DGAP-Media / 19.07.2022 / 08:45

New Swedish whistleblower law: EQS Group welcomes comprehensive protection for whistleblowers

• National whistleblower law came into effect on 17 July 2022
• New regulations cover both EU law and national cases
• All private and public sector employers with 250 employees or more are required to implement a whistleblowing system while smaller organizations with between 50 and 249 employees have been given until December 2023 to complete the process

While Sweden did have dedicated whistleblower legislation in place before it transposed the EU Whistleblowing Directive, it was criticized for numerous shortcomings such as a failure to guarantee anonymity and a heightened risk of individuals becoming exposed. That led to early interest in the EU Directive and new legislation was approved in the form of the “Genomförande av visselblåsardirektivet” in September 2021.

Sweden was among the few EU Member States to act early and the new measures came into force on 17 December 2021. Companies with 250 employees or more were then given until 17 July 2022 to implement internal reporting channels. “After Denmark, Sweden was the second EU member state to transpose the EU Whistleblowing Directive and the new law is exemplary. It rectifies the weaknesses of the previous legislation and strengthens the country’s whistleblower protection framework. This is an important step towards more integrity in public life, regardless of whether we are referring to the...