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    Inspection process

    Background information on inspection
    The Whistleblower Protection Office (hereinafter referred to as "the Office"), as part of its control activities, controls the application of Act No. 54/2019 Coll. on the Protection of Whistleblowers of Anti-Social Activities and on Amendments and Supplements to Certain Acts (hereinafter referred to as "the Act on the Protection of Whistleblowers"). At the same time, the basic rules of the control activity laid down in the provisions of § 8 to 13 of Act No 10/1996 Coll. on Control in State Administration.
    Within its remit, the Office inspects both private and public sector entities.

    Under the Whistleblower Protection Act, an inspection may focus on:

    • compliance with the provisions on the provision of protection and the exercise of protection,
    • the manner in which the employer or the person concerned behaved towards the whistleblower at the time after the report was made,
    • compliance with the provisions of the internal system for reviewing reports.
    Beginning of the inspection

    An inspection shall commence on receipt of a written notice of the commencement of the inspectionAn inspection shall commence on receipt of a written notice of the commencement of the inspection which, in addition to the general particulars, shall include the date and place of the inspection, its subject matter, purpose and objective. The date of the inspection shall be communicated to the inspected entity in sufficient time to enable it to provide adequate cooperation (e.g. ensuring the presence of the statutory body, authorised representative, internal documents, access to the workplace, PC, etc.).

    In practice, however, there may also be a situation where the notice of the commencement of an inspection is delivered in person by the inspection team at the place of inspection. Such a procedure arises in cases where a prior notification of the start of the inspection could defeat the purpose and objective of the inspections (e.g. additional drafting of documents, destruction of records, or no person authorised to act on behalf of the inspected entity may be present).
    In the case of a pre-announced inspection, the inspected entity may, in justified cases, request a change of the inspection date, which shall be approved by the head of the inspection team.
    The subject of the inspection specifies the type of inspection and the period inspected.

    The purpose of the inspection is mainly to verify the fulfilment of the obligations laid down in the Whistleblower Protection Act, the functionality of internal documents and the system for verifying reports of the inspected entity. The notification of the commencement of the inspection shall be accompanied by a written authorisation to carry out the inspection. In addition to the general requirements, the mandate shall also contain information on the composition of the inspection team, the designation of its head and members.

    The execution of the inspection may be carried out in two ways, always in such a way as to ensure that its purpose is safeguarded:

    (a) On-site inspection,
    (b) Remote inspection

    On-site inspection process
    At the beginning of the inspection, the head of the inspection team conducts an interview with a representative of the inspected entity, to whom he explains the course of the inspection. In the form of an interview, the representative of the inspected entity is usually requested to make relevant statements concerning the subject of the inspection, which are recorded in the interim report.
    Documents and statements of the inspected entity that are relevant to the subject of the inspection (e.g. internal directive on whistleblower protection, registration of notifications, documentation concerning specific actions of the employer towards the protected whistleblower, as well as screenshots from the user interface, etc.) shall be included in the interim report prepared by the inspection team upon submission (primarily in the form of photocopies).
    All documents and statements submitted are subsequently evaluated off-site. In justified cases, for example where obvious deficiencies are found, the inspection team shall evaluate the findings on the spot.

    The interim report, signed by the members of the inspection team and the representatives of the inspected entity, shall be drawn up in two copies, one of which shall remain at the disposal of the inspected entity. If the inspected entity requests more than one copy, this shall be pointed out to the inspection team when signing the interim report.

