Table of Contents:
- Entities Required to Implement Whistleblower Protection Procedures
- Who is a Whistleblower?
- Conditions for Whistleblower Protection
- Whistleblower Reporting Procedures
- Prohibition of Retaliation and Protective Measures
On September 25, 2024, the Whistleblower Protection Act of June 14, 2024, came into effect. This is the result of incorporating the European Parliament and Council Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of October 23, 2019, on the protection of persons reporting breaches of Union law into Polish legislation.
The act regulates the protection of individuals reporting legal violations, outlines the methods for submitting reports, provides measures to protect whistleblowers from retaliatory actions, and specifies the entities required to implement internal reporting procedures.
Entities Required to Implement Whistleblower Protection Procedures
According to the provisions of the act, the obligation to implement internal procedures applies to public and private sector entities that employ at least 50 people. Employment numbers must be assessed as of January 1 or July 1 of the given year. Entities operating in the financial sector are required to implement procedures regardless of the number of employees. In the local government sector, organizational units of municipalities or counties with fewer than 10,000 residents are exempt from establishing internal procedures.
Who is a Whistleblower?
As outlined in the act, a whistleblower is a natural person who reports or publicly discloses information about a legal violation obtained in a work-related context. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Employees
- Temporary employees
- Individuals performing work on a basis other than an employment contract, entrepreneurs, proxies
- Shareholders or partners
- Members of the governing body of a legal entity or an organizational unit without legal personality
- Individuals performing work under the supervision and direction of a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier
- Interns
- Volunteers
- Apprentices
Importantly, the act also applies to individuals who report or publicly disclose information about a legal violation obtained in a work-related context prior to entering into an employment relationship or other legal relationship constituting the basis for performing work or services or holding a position within or for the legal entity, or after their termination.
Conditions for Whistleblower Protection
A whistleblower is protected under the act from the moment of submitting a report or making a public disclosure, provided they had reasonable grounds to believe that the information being reported or disclosed was true at the time and that it constituted a legal violation.
The regulation defines a legal violation as an action or omission that is unlawful or aimed at circumventing the law, including areas such as:
- Corruption
- Public procurement
- Financial services, products, and markets
- Anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism
- Product safety and compliance
- Transport safety
- Environmental protection
- Radiation protection and nuclear safety
- Food and feed safety
- Animal health and welfare
- Public health
- Consumer protection
- Privacy and data protection
- Network and information system security
Whistleblower Reporting Procedures
After obtaining information about a violation, a whistleblower may:
- Submit an internal report
- Submit an external report
- Make a public disclosure
An internal report involves notifying the entity, with which the whistleblower is employed or otherwise professionally connected, about the violation through channels specified in the internal regulations.
The second reporting option is submitting an external report. This is a notification of a legal violation addressed to a public authority or the Ombudsman, done through channels specified on the public websites of these entities. A whistleblower may submit an external report without first making an internal report.
The third option is public disclosure, which is allowed, for example, if no follow-up action is taken after internal and external reports, or if there is a high risk of retaliation against the whistleblower.
The regulation on external reporting procedures comes into force on December 25, 2024.
Prohibition of Retaliation and Protective Measures
No retaliatory actions or threats of retaliation may be taken against a whistleblower.
If the work has been, is, or will be performed under an employment contract, no retaliatory actions may be taken against the whistleblower, including:
- Refusal to establish an employment relationship
- Termination or dismissal without notice
- Reduction of salary
- Withholding a promotion or being overlooked for promotion
- Demotion to a lower position
A whistleblower subjected to retaliatory actions is entitled to compensation of no less than the average monthly salary in the national economy for the previous year, as published for pension purposes in the Official Journal of the Republic of Poland “Monitor Polski” by the President of the Central Statistical Office (GUS), or to compensation for damages.
