{"id":8052,"date":"2025-07-01T13:03:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T11:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legaltegrity.com\/?p=8052"},"modified":"2026-05-13T08:33:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T06:33:46","slug":"what-is-a-whistleblower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legaltegrity.com\/en\/blog\/was-ist-ein-whistleblower\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a whistleblower? Background of the new EU directive"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In recent years, whistleblowers have repeatedly made headlines. Most recently, the Wirecard scandal certainly attracted the most attention and is therefore currently probably the most prominent example of whistleblowing. The public discussion in connection with the treatment of whistleblowers is becoming louder, and in 2019, with the entry into force of the EU Whistleblower Directive, an important legal impetus for the protection of whistleblowers was set. Was ist ein \u201cWhistleblower\u201d<\/strong> and how will it be in the framework of this new EU Directive<\/a> More precisely defined?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Ein Whistleblower ist eine Person, die illegale oder unethische Aktivit\u00e4ten in einer Organisation aufdeckt.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Well-known cases of whistleblowers include Julian Assange or Edward Snowden, but A whistleblower is someone who reveals information about wrongdoing within an organisation. <\/strong>whistleblower Whistleblower <\/strong>be referred to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A whistleblower is initially \u201ejust\u201c a natural person who reports information about wrongdoing in companies or public institutions. This information must have been obtained by the person in the course of their work. There is no yardstick for the content \u2013 it can be information about serious misconduct, such as criminal offences or general dangers to employees or the entire company. However, it can also be less serious incidents, such as ethical breaches or violations of internal policies.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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This definition is deliberately based on the EU Whistleblowing Directive, as it stipulates who should be protected when they report information about a\u00a0Whistleblowing system<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>reports. The EU Directive is binding for national implementation in all EU member states (in Germany: Whistleblower Protection Act).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Anyone can be a whistleblower. \n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The natural persons protected by the EU Whistleblowing Directive, as mentioned above, include all employees of a company: not just current full-time or part-time staff, but also trainees, former employees, and future employees.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, employees form the largest group of potential whistleblowers. Members of the management board or other persons in leadership positions, as well as members of the supervisory board and shareholders, are also protected as whistleblowers in accordance with the EU Whistleblowing Directive. Outside the company, customers, contractors and suppliers can also be whistleblowers.<\/p>\n

In summary, the EU Directive includes all groups of people connected with your company who may thus gain information about wrongdoing.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What is the Whistleblower Directive?\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The EU<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0first took place in October 2019 Whistleblower Directive <\/strong>enacted, which applies to almost all companies in the EU. The Whistleblower Directive had to be transposed into national legislation by the end of 2021 at the latest in the form of a Whistleblower Protection Act<\/a> be implemented. This presents new challenges for companies. Find out in this article if your company falls under the directive. Read about the requirements an internal reporting system must meet within your company, and how you can protect yourself from whistleblowers leaking company secrets to the public with impunity.\u00a0<\/p>

Previously, the protection of whistleblowers in the EU was not regulated uniformly. This leads to unequal treatment and legal uncertainty. In order to enable fair competition and a well-functioning internal market within the EU, uniform standards are to be introduced in all EU member states with the implementation of the EU Whistleblower Directive.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The EU Whistleblower Directive covers a broad range of reporting areas, including:\n\n* **Public procurement:** Breaches related to public contracts.\n* **Financial services, products and markets, and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing:** This includes fraud, market abuse, and other financial crimes.\n* **Product safety and conformity:** Issues with products that do not meet safety standards.\n* **Transport safety:** Breaches related to the safety of road, rail, sea, and air transport.\n* **Protection of the environment:** Environmental damage, pollution, and breaches of environmental law.\n* **Radiation protection and nuclear safety:** Risks to health and safety from radiation.\n* **Food and feed safety, and animal health and welfare:** Issues concerning the safety of food and animal well-being.\n* **Public health:** Threats to public health.\n* **Consumer protection:** Breaches that harm consumer interests.\n* **Protection of privacy and personal data, and security of network and information systems:** Violations of data protection rules and cybersecurity breaches.\n* **Acts detrimental to the financial interests of the Union:** Fraud and corruption that affect the EU budget.\n* **Breaches relating to the internal market, including breaches of Union competition and company rules and breaches relating to the place of work.**<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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For all EU states, any whistleblower who Breaches of EU regulations<\/strong> reports<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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