EU Member States must implement the European Whistleblowing Directive (EU WBD) by 17 December 2021. However, only Denmark, Sweden and Portugal have passed their implementing legislation. You can view our implementation tracker here.
It’s unlikely that the EU WBD will have a horizontal direct effect. In other words, it’s unlikely that an individual can bring a claim against a private employer for failing to apply the directive (as opposed to national implementing legislation). This means that employers may not face immediate risks in those Member States that have not yet implemented. However, even so, it is possible that courts and authorities will take the EU WBD in consideration when interpreting existing local law. We recommend that organizations have a plan for dealing with the baseline requirements of the EU WBD, and they should start reviewing or implementing reporting channels and investigation protocols according to the EU WBD.
The EU WBD (i) provides robust anti-retaliation protection to whistleblowers who report certain breaches of EU law and (ii) sets out a framework for internal and external reporting, with strict procedural requirements and time frames. For example, the obligation to implement an internal reporting channel will initially affect employers with 250+ workers, while smaller entities with 50-249 workers have until 17 December 2023. One frequent issue is whether companies with 250+ workers will be able to...
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