In this series of articles, CLEMENS focuses on the new whistleblower law and the key points that companies need to be aware of when implementing procedures to comply with the whistleblower law.
In this article, we focus on the obligation to provide feedback to the whistleblower.
If your company has not yet established a whistleblower scheme or if you have questions about the new whistleblower law, you are always welcome to contact our whistleblower team.
You can also read more about CLEMENS' whistleblower scheme here.
Article 8 - Follow-up and feedback to the whistleblower
Follow-up and feedback to the whistleblower
As part of the management of the company's internal whistleblower scheme , the employer is obliged to ensure;
- that all reports are carefully followed up on, and
- that a whistleblower receives feedback as soon as possible and no later than 3 months after the company acknowledges receipt of a report.
It is the task of the whistleblower unit to assess whether a report falls within the scope of the Whistleblower Act. Depending on the outcome of this assessment, the employer must take the necessary initiatives to follow up on the report.
If a report falls outside the scope of the Whistleblower Act, it will often be sufficient to provide the whistleblower with feedback and state that the case is closed or forwarded to HR, a union representative or similar. As part of this feedback, the whistleblower can also be encouraged to contact their immediate supervisor, union representative or HR.
Follow-up
When the employer must decide how to follow up on a report, it is important to always make a concrete assessment of the seriousness and nature of the report and, in continuation of this assessment, determine how to follow up on the report.
The employer's follow-up on a report is an important tool for building trust in the effectiveness of the whistleblowing system. A thorough follow-up reduces the risk of misunderstandings and unnecessary reports and possible disclosures of internal matters.
Following up on a report will typically begin with the employer initiating an internal investigation. Depending on the scope and nature of the case, the employer may also choose to initiate an external investigation, including a legal investigation.
In continuation of the initiated investigation, the employer must assess whether further action is necessary, including, for example, follow-up interviews with involved employees, employment law sanctions, reporting to the police or other appropriate action, which will always depend on the nature of the report.
If, after due investigation, the employer concludes that the reported incident is not correct, that the matter cannot be documented or similar, which means that the employer cannot take further action, the employer may close the case by notifying the whistleblower as part of the feedback.
Feedback
Once the employer has completed the investigation of the reported facts and taken any further necessary actions as a result, the whistleblowing unit must provide feedback to the whistleblower. When providing feedback to the whistleblower, it is important to be aware of the following
- That the feedback must be provided within 3 months of receiving the report
- Whether all necessary and appropriate actions have been taken as a result of the report
- Whether the content of the feedback complies with data protection law, in particular the rules on the disclosure of personal data
- Whether the employer risks violating applicable confidentiality obligations in connection with the feedback
- Whether the conclusions of the feedback are formulated in general terms that do not unnecessarily single out affected individuals
CLEMENS WHISTLEBLOWER SCHEME
If you have any questions about this article, or if your company has not yet established an internal whistleblowing program, please contact the CLEMENS whistleblowing team.
CLEMENS' whistleblower scheme is user-friendly, flexible and quick to set up. With efficient and secure handling of reports, CLEMENS' whistleblower scheme enables you to quickly and discreetly rectify undesirable conditions and prevent potential financial losses.
When you choose CLEMENS' whistleblower scheme, you avoid worrying about multiple complicated regulations that require employee training, an administrative setup and unnecessary use of internal resources, and you ensure that all reports are handled legally and reported back to the company quickly and efficiently.
