Some provisions related to the protection of whistleblowers – individuals reporting irregularities and violations of EU law – will come into effect on September 25 this year. Thousands of companies and organizations are preparing for these changes and are required to implement appropriate procedures related to it. The remaining provisions, in the area of external reporting, will come into effect on December 25 this year. Support to whistleblowers will be provided by the Ombudsman for Citizen’s Rights, who will be responsible for both receiving reports of irregularities and providing advice on the rights and obligations arising from the new regulations.
“The Whistleblower Protection Act gives the Ombudsman for Citizen’s Rights a completely new role, different from its constitutional duties related to the protection of citizens’ rights and freedoms. This role will consist of providing support to whistleblowers in making external reports – the Ombudsman will receive such reports from whistleblowers and forward them to the appropriate authorities for further action related to the violation of the law,” says Marcin Malecko, the main coordinator for implementation at the Office of the Ombudsman for Citizen’s Rights for the Whistleblower Protection Act. “In addition, the Ombudsman will also be a body obliged to provide advice and ensure universal access to information on the rights and obligations arising from the Whistleblower Protection Act.”
A whistleblower can be anyone reporting irregularities and violations of EU law within a company or public unit. It could be, for example, an employee, intern, apprentice, supplier or subcontractor, a partner or shareholder of a company, but also a volunteer, soldier or officer, for example.
According to the new regulations, a whistleblower who wants to report any violations in these areas can do so through external channels (i.e. submitting such information to the relevant authorities or the Ombudsman for Citizen’s Rights), internal channels (which private companies and public entities are obliged to establish) or, in special cases, by public disclosure, i.e., making the information about the violation of the law public, bypassing the remaining reporting channels.
“A very complex challenge lies ahead of us, and the whole procedure must be launched before December 25 this year, when the Whistleblower Protection Act also enters into force regarding external reporting,” says Marcin Malecko.
A new organizational unit in the Office of the Ombudsman for Citizen’s Rights, numbering approximately 20 employees, is being formed. Its task will be to receive and further process notifications of law violations from whistleblowers, as well as to provide advice on the rights and obligations arising from the new regulations.
The primary objective of these new regulations is to protect whistleblowers from any potential retaliatory actions, such as termination of employment contract, reduction of salary, bypassing during promotions, demotion, or broad discrimination and unfair treatment. Legal provisions in such cases provide for sanctions for the entities applying such actions and compensation for the whistleblower. It is also important that the person reporting the violation should act in good faith – i.e., they should be convinced that the violation of the law actually took place. Only then will they be entitled to full legal protection. Conversely, a false report made in bad faith will not only not provide the whistleblower with protection, but may also lead to their criminal and civil liability.
“In the fall of 2019, the European Parliament adopted Directive 2019/1937 on the protection of persons reporting breaches of EU law. All Member States were obliged to adopt national legal acts implementing these guidelines by December 2021. Poland is implementing them with over a 2.5-year delay. After long work, during which several versions of the whistleblower protection law were presented with various modifications, it was finally passed in mid-June this year. After publication in the Official Journal, the new regulations will enter into force on September 25 this year – with the exception of provisions on external reporting, which will start to apply three months later, on December 25 this year.”
