The Act of 14 June 2024 on the protection of whistleblowers is scheduled to enter into force on 25 September 2024. This act will impose new obligations on entrepreneurs employing employees. In view of the above, it is worth considering who whistleblowers actually are and what exactly the entry into force of the new law will entail.
Who is a whistleblower?
The definition of a whistleblower can be found in Article 4(1) and (2) of the aforementioned Act. In short, it is a natural person who reports or discloses to the public information about a violation of the law obtained in a work-related context. However, this concept should not be strictly linked to the employment relationship – a whistleblower can also be, m.in example, an apprentice, volunteer, member of a body of a legal person, a partner or a commercial proxy.
Once a whistleblower has made a report, they are entitled to a special type of protection. Pursuant to Article 11 of the said Act, no retaliation or attempts or threats of such actions may be taken against the whistleblower.
However, not every report will entitle you to become a whistleblower. In Article 3(1) of the Act, the legislator has provided for a closed catalogue of violations of the law, the notification of which guarantees protection to the reporting person. These are, m.in, violations of the law related to corruption, environmental protection or protection of privacy and personal data.
What obligations will fall on businesses under the new law?
First of all, it should be noted that the new obligations will apply to entrepreneurs for whom, as of January 1 or July 1 of a given year, at least 50 people (full-time equivalents) are gainfully employed.
Entrepreneurs who meet the above criterion, in accordance with Article 24(1) of the Act, will be required to establish an internal procedure for reporting breaches of the law and taking follow-up actions (the so-called “internal reporting procedure”).
Entrepreneurs who do not meet the above criterion, on the other hand, will be able to implement such a procedure on an optional basis, but the law does not require them to do so.
What should the procedure for internal notifications look like?
The scope of the internal reporting procedure is presented in Article 25(1) of the Act, according to which it should specify:
- person or entity authorized to receive internal notifications,
- Ways of transmitting internal notifications,
- impartial person or entity that will verify the internal notification and conduct further communication with the whistleblower,
- How to deal with anonymous submissions,
- obligation to confirm to the whistleblower the acceptance of the application (within 7 days of receipt),
- obligation to follow up,
- a maximum deadline of no more than 3 months to provide feedback to the whistleblower,
- understandable and easily accessible information on making external reports to either the Ombudsman or public bodies.
What is the deadline for complying with the new obligations?
It is difficult to clearly determine the deadline by which entrepreneurs should introduce the internal reporting procedure. The Act itself does not contain provisions regulating the issue in question, but the government’s position on this issue has changed.
Initially, the government took the position that these procedures should be introduced as early as the entry into force of the Act, i.e. on 25 September 2024. Currently, however, the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy has presented a new position on this matter, in which it extended it until 1 January 2025 (however, no legal act confirming the above-mentioned deadline has been issued).
If doubts arise on your part as to whether the business entity you are running is obliged to establish an internal notification procedure, or you need support in introducing or adapting the procedure in question, or perhaps you are wondering about other issues related to this topic, we invite you to contact us. We will be happy to support you in these matters. This will leave you with peace of mind that your affairs are in the right hands.