According to the entry into force of the Whistleblower Protection Directive and the approaching date of the Polish act, employers must provide employees with an internal channel for reporting irregularities and take specific protection measures. What is the difference between the compliance system and the provisions of the Whistleblower Protection Directive?
What is compliance?
Compliance is a very broad term used to describe activities aimed at protecting the company from threats that may occur in the organization. An efficiently functioning compliance system guarantees that the company's operations comply with the provisions, laws, ordinances, and standards of conduct. The basic assumption of compliance is the elimination of future or limitation of current threats that may have a negative impact on the financial condition of the company, and even pose a threat to its operations. The obligations of enterprises under the compliance system include, among others:
- Personal data protection.
- Anti-money laundering.
- Prevention of unfair competition.
- Safe transaction exchange with customers.
- Compliance with company law and labor law.
- Correct bookkeeping and accounting.
Applying the procedures that have been created to ensure the proper operation of the organization and the protection of all employees increases the functionality of companies. In the context of compliance, effective tools for disclosing violations are particularly important, which also relate to the protection of persons reporting irregularities.
What are the obligations of employers under the Whistleblower Protection Directive?
The new regulations apply to legal entities, both in the public and private sectors, employing at least 50 people. In the case of large companies with 250 or more employees, employers are already required to implement an internal reporting channel. In the case of organizations employing from 50 to 249 people, the deadline for implementing the regulation into the organizational structures of enterprises was extended to December 17, 2023.
The provisions of the draft act on the protection of Whistleblowers focus on the obligations of employers towards employees who would like to signal irregularities. Belong to them:
- Ensuring Whistleblower's protection from retaliation.
- Establish notification procedures.
- Compliance with the legal aspects of managing reports and the GDPR.
- Systematic record keeping of notifications.
- Creating the rules for submitting reports.
In summary, in connection with the entry into force of the provisions on the protection of Whistleblowers, enterprises are obliged to provide employees with the best protection, which is also part of the compliance system. To meet the challenges and comply with the guidelines, they need an effective tool that will act as an internal channel for managing reports and help them handle them efficiently. Whistleblower is a software that not only complies with the provisions of the Directive of the European Parliament and the Council (EU) but also protects the confidentiality of the identity of Whistleblowers.
.svg)