Inspections
One of our competences is the control of employers, whether and how they comply with the obligations arising from Act No. 54/2019 Coll. on the Protection of Whistleblowers of Anti-Social Activities.
Thus, the Office may inspect an employer to see how it operates its internal whistleblowing system, whether it reviews internal notifications in accordance with the law, maintains confidentiality, or does not threaten or penalize its employees for blowing the whistle on unlawful activity in the workplace.
If it finds misconduct, it can impose a fine on the employer (Sections 18 and 19 of the Whistleblower Protection Law):
- €6,000 to a natural person for retaliation, disclosure of the identity of the whistleblower and the person affected, for obstruction of the filing of a notification (in the case of a repeated violation within two years, the fine may be up to €12,000),
- up to €100,000 to a legal person for a negative act against a whistleblower without the consent of the Whistleblower Protection Office, for threatening/carrying out retaliation,
- up to €30,000 if the employer fails to take measures to remedy the deficiencies detected during an inspection by the Whistleblower Protection Office / fails to submit a written report on the measures to the Office,
- up to €100,000 for employers with 250+ employees for breaches of the provisions relating to the internal reporting system, up to €50,000 for other employers.
When imposing a fine, account shall be taken of the severity, manner, duration and consequences of the infringement, the repeated infringement of the obligation and whether the act or omission constitutes a breach of more than one obligation. In the event of repeated infringements within two years of the date on which the decision becomes final, the fine may be increased up to twofold.
The fine may be imposed within one year from the date on which the Office became aware of the breach of the obligation, but at the latest within three years from the date on which the breach of the obligation occurred.
