WHISTLEBLOWING

As of September 25, 2024, new whistleblower protection regulations come into effect in Poland. These regulations stem from the Whistleblower Protection Act, published on June 24, 2024, in the Journal of Laws, which implements the EU directive on the protection of persons reporting breaches of Union law into Polish legislation.

Businesses should prepare for this change, even if they already have internal reporting procedures in place.

According to the Whistleblower Protection Act, employers with more than 50 employees (including individuals employed under civil law contracts) are required to establish a channel through which irregularities and violations can be reported in areas such as labor law, consumer protection, and data protection. Smaller employers are not yet covered by this regulation, but it is likely that market forces will drive them to voluntarily comply with these higher standards.

Properly preparing organizations for whistleblower protection requires comprehensive regulation of the environment for receiving and dealing with reports. As part of our services, we offer comprehensive and professional services in the area of implementation of legal obligations, including the creation of a complete internal procedure for accepting whistleblower reports, adapted to the relevant ICT tools. The scope of preparation of the necessary procedure includes, among other things, conducting internal consultations, setting up a unit responsible for receiving reports, establishing channels for receiving reports, preparing measures to protect whistleblowers against retaliatory actions, setting up a unit responsible for taking follow-up actions, keeping a register of reports, or supporting the proper functioning of the procedure. As part of our offer, we provide an end-to-end solution linked to the technical means for handling notifications.