CMS Expert Guide to Whistleblower Protection and Reporting Channels

CEE

We are delighted to let you know that our new CMS Expert Guide to Whistleblower Protection and Reporting Channels is now available online and its invaluable contents ready for you to absorb and digest. The user-friendly platform also allows you to compare the situation up to three jurisdictions in one go.

If not already up to date on this issue and wondering why whistleblowing is in the news, what the benefits of whistleblower protection are, and why some companies are worried about it, you can become better acquainted with the topic by examining the chapters of the Guide. The guide covers Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine.

The CMS Expert Guide to Whistleblower Protection and Reporting Channels will help you to find the answers to the following pressing questions:

  1. Is there a law on whistleblowing in your country?
  2. Does local law require private entities to establish a whistleblowing system? (If so, which private entities?)
  3. What legal risks does an entity face for not establishing a whistleblowing system?
  4. Are there any mandatory requirements for establishing a whistleblowing system under local labour law?
  5. Does local law require employee involvement when establishing a whistleblowing system?
  6. Does local law prohibit employees to disclose irregularities/misconduct externally, e.g. to the public?
  7. Is there legal protection aimed at preventing discrimination against or dismissal of a whistleblower (as employee) under local labour law?
  8. Are there any mandatory requirements and/or accompanying measures under local data protection law?
  9. Does local law prohibit a joint whistleblowing system of various entities in different jurisdictions?

The take home message is that – as long as sections of your company aren’t deliberately breaching the law – then you have no need to worry at all. Indeed, CMS is here to help you put an internal whistleblower system in place, set up a structure for handling investigations, develop a communication strategy to ensure employees trust the company and feel comfortable coming forward with suspicions of wrongful behaviour, and that all this is done in a way that complies with data protection and labour law, all to reduce the possibility of any unnecessary and expensive litigation. Not that we can’t help you with that too, if things have already got out of hand.

We hope you find the Guide useful, and if you have any questions about the issues raised, please get in touch with your usual CMS contact, or send an email to [email protected].