WHISTLEBLOWER scheme
ADVICE ON LAW, FINANCE,
WORK ENVIRONMENT AND COMMUNICATION
get prepared - free guide
13-page guide with much of what you need to know about whistleblowing schemes.
What is a whistleblowing scheme? What does it require of the workplace? What can be reported? How is a report handled? These are some of the topics covered in our guide.
Many reports concern sexual harassment and fraud. We take a closer look at that too.
You can also read more in our Whistle Hub.
By downloading the guide, you agree that we may contact you for marketing purposes
We don't sell half solutions
It's not difficult to subscribe to a whistleblowing system. The challenge comes when it's used - when a whistleblower submits a report. How do you handle a case of sexual harassment or suspected fraud? Few companies are equipped to handle this themselves. That's why we also offer help in the form of advice when a report is made. We sell a whistleblower solution, not just an IT system.
Many companies don't have in-house lawyers.
We have therefore chosen to include legal advice in our package
Many do not employ lawyers
therefore we offer
legal advice
With our App, it couldn't be easier
It doesn't cost extra
with our app it couldn't be easier
it doesn't cost extra
WITH US YOU GET AN A-Z SOLUTION at your fingertips
SYSTEM & APP
Secure and easy to use. Built on a platform used by ministries, government IT, the Danish National Police and municipalities
Administration
You don't need an administrator or create users. No need for manuals or employee training
monitoring
We monitor your system and receive messages from whistleblowers (employees)
DOCUMENTS
You get access to our knowledge center with everything you need, such as whistleblower policies, legal documentation, templates and information material.
legal advice
We review reports from whistleblowers (employees) and make an initial assessment in terms of legal, financial, work environment and communication.
Support
Of course, we have support and are ready to answer questions about the system and how your solution works.
We have our own certified
GDPR advisor
DOCUMENTS
Find information material that can be used for employees, management and board members, whistleblower policy, legal documentation, updating your GDPR. Read news and articles and much more that is relevant when you have a whistleblowing scheme.
Only customers have access to our documents.
WHISTLE HUB
Read about the requirements of whistleblower law, news and blog posts. You can also find case studies and keep an eye on how far other EU countries are with the implementation of the Whistleblower Directive.
Whistle Hub is for anyone who works with or is interested in whistleblowers, whistleblowing and whistleblower schemes.
SUBSCRIPTION & PRICES
The price of a Whistle Tools subscription depends on the number of employees. All our plans include the full package. All prices are for a one-year subscription. We have no start-up fee.
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FAQ
Who should have a whistleblower scheme?
According to the Whistleblower Act, workplaces - companies, public authorities, associations, etc. - with more than 49 employees must have a whistleblower scheme. The scheme must be available to employees who have knowledge of illegal conditions and do not wish to come forward.
If you have fewer than 50 employees, it is not a requirement to have a scheme, but more and more people are choosing to have one. This is especially true for sports clubs and other associations with children. There are also a number of housing cooperatives that have chosen to have a scheme.
The law requires internal investigations
The Whistleblower Act sets out a number of requirements for how a report from a whistleblower should be handled. Companies without in-house lawyers will usually need external counsel to handle the task.
The law states that an internal investigation must be initiated into the matter that has been reported. If a violation of criminal law or other legislation is suspected, a police report or a report to the relevant supervisory authority should be considered.
If the case concerns serious errors and/or misconduct committed by an employee in the workplace, it must be assessed whether there should be disciplinary sanctions such as a warning or dismissal.
If the case concerns serious errors and/or negligence committed by a business partner, the relevant follow-up could be an investigation into whether there are any contracts that need to be terminated.
There is no requirement for an IT solution
The Whistleblower Act does not require a whistleblower scheme to be an IT system, but almost everyone chooses to subscribe to an IT solution. In principle, you could hang a physical mailbox on a wall for a whistleblower to leave a message in.
However, this poses some practical challenges, as the whistleblower will receive a written report after 3 months at the latest on how the report has been followed up. It is hard to see how this would be possible with a physical mailbox unless the whistleblower is not anonymous.
Take care of confidential and sensitive information - GDPR
Since a message in a whistleblowing system will inherently concern confidential information about violations of legislation, internal company rules, harassment or other issues, it is important that there is adequate security so that no one can read it. It is crucial that GDPR is complied with. We also advise on this in auditorJURA
A regular email doesn't guarantee that others won't read it, as it's comparable to sending an open postcard. It's also important to make sure that only the intended recipient is the only one who can read the message.
it's not a question of if, but WHEN!
For most businesses and government agencies, it's not so much a question of if the scheme will be used, but rather when.
There are different benchmarks for how often you can expect a report. As a rule of thumb, you can expect 0.5 reports per year per 100 employees. However, there are large fluctuations depending on how well-functioning a workplace is and the industry in which it operates. Some workplaces will probably see it used very rarely, while it happens more frequently for others.
Avoid the system being needed
The goal is to prevent the need for a whistleblower scheme. When an employee needs to report, it's typically because something is wrong.
Therefore, when implementing a whistleblowing solution, it's a good idea to investigate if there are any challenges in the organization. This could include things that aren't working optimally, such as a poor working environment with bullying and harassment or employees not complying with health and safety regulations.
It may also involve a review of processes and procedures. The way things were done may have made sense in the past, but may not meet today's standards. For example, this could apply to an accounting control environment. Is there sufficient segregation of duties? Is there someone who has all the authority and can approve purchases, post and pay invoices? While this can speed things up, it's a risky practice that makes it easier to commit fraud.
That's why we provide experts who can perform a thorough legal, financial and health and safety review of your organization. We also have communication experts who can train employees to handle crises and media interviews. The time between an issue arising and the media knocking on your door is often very quick. That's why it's important to have a contingency plan in place to manage communication."
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1303 Copenhagen K
Mail: kontakt@whistle.tools
Tel. +45 4243 0745
Whistle Tools ApS CVR 43981285S