Anonymity of the whistleblower and the ability to disclose information from reports
It follows from the Whistleblower Act that the employer's internal whistleblower scheme must ensure the confidentiality of a whistleblower.
In order to manage the whistleblower scheme and ensure the confidentiality of the whistleblower, the employer must appoint a whistleblower unit to manage the whistleblower scheme and any reports.
Read more about the whistleblower unit here.
Thus, the whistleblowing unit must - with few exceptions - ensure that the whistleblower's identity remains confidential and is only shared with the employer or other third parties if the whistleblower has given permission.
Any other involved persons who are mentioned in a report must, as a starting point, have access to the information in the report that concerns them.
Confidentiality and secrecy requirements
The whistleblowing unit - regardless of whether it is composed of the employee or external parties - is subject to a special duty of confidentiality with regard to information about the identity of the whistleblower and the information included in the reports.
The whistleblower unit's duty of confidentiality and disclosure of information is limited to information about the identity of the whistleblower and the information included in a report. Thus, if a report gives rise to the initiation of a case, the other information collected in this connection will not be covered by the duty of confidentiality.
The special duty of confidentiality also applies to persons outside the whistleblowing unit who become aware of the whistleblower's identity as part of a lawful disclosure.
The whistleblower unit, as well as other persons who, in connection with lawful disclosure, become aware of the whistleblower's identity or information included in a report, may be personally punished with a fine if they intentionally or grossly negligently breach the duty of confidentiality.
If the employer intends to appoint one or more employees as a whistleblower unit, these employees should be made clearly aware of the special duty of confidentiality, and the employer should provide training for these employees so that they are sufficiently equipped to handle the whistleblower scheme and any reports to it.
When can information about the whistleblower be disclosed?
Only in special cases can the whistleblowing unit disclose information that makes it possible to identify the whistleblower. Whether a particular piece of information or description of a course of events means that a whistleblower is or may risk being identified must always be assessed on the basis of the specific circumstances, including the context in which the information is included and to whom the information is disclosed.
Disclosure of both specific information such as name, address and telephone number, as well as more general information and descriptions of specific incidents may result in the recipient of the information being able to identify the whistleblower.
Only in special cases can the whistleblowing unit disclose information that makes it possible to identify the whistleblower. Whether a particular piece of information or description of a course of events means that a whistleblower is or may risk being identified must always be assessed on the basis of the specific circumstances, including the context in which the information is included and to whom the information is disclosed.
Disclosure of both specific information such as name, address and telephone number, as well as more general information and descriptions of specific incidents may result in the recipient of the information being able to identify the whistleblower.
For example, information such as the whistleblower's job title, manager or other organizational information may lead to the whistleblower being identifiable if the whistleblower holds a position from which the whistleblower's identity can be inferred.
In addition, information about specific incidents that only a few people have been involved in could lead to the whistleblower being identified when disclosing the information.
Since the designated whistleblower unit is responsible for handling reports, information about the whistleblower's identity can be freely disclosed to employees within the workplace's whistleblower unit.
If the employer has chosen to have the whistleblower scheme administered by a third party (e.g. a Attorney, a parent company or similar), the employer must decide whether this third party should constitute the whistleblower unit alone or jointly with selected employees in the company, so that it is clear to both the whistleblower unit and the employees which persons constitute the whistleblower unit and thus know their identity and information about the whistleblower report.
In special cases, the whistleblower unit may disclose information about the whistleblower's identity to relevant authorities such as the police or the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority when the disclosure is made to prevent violations or to ensure the affected persons' right to a defense. In such cases, disclosure may be made without the whistleblower's consent, but the whistleblower must generally be informed of the disclosure.
Finally, disclosure can be made if the whistleblower consents to the disclosure.
CLEMENS' Whistleblower Scheme
If you have any questions about the article "Confidentiality and disclosure of information" or if your company has not yet established an internal whistleblower scheme, please contact the CLEMENS whistleblower 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 set-up and unnecessary use of internal resources, and you ensure that all reports are handled legally and reported back to the company quickly and efficiently.
