What are the obligations of employers towards Whistleblowers?

One of the main obligations that must be met by all entrepreneurs falling under the Whistleblower Protection Directive is the creation and enabling the use of internal reporting channels for employees. In addition, employers are required to:

‍

• Ensuring the protection of the confidentiality of the identity of Whistleblowers and persons to whom the report relates.
• Creation of procedures and regulations specifying the methods of proceeding from the moment of receipt of the notification to the end of the case.
• Provide employees with the best system for managing Whistleblower reports.
• Analyzing and verifying the veracity of notifications.
• Systematic and accurate record keeping of all tickets received.
• Applying investigations and internal investigations upon notification.
• Become familiar with and comply with all the provisions of the Whistleblower Protection Directive.
• Constant communication with the person reporting the problem, including informing them about the progress in resolving the problem. ‍

‍

What should you pay attention to when choosing a reporting system?

The draft law on the protection of Whistleblowers establishes the electronic channel as the main and the most advantageous internal channel for managing Whistleblower reports. When choosing the best tool, entrepreneurs should pay attention to such issues as:

‍

• Security and confidentiality of communication and personal data, thanks to the encryption option when creating a notification. Then, anyone who witnessed the violation can feel fully protected and not be afraid of retaliation.
• Full compliance with the requirements of the Whistleblower Directive, including accessibility and intuitiveness of use. Whistleblower system allows you to select notification categories, which are created on the basis of the sectors covered by the Directive's requirements. What's more, it is a comprehensive tool intended for communication not only within the organization but also external, with customers.
• Two-way communication between the person accepting the ticket and the reporting person. Pursuant to the provisions of the Directive, the Whistleblower should receive a reply about accepting the notification within 7 days from the date the problem was signaled. Whistleblower system provides a number of functionalities that improve the flow of information and the management of all incidents.
• Anti-spam protection of each submission with a captcha. This type of verification effectively prevents any automated attempts to attack the system and helps to separate real reports from those resulting from a joke or attack.

‍

To sum up, when deciding on the choice of a system, employers should first of all pay attention to whether it has all the above-mentioned features. An example of software that not only includes the most important functions but also many more possibilities, such as tracking the notification time, the option of configuring the interface for individual needs, a personalized notification panel is a Whistleblower. What's more, it is such a comprehensive tool that it allows not only to implement communication in the field of whistleblower service, but also allows the introduction of the entire set of services within the enterprise.

‍