The Directive is issued pursuant to Act No. 54/2019 Coll. on the Protection of Whistleblowers of Anti-Social Activity and on Amendments and Additions to Certain Acts (hereinafter also referred to as "the Act"), which regulates the conditions for providing protection to persons in an employment relationship or in another similar relationship in connection with the reporting of anti-social activity. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

 

The Whistleblower Protection Office (the "Office") also wants this Directive to contribute to a transparent and ethical workplace culture. Employees and persons in other similar relationships with the Office should be able to report any unfair practice they encounter in the course of their work safely, confidently and without fear of reprisal.

Úrad deklaruje, že všetky podnety budú preverené, oznamovateľ chránený a zistené porušenia budú podľa svojho druhu v zmysle príslušných zákonov riešené.

 

 

Article 1

Preliminary provisions

 

1. This Directive regulates in particular the procedure for submitting, receiving and verifying notifications of anti-social activity (hereinafter referred to as "notifications"), details of the rights and obligations of the person responsible for verifying notifications, the protection of whistleblowers, the observance of confidentiality when dealing with notifications, the keeping of records of notifications and the processing of personal data.

    

2. The purpose of the Directive is to ensure the safe and effective reporting and screening of communications concerning all unfair practices encountered by the Office's employees and persons in other similar relationships with the Office in the course of their work.

    

3. A natural person who is in an employment or other similar relationship with the Office shall ensure that his or her conduct and actions in the performance of his or her work activities do not lead to or give the impression of a breach of generally applicable law.

    

4. Oversight of compliance with the anti-corruption rules and the prevention of anti-social activities, as well as of the functionality and effectiveness of the internal system of notification and verification of notifications, is exercised by the President of the Office.

Article 2

Basic terms

 

For the purposes of this Directive:

1. employer - office

2. Responsible person - a person who performs the tasks arising for the employer from Section 10 and Section 11 of the Act. The responsible person of the Office shall be the Internal Controller of the Office and the staff member in charge of the Personnel Office. In the event of the absence or conflict of interest of one of them, the rights and obligations of the responsible person shall be transferred to the Director of the Legal Department of the Office. The President of the Office shall ensure that the person responsible carries out his/her tasks independently. The person responsible may not be penalised for the proper performance of his/her duties.

3. report - a statement of facts of which the natural person has become aware in connection with an employment relationship or other similar relationship and which relate to anti-social activity.

4. qualified report - a notification which may contribute or has contributed to the clarification of a serious antisocial activity or to the detection or conviction of its perpetrator.

5. serious anti-social activity -

1. Offenses under § 168, § 170, § 170b, § 177, § 212, § 213, § 217, § 221, § 226, § 233a, § 237 to 240, § 243, § 243a, § 247, § 247d, § 251a, § 252 to 254, § 261 to 263, § 266 to 268, § 271, § 278a, § 283, § 299a, § 302, § 305, § 326 to 327a, § 328 to 336b, § 336d, § 348, § 352a, or § 374 of the Penal Code,

2. an offence for which the Criminal Code provides for imprisonment with a maximum penalty exceeding two years,

3. an administrative offence for which a fine may be imposed with an upper limit determined by a calculation, or

4. an administrative offence for which a fine of at least EUR 30 000 may be imposed,

6. whistleblower - a natural person who, in good faith, makes a notification to the authority responsible for receiving the report or to the employer; a natural person who, in good faith, makes a report to the authority responsible for receiving the report or to the employer shall also be considered a whistleblower

1. 1. 1. 1. makes a report and his or her employment or other similar relationship has ended if he or she became aware of the information about the anti-social activity during the duration of that employment or other similar relationship,

         2. he or she makes a report and his or her employment or other similar relationship has not yet arisen, if he or she became aware of the information about the anti-social activity during the selection procedure or in the context of a pre-contractual relationship,

         3. made the report anonymously and his or her identity was revealed,

         4. disclosed information about anti-social activities which came to its knowledge during the selection procedure or in the context of pre-contractual relations and its employment or other similar relationship has not yet come into existence, or during the duration of the employment or other similar relationship or after the termination of the employment or other similar relationship on the grounds that

