June 2023 – Slovakia currently has an outdated Whistleblower Act (Act No. 54/2019 on the Protection of Persons Who Report Antisocial Activities). The relevant EU Whistleblower Directive (No. 2019/1937 on the Protection of Persons Who Report Breaches of Union Law) has not yet been fully implemented in the act. Consequently, the EU initiated an infringement procedure for non-compliance with EU law, as with several other member states. Thus, Slovakia finally took steps to avoid the procedure.

On 10 May 2023 the Slovak parliament passed an amendment to the Whistleblower Act (the Amendment). The Amendment will take effect in two steps, the first on 1 July 2023 and the second on 1 September 2023. The aim of the Amendment is mainly to fully implement the EU Whistleblower Directive, but also to respond to certain deficiencies in legislation identified by the application practice. In this article, we present an overview of changes introduced by the Amendment with the most significant impact on companies.

1. Extension of scope
   1. Not only employees but also other persons will be allowed to report anti-social activity, in particular, members of employer’s management or corporate bodies, suppliers of goods and service providers, trainees or volunteers engaged with the company.
   2. A wider range of activities will fall under reportable anti-social activity, in particular:
      1. any criminal offence with a prison sentence of more than two years (before the Amendment, a three-year threshold...

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