A next stage of work on the Whistleblower Protection Act

The amendments to the previous version of the bill concern, first of all, the acceptance of external reports, that is, reports submitted from outside of the organisation. Previously, it was planned to vest the Ombudsman with the general competencies in the above scope. This solution has, however, been abandoned in the latest version of the bill. External reports are now generally to be submitted to relevant public authorities. Should there be any problems with identifying the competent public authority, the external report is to be accepted by the National Labour Inspectorate, which should then forward it to the authority in charge. 

External reports on breaches that may represent criminal offences are to be directed to the Commander of Police Forces of the relevant province (capital city), and in some cases, to the prosecutor's office. 

Moreover, a new Article 49 has been added which says that the Polish Code of Administrative Proceedings will apply to proceedings held before public authorities in matters not regulated by the act. 

The new bill also includes amendments to Chapter 5 – Public Disclosure and Chapter 6 – Criminal Laws. However, the bill does not solve the problems that have been highlighted so far and that concern, among others, the implementation of internal reporting procedures in corporate groups. 

There are no amendments to the deadlines for implementing internal procedures in private entities employing at least 250 persons (2 months of the effective date of the act) or in entities hiring between 50 and 249 persons (by 17 December 2023).

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