The Whistleblowing Directive (EU) 2019/1937: A review across the EU

The Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (the “Whistleblowing Directive”) was introduced with the aim of establishing safe internal and external channels of reporting for whistleblowers within a variety of different organisations. Under the Whistleblowing Directive, both private and public organisations must provide safe channels for whistleblowers to make reports, following which those individuals will be protected against any retaliation. The Whistleblowing Directive entered into force on 16 December 2019 and member states are obliged to implement the Whistleblowing Directive into national law within two years, ie by 17 December 2021. The clock is ticking…

Not all member states will be able to meet the deadline in December 2021. While it is for certain that for example Denmark, France and Sweden will implement the Whistleblowing Directive by 17 December 2021, it is still uncertain whether other member states like Germany, Italy or the Netherlands will do the same. However, international companies should be on the cutting edge and introduce or update their whistleblowing policies to comply with the standards set out in the Whistleblowing Directive in all EU countries in which they operate.

Our European employment team has reviewed the status of the Whistleblowing Directive across the EU, and with the use of a traffic light system, has allocated a level of risk regarding the implementation status of the Directive in the EU.

Please email EmploymentReports@hsf.com referencing "Whistleblowing Directive" to request a copy of the report.