Six years after the approval of EU Whistleblowing Directive the internal reporting landscape remains fragmented. While usually follow the legal provisions, the organizations have largely not yet been able to integrate a truly functional, protective and supportive whistleblower protection environment.
The Skills Assessment Report – Evaluating Organizational Capacity in Whistleblower Protection released today by VoiceGuard project team focuses on organizational skills and competences of those responsible for handling and receiving reports.
The research was applied in six EU Member States: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Luxembourg, Romania and Spain. Thus were analyzed gaps creating disconnect between the official legal implementation of Union law and the practical skills of those responsible for its execution on an organizational level. VoiceGuard project research reveals that the organizations currently lack the operational maturity required to truly protect whistleblowers.
• Nearly one-third of organizations limit reporting strictly to the legal minimum mandated by Directive and national legislation. This often creates a chilling effect where employees who are not fully certain their concern fits narrow legal criteria remain silent to avoid the risk of retaliation for an unprotected report.
• For many employees, the reporting system is just theoretically available. While usually follow the legal provisions, the organizations have largely not yet been able to integrate a truly functional, protective and supportive whistleblower protection environment. This disconnect is apparent in the visibility and accessibility of the internal reporting system (IRS). Only 17.3% of organizations include IRS references in employment contracts, and nearly 60% of employees receive no training at all in the field. This means that for many employees, the reporting system is theoretically available but practically invisible in their daily professional lives.
• 26% of organizations refuse to accept anonymous reports. Only 23% of organizations has implemented two-way anonymous communication to prioritize the content of a report over the reporter‘s identity. Another 13% of organizations condition investigation on sufficient supporting information while not enabling two-way communication. This creates a space where valid concerns are stalled or rejected because the system demands evidence that cannot be safely provided without a secure, identity-blind channel.
• Organizations also prioritize post-damage complaints over active prevention. Despite 36% having procedures for lodging retaliation complaints, only 20% monitor for retaliation risks proactively, and a mere 15% train managers in retaliation prevention, meaning the system is better equipped to process damage than to prevent it.
The Skills Assessment Report released today by VoiceGuard project team is available on the project website: https://voiceguard-project.eu/
Best practices and policy recommendations are prepared by our experts and will be also launch during the project implementation.
VoiceGuard project is developing a comprehensive support network of organizations and professionals, including legal experts, psychologists, counselors, and advocacy groups that will be able to provide diverse and holistic support to whistleblowers.
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VoiceGuard project is a pan-European support structure for whistleblowers throughout the European Union, and an advocate for their protection following the EU Directive 2019/1937. Meeting the challenge of fragmentation and inconsistencies in whistleblower protection laws, VoiceGuard project fills the gaps by creating a pan-European whistleblower protection umbrella. The support system developed into the project will provide legal and practical services, such as a whistleblower hotline and other useful resources for public and private sector.
The project is implemented by a consortium that includes both NGO`s and companies with relevant experience in the field: The Baltasar Garzón International Foundation (FIBGAR), Transparency International Romania (TI-RO), Transparency International Bulgaria (TI-BG), MD BRAINNOVATION, OZIVENI Z.S, NOVEL Group.
Project co-funded by the European Union through the European Commission – Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV).
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