Known as “The Whistleblower Protection Law”, the new directive from the European Commission (EU) sets all obligations that companies and public entities must comply with regarding the protection of whistleblowers.
This EU directive – to be implemented by all 27 Member-States – has been transposed into national law as of this year. Now, all private and public entities with 50 or more employees are required to have a whistleblowing system, with internal reporting channels.
In Portugal’s case, any whistleblower within a private company or a public entity can, in good faith and with serious grounds, disclose an offense that has been or is being committed. And here’s another important part: it also applies to branches of foreign companies operating from Portugal.
But what are some of those infractions? Decree-Law nº 93/2021 or, in other words, the Whistleblowing Law, aims to protect whistleblowers with relevant information on, among others:
- Public Procurement;
- Financial services or money laundering;
- Public health;
- Environment protection.
Who is considered a whistleblower?
Employees, trainees, service providers, managers, or even non-executive managers can be considered whistleblowers, if the information was obtained carrying out a professional activity or during their recruitment process.
Colleagues or relatives also benefit from the protection of the Portuguese Whistleblowing law.
What are the main obligations?
Even though any company can create an internal reporting channel, it is mandatory for organizations with more than 50 employees, thus guarantying:
- Safe reports;
- The integrity and confidentiality of the reports;
- The anonymity of the whistleblowers;
- The independence of those appointed to follow up on the reports.
However, if a company doesn’t comply with these rules or fails to establish a whistleblowing system when required, this offense can be punished by law with a penalty between 125.000 euros and 250.000 euros.
Set your whistleblowing system now!
As we emphasized previously, this new law is in place across all Member-States and therefore applies to Portuguese and foreign companies operating in Portugal.
If your company is one of those required to have a whistleblowing system in place, rest assured: our team can help you!