Since the launch of the EU Whistleblowing Protection Directive, 21^st December 2021, EU countries and organisations have been scrambling to transpose the rules into their current national laws. The main guidelines of the directive include:

• Companies must protect whistleblowers from any forms of negative relation and their confidentiality.
• Companies must acknowledge they have received a whistleblowing report within seven days and confirm they will take appropriate action.
• Companies must have a variety of reporting channels available to whistleblowers – telephone, online systems, writing and open-door verbal communication etc.
• Companies have three months to provide feedback, including an update on the filed whistleblowing report.
• Employees who want to make a report must be able to easily access company information on where and how to do so. They must also understand what the most effective reporting channel would be for their specific case type and to whom the report should be addressed to.

However, with these changes comes many challenges, which differ from company to company depending on industry size and type. Below, are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions surrounding the difficulties many companies now face whilst implementing the directive.

How should group entities deal with reporting at a group vs subsidiary level?

The Directive permits companies with 50 to 249 employees to share resources (i.e., global reporting channels), but the European...

Read Full Story: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/eu-whistleblowing-directive-answering-9770535/