from june 18, the General Regime for the Protection of Whistleblowers of Infractions enters into force, whose objective is to ensure the effective protection of people who, in the professional context, obtain knowledge of infractions and who wish to report them.
Companies with 50 or more employees, including the State and other legal persons under public law, will have to create secure channels for reporting by their employees and implement rules that ensure the complete handling of such complaints.
According to this new regime, several obligations and duties are foreseen to companies, including:
- Creation of an internal complaint channel that guarantees the possibility of reporting to all employees, anonymously or with identification, in writing and/ or verbally;
- Registration and retention of complaints received for a minimum period of 5 years;
- Ensuring confidentiality about the identity of the whistleblower;
- Notification to the complainant of the receipt of the complaint within 7 days and information on the possibility and requirements for the submission of external complaint, as well as the competent authorities to receive it;
- Prohibition of retaliatory acts against the whistleblower.
The scope of offences that can be reported is quite broad, including crimes or offences relating to public procurement, services, financial products and markets, prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, consumer protection, discrimination, protection of privacy and personal data, security, environmental protection, public health, or even violent, organised and economic-financial crime, among others.
Fines for companies that do not meet whistleblower protection requirements and the establishment of internal reporting mechanisms can reach EUR 25,000.
How can Moneris help?
To help organizations incorporate this whistleblower protection regime into their compliance model, Moneris has a turnkey solution that incorporates the expertise of our consultants, the knowledge of legal partners and a technology tool that specializes in whistleblowing.
In addition to complying with a legal obligation, the incorporation of a channel and a complaints management strategy ensures a more transparent, more collaborative, more reliable and fairer organization.
Meet our proposal: info@moneris.pt | 210 316 400.