    Where additional questions are necessary to achieve the purpose of the inspection or additional documents need to be requested, the inspection team shall primarily use an electronic form of communication.
    The rights and obligations of the control group as well as of the controlled entity are regulated by § 11 and 12 of Act No. 10/1996 Coll. on Control in State Administration.
    Remote inspection process
    Together with the notification of the commencement of the inspection, the Office also delivers in this case the authorisation to carry out the inspection and the invitation to submit the documents and statements necessary for the performance of the inspection. For the delivery of these documents, the WPO primarily uses electronic means of communication.
    Also in this case, in the course of the inspection, the inspection team may contact the inspected entity with additional inspection questions or with a repeated request for the submission of essential documents, and the inspected entity is obliged to reply to the inspection team within a specified time limit.
    For this type of inspection, an interim report is not produced.
    The inspected entity is obliged to provide the Office with appropriate cooperation. The inspected entity is obliged to ensure or create conditions for the proper performance of the inspection, in particular to ensure the presence of the responsible person, statutory officer or other authorised employee for direct communication with the WPO.
    In order for the responsible person or other authorised employee to communicate with the Office during the course of the audit, it is necessary for the inspected entity to issue a written authorisation for such a person, which also defines other authorisations, e.g. for signing the interim report, protocol, objections, minutes, etc.
    Methodology

    The following methods, techniques and other procedures for obtaining information shall be used in carrying out the inspection:

    • study of documents and papers,
    • interviews with relevant staff of the inspected entity,
    • analysis of the data contained in the documents provided.
    Output of the inspection

    Once the inspection has been completed and the relevant documents and statements have been obtained, the inspection team prepares an objective output from the inspection, which may take the form of an inspection report or an inspection record, depending on the results of the inspection..

    The Office shall proceed to the preparation of an inspection record if the result of the inspection states that no violation of the Act on the Protection of Whistleblowers of Anti-Social Activities has occurred or has been detected. The signing of the inspection record by the members of the inspection team shall be the final conclusion of the inspection.

    The Office shall proceed to the preparation of an inspection record where the inspection team, based on the results of the inspection, indicates a breach of the Act. The protocol shall be delivered to the inspected entity, which may object to the inspection findings within the time limit set by the inspection team (as a rule 5 working days).

    In the event of substantiated objections, the inspection team shall draw up an addendum to the inspection report, which shall become part of the interim report. The addendum to the protocol shall incorporate the observations of the inspected entity and any changes to the inspection findings and their justification. It shall subsequently be delivered to the inspected entity. If the objections of the inspected entity have not been accepted by the inspection team, the head of the inspection team shall set a time and place for a discussion of the protocol, at which he/she shall state the reasons for the rejection of the objections.
    Completion of inspection and further action

    The hearing of the Protocol shall take place at the headquarters of the Office for the Protection of Whistleblowers at 29 Námestie slobody, 811 06 Bratislava. Minute-book shall be drawn up of the discussion of the protocol, including any amendments thereto ..

    The inspection ends on the date of signing the minutes of the discussion of the protocol or on the date of receipt of the record of the inspection, if no violations of the law have been detected.
    The minutes shall be deemed to have been discussed even if the inspected entity does not attend the discussion or refuses to sign the minute-book.
    If the inspected entity continues to disagree with the inspection findings and persists in its arguments, the inspection team shall note this fact in the minute-book of the discussion of the protocol.
    In the minute-book, the inspection team may impose corrective measures on the inspected entity to remedy the identified deficiencies, including setting a deadline for their implementation. At the same time, the inspected entity shall be obliged to inform in writing of their implementation within a time limit set by the inspection team.

    The Authority may impose a fine of up to EUR 30 000 for failure to comply with corrective measures pursuant to Section 19(1)(a) and (b) of the Whistleblower Protection Act ..

    Conclusion

    After signing the minute-book of the discussion of the protocol (or after refusal to sign it), the result of the inspection, together with the necessary documents for issuing a decision, is immediately forwarded to the Department of Administrative Procedures and Methodology, which may initiate administrative proceedings against the audited entity with regard to the imposition of a fine pursuant to Section 19(2) of the Whistleblowers' Protection Act of up to €50,000 and pursuant to Section 19(3) of the Whistleblowers' Protection Act of up to €100,000.

    This is an administrative proceeding within the meaning of the Whistleblower Protection Act, in which the inspected entity has all the procedural rights granted by the Administrative Procedure Code in the position of a party to the proceeding.
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