EU Whistleblowing Directive (2019/1937)

What is the EU Whistleblowing Directive?

The EU Whistleblowing Directive was passed by the European Parliament in October of 2019. It compels all 27 EU members states to incorporate changes to their national legislation and raises the minimum level of legal protection for whistleblowers.

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EU Whistleblowing Directive | The Need for Compliance

Before the introduction of the EU Whistleblowing Directive, whistleblowing protection varied considerably across the European Union.

That has changed.

It has been recognised that whistleblowers play a vital role in exposing and preventing bribery and corruption. Fraud and wrongdoing distort competition across the EU, increasing the costs of doing business, undermining the interests of investors and shareholders, and lowering the attractiveness for investments affecting the proper functioning of the European Union internal market.

Whistleblower Protection | The Main Requirements

Whistleblowers across the EU are now afforded a minimum level of protection thanks to the implementation of this EU Directive.

Under the Directive both public and private businesses and organisations with more than 50 employees are required to implement effective whistleblowing reporting channels and whistleblowing systems.

In the absence of effective internal reporting channels being available, whistleblowers should be enabled to report their concerns externally.

The Whistleblowing Directive also extends the whistle blower protection to trainees, volunteers and self-employed workers.

EU member countries have been given two years to formally introduce any new whistleblowing legislation through their own internal legislative bodies and have been encouraged to go further than the minimum levels of whistleblowing protection if deemed necessary.

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Establish Whistleblowing Reporting Channels

The EU Whistleblowing Directive says;

How Safecall can help;

Member states shall ensure that legal entities in the private and public sector establish channels and procedures for internal reporting and for follow-up.
  • Safecall are independent specialist providers of confidential reporting channels.
  • Our software allows you to follow-up with whistleblowers, even when they have reported anonymously.

Whsitleblower reporting channels may be operated internally by a person or department designated for that purpose or provided externally by a third party.
  • Our whistleblowing hotlines are industry leading and exclusively staffed by experienced investigators, providing you with high quality information on which to base your decisions.
  • Our whistleblowing web reporting is overseen by our experienced investigators and you are able to seek further information via our software.

 

The whistleblowing channels provided shall enable reporting in writing or orally, or both.  Oral reporting shall be possible by telephone or through other voice messaging systems.


Protect Whistleblowers

The EU Whistleblowing Directive says;

How Safecall can help;

Whistleblowing channels for receiving the reports which are designed, established and operated in a secure manner that ensures that the confidentiality of the identity of the reporting person and any third party mentioned in the report is protected, and prevents access thereto by non-authorised staff members.
  • Safecall have over 20 years’ experience managing highly sensitive information with diligence. 
  • Our whistleblowing systems and whistleblowing processes are built with data security in mind and are reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

Reporting persons should be protected against any form of retaliation, whether direct or indirect, taken, encouraged or tolerated by their employer or customer or recipient of services and by persons working for or acting on behalf of the latter.
  • Our system allows you to triage your reports, allowing you to record the risk of retaliation and document steps taken to protect the Whistleblower.


Communicate with Whistleblowers

The EU Whistleblowing Directive says;

How Safecall can help;

Whistleblowing channels for receiving the reports which are designed, established and operated in a secure manner that ensures that the confidentiality of the identity of the reporting person and any third party mentioned in the report is protected, and prevents access thereto by non-authorised staff members.
  • Safecall will notify you within 24 hours of a report being received. 
  • Our whistleblowing software allows you to send messages to whistleblowers, even when they are anonymous. 
  • You can acknowledge the receipt of a report, ask follow-up questions and provide updates to the reporting person. 

The designation of an impartial person or department competent for following-up on the reports which may be the same person or department as the one that receives the reports and which will maintain communication with the reporting person and, where necessary, ask for further information from and provide feedback to that reporting person. 
  • Our software allows you to create and assign investigators for each case. 
  • Safecall can provide training to your team to ensure they are confident in their handling of whistleblowing cases.


GDPR and Whistleblowing Report Record Keeping

The EU Whistleblowing Directive says;

How Safecall can help;

Any processing of personal data carried out pursuant to the Directive must comply with the GDPR.
  • Our whistleblowing systems and processes are fully GDPR compliant. 
  • Our system can act as a single source of truth for your whistleblowing reports. 

Authorities, private and public legal entities must keep records of every report received, in compliance with the confidentiality requirements provided for. Reports shall be stored for no longer than it is necessary and proportionate. 
  • Your closed cases will be automatically redacted in line with your organisations data retention policies.