This question certainly often arises to business owners and management boards that decide to implement a whistleblowing system. Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of persons reporting breaches of EU law (the so-called Whistleblower Protection Directive) entered into force in 2021 - for companies with over 250 employees, while until 2023 it will also apply to legal entities in the private sector with fewer than 250 employees. Thus, more and more entities have to consider what whistleblower system to introduce into their activities. So many questions arise - including what are the benefits of having such a system? Should it be introduced only because it is imposed by regulations?
Savings - this is a strong argument
Market research of countries where whistleblower regulations have been in force for several years now show that it is not only a huge benefit for employees of a given company , who, thanks to the act on whistleblowers, feel safer and more confident in their workplace. It is also a huge benefit for the employers themselves.
The assessments carried out in this matter showed that in Switzerland - a country that is highly mature in terms of whistleblowing - losses caused by economic frauds carried out by dishonest employees amount to an average of 7% of the company's income in which they are employed. Financial embezzlement, corruption and theft are one of the main reasons for huge losses of companies. For example, a thriving company with revenues of EUR 100 million would lose as much as EUR 7 million a year! Let us remember that these losses are visible not only for large companies. Even in the smaller ones that operate on a different scale, financial fraud is a big problem. Therefore, providing employees with a safe information channel where they will be able to report all kinds of irregularities or illegal activities of other people in the company is also in the interest of the employer. So it is not only an obligation imposed by law - it is also an appropriate action suggested by our common sense.
