The Whistleblowing Directive in Europe

Source: EU Whistleblowing Monitor

Current Status of the EU Whistleblowing Directive

While the deadline for the transposition of the EU Whistleblowing Directive was in December 2021, many are the EU Member States to prolong the discussion. Currently, 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. For the time being, none of the Member States have fully transposed the Directive into national legislation.

When it comes to the UK or Switzerland, the Directive will not be transposed. However, British or Swiss companies with subsidiaries in any of the Member States might still be concerned.

The Directive in a nutshell

The European Directive for the Protection of Whistleblowers first entered into force in 2019, aiming to establish and promote a high level of protection for citizens to report breaches of EU law. It grants protection to individuals reporting misconduct in a work-related context through a three-tier system:

1. via internal (mandatory) reporting mechanisms of organisations;
2. via external competent authorities;
3. via public disclosures to the media.

Deadlines

Organisations with 250+ employees had until December 17, 2021 to comply.

Organisations with 50-249 employees must comply before December 17, 2023.