The Belgian Whistleblowing Directive

Just like all Member States, Belgium had to transpose the EU Whistleblowing Directive for the private and public sectors by 17 December 2021. Belgium did not meet that deadline, which led to the European Commission starting an infringement procedure.

Belgium is not the only country to be in this situation. In fact, none of the Member States has fully transposed the Directive yet. As of now, 13 countries have adopted the law, 13 have delayed the process, while Hungary is the only country to not have started the process at all. Here’s a map of what the Directive currently looks like throughout Europe.

Transposition of the Whistleblowing Directive in Belgium

It seems that change is finally happening as Belgium has recently adopted a whistleblowing law which partially transposes the Directive. The legislation currently only concerns the private sector as a separate legislation for the public sector is still being drafted. The law was published on 15 December 2022 and its key features include:

• A wide material scope: reporting harms to the public interest will be protected
• Protection of whistleblowing facilitators
• Financial support measures: funding to cover whistleblowers’ legal fees and loss of earnings

When does the Belgian Whistleblowing Directive come into effect?

According to Belgian procedures, organisations get 2 months after the date of publication to comply with the provisions. Organisations with 250+ employees must have the appropriate mechanisms in place before 16 February 2023. Organisations with 50-249 employees get until 17 December 2023, the original deadline of the EU Whistleblowing Directive for that segment.

What does this mean for Belgian organisations?

Belgian organisations will have to quickly set up whistleblowing mechanisms which meet the Directive’s criteria. These include but are not limited to:

• facilitate reporting both orally and in written form
• protect the identity of the whistleblower
• be accessible 24/7/365

For a full description of the mechanism’s requirements, check out this page.