Who is protected?

The conditions for whistleblower protection are described in the Whistleblower Act. A condition is that, at the time of the report, the whistleblower has reasonable grounds to believe that the information on the breach is accurate and that such information falls within the scope of the Act. The whistleblower must have received information on the breach in their work or in connection with it in the following situations:

• during their employment relationship
• as a self-employed person
• as a shareholder
• as a member or managing director of the board or governing body of a corporation or foundation
• as a volunteer
• as a trainee.

The whistleblower is also protected in cases where they have received the information on the breach during negotiations prior to their work or during work that since then has ended.

The protection also extends to the following persons:

• a person who assists the whistleblower in the reporting and who, because of their work, is in a position to be subject to retaliatory measures because of the report
• a person who is affiliated with the whistleblower and who may be subject to retaliatory measures because of their work
• a legal person owned by the whistleblower, by whom the whistleblower is employed, or with whom the whistleblower is otherwise affiliated through their work, and who may be subject to retaliatory measures because of their work.

Deliberately reporting false information is a criminal offence and may result in liability for damage caused to the subject of the report.