiality of the whistleblower’s identity is safeguarded, and how the whistleblower is protected from retaliation or victimization. Clearly identify the

How do you need to act to comply with the new whistleblowing directive? Did you know that if you are a company with over 250 employees in the European Union, the EU Whistleblowing Directive applies to you, and you need to be compliant by December 2021? Background  The EU Whistleblower…