EU Directive 2019/1937
Definition
The EU Whistleblower Protection Directive, requiring organisations with fifty or more employees to establish internal reporting channels, acknowledge reports within seven days, follow up within three months, and protect reporters from defined retaliatory acts across a broad list of EU law areas.
- Common name
- EU Whistleblower Protection Directive
- Employer threshold
- 50 or more employees
- Acknowledgement deadline
- Seven days
- Follow-up deadline
- Three months
Common questions
What must an organisation's internal reporting channel under this Directive provide?+
It must let a person report a breach confidentially, receive acknowledgement within seven days, and receive feedback on the follow-up within three months, while the channel itself must protect the reporter's identity from unauthorised disclosure.
What kinds of retaliation does the Directive protect whistleblowers against?+
It lists defined retaliatory acts including dismissal, demotion, negative performance evaluation, harassment, and blacklisting, giving reporters a basis to challenge such actions if taken because they made a protected disclosure.
Does the Directive cover only financial fraud reporting?+
No, it spans a broad list of EU law areas beyond fraud, including public procurement, financial services, product safety, environmental protection, and public health, so its scope is much wider than fraud hotlines alone.
Related terms
- Anonymous Hotline
- A reporting channel that accepts information without recording the reporter's identity. Effective hotlines use third-party operators so that the employing organisation cannot...
- Dodd-Frank Act (2010)
- United States federal legislation that created the SEC Whistleblower Program, authorising awards of ten to thirty percent of sanctions exceeding one million...
- Retaliation
- Adverse action taken against a reporter in response to a protected disclosure. Common forms include dismissal, demotion, harassment, pay reduction, and exclusion...
- Tone at the Top
- The ethical stance, values, and behaviour modelled by an organisation's senior leadership. When executives consistently enforce standards and address misconduct regardless of...
- Whistleblower
- An individual, typically an employee or former employee, who reports suspected misconduct to an internal hotline, audit committee, regulator, or law enforcement...