In brief
On 23 October 2019, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law, informally referred to as the "EU Whistleblower Directive".
The EU Whistleblower Directive is intended to encourage reporting of unlawful conduct through the protection of individuals who report certain breaches of EU law. More specifically, it sets out a framework for internal and external reporting, with specific timeframes for the provision of feedback to whistleblowers and robust anti-retaliation provisions.
Belgium has implemented the EU Whistleblower Directive separately for the public and the private sectors, with the Act of 8 December 2022 on reporting channels and protection of whistleblowers in federal public sector bodies and the integrated police, and the Act of 28 November 2022 on the protection of whistleblowers of breaches of Union or national law established within a legal entity in the private sector, published on 15 December 2022, which comes into effect on 15 February 2023.
Consequently, although undertakings up to 249 employees (outside the financial sector) have a bit more time to adapt, it is more than time for targeted stakeholders to adapt to the changes introduced by this new Belgian Whistleblower legislation.
Belgian implementation of the EU Whistleblower Directive
A. The Whistleblower Act
1. Entry into force
On 15 December 2022, the Act of 28 November 2022 on the protection of...
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