Whistleblower Solution: Everything You Need to Know
The new and extended law for whistleblowing was introduced in Sweden on December 17, 2021, and this guide answers the following questions regarding the meaning of the law:
- What is Whistleblowing?
- What does the whistleblower law entail?
- What is a whistleblower?
- What advantages can a whistleblower channel provide for you?
- What is an internal reporting channel?
- What is an external reporting channel?
- Why is the whistleblower’s anonymity so important?
- Why choose an external supplier for your whistleblower system?
- What is required to comply with the whistleblowing law?
- How do I alert and provide feedback?
- Are whistleblower channels providing adequate protection?
- How can Questback be used for internal reporting?
This guide is a translation of “Allt du behöver veta om visselblåsning”.
What is Whistleblowing?
Whistleblowing is when an employee of a company, organization or branch of government informs the management about irregularities. The purpose of this is to make the management aware of serious misconduct in the workplace. The easiest method to do this is to use a Whistleblower solution that the employees can use to report misconduct, anonymously.
What does the whistleblower law entail?
The Swedish government introduced a new whistleblowing law, December 17 2021, to strengthen protection for whistleblowers in line with EU directives. The proposal includes measures to increase confidentiality around whistleblowers’ identities and extend protection to more groups.
Employers with at least 50 employees must establish internal reporting channels to facilitate alerts, and specific channels, such as a whistleblower solution to authorities will be set up for whistleblowing in specific areas. Whistleblowing through designated channels to competent authorities within certain specific areas will also be possible. The system should be accessible to a broad group of individuals and protect them from reprisals. In addition to employees, volunteers, interns, consultants, and shareholders should also be included in the protected group of individuals.
What is a whistleblower?
A whistleblower is a person who reports or provides information about misconduct, illegal activities, or unethical behavior within an organization or public entity to the appropriate authorities or to the public. This may include corruption, financial irregularities, hazardous working conditions, discrimination, or other forms of wrongdoing. Whistleblowers play a crucial role in exposing issues and promoting transparency and accountability within society and organizations.
What advantages can a whistleblower solution provide for you?
The consequences for a company can be very serious if reports of misconduct should become public before they are dealt with internally. For most organizations, it is important to have an easy-to-use and cost-efficient Whistleblower solution. An external system is usually preferred.
By providing your employees with a whistleblower solution, your company will have the necessary tools to handle misconduct properly. This ensures that your employees feel safe at work while the company maintains transparency that shows high ethical values.
What is an internal reporting Channel?
Through an internal reporting channel, employees can alert the management of misconduct internally. This can be done through e-mail or by having a meeting with the employee. The whistleblower solution purpose is to receive reports about misconduct, be in contact with whistleblowers, follow up on reports and inform the whistleblower about the status of their reports.
What is an external reporting channel?
An external reporting channel is different from an internal one by being directly connected to the proper authorities, as chosen by the government. An external reporting channel will receive, follow up and provide feedback on reports of misconduct in specific areas. Employees who want to blow the whistle can do so directly through an external reporting channel, without first having to go through the internal reporting channel.
Why is the whistleblower’s anonymity so important?
People need to feel safe and be assured that they won’t face negative consequences by reporting misconduct. By guaranteeing that the reporting channels are anonymous, you will have a higher probability to get information about serious incidents.
Why choose an external supplier for your whistleblower solution?
An external reporting channel that is provided by an external supplier has a lot of pro’s that will make things easier for you. An effective report handling system, for instance, can ensure that you are using the appropriate privacy laws, provide you with a safe and stable IT solution and a well-designed structure to handle reports and investigations. An external supplier is also more likely to have the latest in terms of software and functions, making sure the data is protected throughout the entire reporting process. Another reason to use an external supplier is to avoid that a person that is being reported on isn’t going to find and read a report about themselves.
What is required to comply with the whistleblowing law?
By establishing internal channels for reporting misconduct and ensuring that information about whistleblowers’ identities is kept confidential, you have made significant progress. Businesses with at least 50 employees will be required to implement internal reporting channels so that those covered by protection can sound the alarm. Businesses with 50 to 249 employees will partially share internal reporting channels and procedures for reporting and follow-up. Larger businesses are required to introduce their own internal reporting channels.
How do I alert and provide feedback?
The whistleblowing law allows reporting in writing, orally, or at a physical meeting. The function should be able to receive reports of misconduct, communicate with whistleblowers, follow up on reported issues, and provide feedback on the follow-up.
Authorized individuals or entities designated as the internal reporting channel can either be employed by the entity or hired on behalf of the entity.
Whistleblower Solution: providing adequate protection?
The specific channels for reporting misconduct aim to provide better protection for whistleblowers than what exists today. Information about whistleblowers’ identities shall be subject to the highest form of confidentiality. This means that they may not be disclosed under any circumstances.
How can Questback be used for internal reporting?
In Questback Essentials, it is already possible to set up a reporting channel. The tool is flexible and you are able to adjust it according to your own needs within your organization. Available functions are, for instance, notifications and anonymity.
Sources:
FAQ
Whistleblowing is when an employee of a company, organization or branch of government informs the management about irregularities. The purpose is to make the management aware of serious misconduct in the workplace. The easiest method to do this is to use a whistleblowing channel that the employees can use to report misconduct, anonymously.
By guaranteeing that the reporting channels are anonymous, you will have a higher probability to get information about serious incidents.
By providing your employees with a whistleblower channel, your company will have the necessary tools to handle misconduct properly. This ensures that your employees feel safe at work while the company maintains transparency that shows high ethical values.
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