New EU Whistleblower Protections

There will be new protections for whistleblowers in the EU next year if proposed regulations go into effect. Under the new Whistleblowing Directive, employees who speak up about corporate violations of EU laws would be guaranteed a “high level of protection.” There will be an obligation on all organizations with 50 or more employees or with an annual turnover or total assets of more than €10M to set up internal processes for reporting and whistleblowing. All financial services companies and organizations where there is a risk of money laundering or terrorist financing will be covered, regardless of size or assets. Small and micro organizations will be exempt from many of the requirements, including establishing internal reporting channels. The definition of a whistleblower is wide. Organizations will need processes to manage reports not only from employees, but also a potentially wide range of other parties, including shareholders, contractors and volunteers.