The Waserman law of 21.03.2022 on whistleblowers modified the list of prohibited grounds for discrimination in both the Labor Code (Article L1132-1) and the Penal Code (Art 225-1), to include whistleblowers.
Reminder:
the status of whistleblower, created by the "Sapin II" law of December 9, 2016, applies to a natural person who reports or discloses, in good faith and without direct financial consideration, information relating to a crime, an offence, a threat or harm to the general interest, a violation or attempted concealment of a violation of a standard of European Union or international law, law or regulation.
What impact will this law have from September 1, 2022?
- the employer isprohibited from taking any discriminatory measure or decision against an employee based on the status of whistleblower, facilitator or person in contact with a whistleblower.
- Article 225-1 of the French Penal Code is one of the articles that must be posted or circulated by any means within the company. As the law has modified article 225-1 of the penal code, this means that the company must update the information provided to its employees (either by compulsory posting, or by any other means).
- The same law also requires employers to include an article in their internal rules reminding employees of the existence of the whistleblower protection scheme.
Example:
Article .... : Whistleblowers benefit from the protection scheme provided for in Chapter II of Act no. 2016-1691 of December 09, 2016 on transparency, the fight against corruption and the modernization of economic life. This text can be consulted ..... (specify the place and/or medium on which the text can be consulted)
- The company must draw up a Charter on whistle-blowers outlining the procedure to be followed for receiving a report from the latter:
- Who to report to
- In what form
- How soon
- etc
We are awaiting a decree that will provide guarantees on the rules of confidentiality, impartiality, etc., for whistleblowers.
