Minister of Justice Kalle Laanet (Reform) has sent a draft bill which would protect whistleblowers in the workplace, and which is aimed at ensuring the protection of those who covertly report violations of the law in public sector institutions, and in private sector companies with more than 50 employees.
The bill relates to an EU directive which Estonia was referred to court over in early 2022 on the grounds of not having adopted the directive's provisions, though it focuses more on the context of domestic legislation.
The approval round involves the relevant stakeholders providing their feedback, before the bill is sent to the Riigikogu for its readings.
The draft bill's explanatory memorandum reads: "The bill creates a framework for processing reports of violations received through professional activities, and for providing follow-up measures and feedback in those cases, plus protecting a whistleblower."
"The bill provides for the personal and substantive scope of protection of a whistleblower, the conditions and extent of receiving said protection, and the ways and means of notification," the explanatory memorandum goes on.
A three-level notification system would be created under the terms of the bill, including internal and external notification and disclosure.
According to the explanatory memorandum, this would then result in the protection of whistle-blowers from coming under pressure, and preserve confidentiality.
The bill establishes institutions and legal...
Hyderabad: BRS leader Aedla Sudhakar Reddy strongly criticised the statements of HYDRAA commissioner A.V. Ranganath regarding the status of Bathukammakunta. The official had claimed that the place...