CAN A SIMPLE EMAIL ADDRESS FULFILL THE PURPOSE OF A WHISTLET PLATFORM?

Two critical points must be considered when using an email address:
Whistleblowers would have to create a new e-mail address, which should be seen as an additional barrier to entry.
On the other hand, IT administrators often have access to all company mailboxes. Thus, the principle of confidentiality would not be fulfilled.

HAS THE WHISTLER POLICY ALREADY BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO NATIONAL LAW?

There is currently no draft law in Austria that is being discussed publicly. However, there is a very high probability that implementation will take place in 2021.

IS IT ENOUGH IF I ONLY OFFER MY WHISPEAK PLATFORM ON THE INTRANET?

The policy does not require you to make your whistleblower platform available to outsiders. Practice shows, however, that reports are often made by external whistleblowers.

SHOULD WE WAIT FOR THE AUSTRIAN DRAFT LAW?

The requirements have already been very precisely defined in the EU directive. So you can already prepare your own organization for it. In any case, you are on the safe side with mywhistler, as all potential new requirements are incorporated at no additional cost.

FROM WHAT SIZE OF COMPANY IS A WHISTLEPER PLATFORM MANDATORY?

The European Union differentiates between two components here: the size of the company and the time of introduction.
For companies with more than 250 employees, the implementation of a whistleblower platform will be mandatory from December 2021. For companies with 50 or more employees, this should become mandatory from December 2023.

WILL THERE BE PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS POLICY?

The directive prescribes "effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions" for non-compliance. For domestic organizations, however, only the Austrian draft law will bring final clarity in this regard. However, it can be assumed that non-compliance will result in fines in the five-figure range. In Germany there are fines of up to €100,000.