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On June 19, 2024, the Polish President signed the act on Whistleblower Protection in Poland, which was subsequently published in the Journal of Laws on June 24, 2024. The law concerning internal reporting came into force on September 25, while the provisions regarding external reporting will start three months later, on December 25, 2024. With this in mind, employers with at least 50 employees were required to implement internal reporting procedures by September 24, 2024.
The primary aim of the act on Whistleblower Protection in Poland is to establish secure reporting channels for individuals reporting violations and to protect these individuals from retaliatory actions. According to the Act, whistleblowers can be individuals reporting legal violations within an organization with which they are or have been associated under various legal titles, including job applicants, employees, individuals performing work under civil law contracts, commercial proxies, and shareholders/partners.
Reporting can be conducted internally, externally, or through public disclosure of legal violations via dedicated channels.
After reaching the Senate, the draft of act on Whistleblower Protection in Poland underwent further amendments. The proposed changes were quickly adopted by both the Sejm and the Senate. Ultimately, on June 19, 2024, the President of Poland signed the Act, which was published in the Journal of Laws on June 24, 2024.
From this date, entrepreneurs had 3 months to implement internal procedures that enable secure reporting by whistleblowers.
The final version of the act on Whistleblower Protection in Poland introduced few changes, mostly stylistic, to the version previously proposed by the Sejm. The most significant change is the removal of issues related to labor law from the scope of the Act. This means that internal procedures prepared by employers will not allow whistleblowers to report labor law violations.
The obligation to implement internal reporting procedures for whistleblower protection in Poland applies to, among others:
Reports can address a wide range of legal issues, including but not limited to:
We invite you to contact our specialists who, based on their many years of experience, will help you understand the challenges of implementing the law, as well as propose appropriate solutions and guide you through the full implementation process as part of our legal advisory in Poland.