Finally it's here, and no, we don't mean Christmas. It's the legal protection for whistleblowers all across the European Union that we are celebrating. On 17th December the EU Whistleblower Directive becomes effective, and from this date the identity of whistleblowers will be safeguarded and retaliation against them will be prohibited across the EU. Organisations will also need to provide safe channels for people to report misgivings about breaches to EU laws.
This is a monumental day in the history of whistleblowing, and it feels like we have been anticipating it ever since we started WhistleB more than ten years ago. Our mission back then (and still today) was to help customers foster a safer and more transparent workplace environment by providing an online whistleblowing service with industry-leading security and user-friendliness. We have succeeded in that, but the new laws will take things a step further. Since they focus on helping whistleblowers feel safer in speaking up, we believe the EU laws will prove invaluable to organisations when inappropriate behaviour is flagged up earlier and in an organised way. Safe whistleblowers, transparency AND limitation of losses and damage for organisations, this is progress in our world!
We also believe that compliance with the new laws does not need to be complicated. The talented WhistleB team has done a lot of the thinking in advance to make sure that the WhistleB whistleblowing system is well and truly ready to help you comply. Here's how.
WhistleB has been compliant with the EU GDPR since before the regulation even became effective. The servers used are some of the most sophisticated in the world and are located within the EU, while the data is encrypted in line with the latest standards. So the WhistleB solution meets the data protection requirements of the whistleblower protection law. The system allows whistleblowers to remain anonymous throughout reporting, case processing and investigation, so it ticks the confidentiality box. It has a case management system with dialogue functionality, that's a check on the requirement for response and feedback to whistleblowers, and the system logs all activity, which means full auditability, as legally required. You can find out more about how the WhistleB system helps you comply in this WhistleB EU Directive solutions guide.
If all the above were not enough, the system is affordable, simple to implement, available 24/7, user friendly for both reporters and case handlers and comes in all major European languages.
Of course, the EU Directive will have a slightly different flavour in all the national laws of each of the member states. That's why we have also teamed up with leading law firms and other experts across Europe to bring customers a one-stop-shop solution combining local legal compliance and our robust, secure system. Find out about our partners here.
As an extra celebration of the new laws, our team member Jan Stappers who himself is a lawyer and the manager of the WhistleB partnership network, has recorded an on-demand webinar. In the webinar he shares further insight to help you comply with and gain value from the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive.
Originally Published 14 December 2021
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