            • made a report through the internal reporting reviewing system and was not informed of the outcome of the review, or appropriate action was not taken, and subsequently made such a report to the authority responsible for receiving the report and was not informed of the status of the screening or the outcome of the review within a reasonable period of time,

            • has made a report to the authority responsible for receiving the report and has not been informed within a reasonable period of time of the status of the review or the result of the review,

            • there is a reasonable apprehension that the anti-social activity may constitute an imminent or manifest danger to the public interest, or

            • there is a reasonable apprehension that it would be subject to a sanction if it were to make a report to the authority responsible for receiving the report or, in the particular circumstances of the case, there is a risk that the authorities responsible for receiving the report will fail to ensure an impartial and independent examination of the facts set out in the report,

7. Protected whistleblower - a person who has made a qualifying report under the Act and has been served with a written notice of protection by a prosecutor or administrative delinquency authority

8. retaliatory measure - an act or omission to act in connection with the employment or other similar relationship of the whistleblower, caused by the report or disclosure of information about anti-social activity and which has caused or is likely to cause unjustified harm to the whistleblower or to a person referred to in section 1(4)(a) to (e) of the Act. In particular, the following shall constitute a retaliatory measure:

1. dismissal or immediate termination of employment,

2. termination during the probationary period or non-renewal for an indefinite period,

3. dismissal, demotion or refusal of promotion,

4. a change in job duties, place of work or working hours,

5. reduction of pay, non-award of pay or personal allowance,

6. failure to provide training,

7. disciplinary action,

8. coercion, intimidation or harassment,

9. defamation of reputation,

10. withdrawal from a contract for the supply of goods and services,

11. revocation of a licence or permit

9. other similar relationship - the exercise of rights related to participation, administration or management in a legal person, the activity of a person performing the functions of a member of the body of a legal person, the activity of a self-employed person, the exercise of rights and obligations arising from a contract, the subject of which is the delivery of goods, the performance of construction work or the provision of services, professional practice, graduate practice, activation activity, volunteer activity

10. employment relationship - employment relationship, agreement for work performed outside the employment relationship, civil servant relationship or service relationship

11. data subject - the natural or legal person against whom the report is directed

12. acting in good faith - the act of a natural person who, having regard to the circumstances known to him or her and the knowledge which he or she has at the time of the communication, reasonably believes that the facts stated are true; if in doubt, the act shall be deemed to have been done in good faith until the contrary is proved.

 

Article 3

Submitting reports

 

1. No person shall be prevented from making a report of an anti-social activity; preventing a report from being made means, for example, refusing to receive a report or any action intended to frustrate, hinder or delay the making of a report. The conduct of a person who obstructs the filing of a report may be considered a serious or minor breach of workplace discipline, depending on the circumstances of the particular case. If the whistleblower considers that the person responsible has prevented him or her from making a report, he or she may report this fact directly to the President of the Office, who will examine the conduct of the person responsible who should have prevented the reporting of the anti-social activity.

    

2. Notification to the Office may be made orally to the person responsible or in writing through:

1. e-mail address [email protected]which is available 24 hours a day and accessible only to responsible persons

2. by post to the address of the Office, marked on the envelope "INTERNALLY PROTECTED"

3. an oral submission; the whistleblower may request a face-to-face meeting, whereby the responsible person shall conduct the meeting without delay, but at the latest within 7 calendar days from the date of the request. At the oral submission, the person responsible shall draw up a record in accordance with the model in Annex 1, offering the whistleblower the opportunity to check and, where appropriate, correct the content and to confirm it by signing it.

    

3. The report may also be submitted through external channels or through another authority competent to receive the report, which is in addition to the Office:

1. Prosecutor's Office
2. the administrative authority competent to deal with an administrative offence which constitutes a serious antisocial activity
3. the competent institution, body, office or agency of the European Union

4. The report shall contain information about an anti-social activity which has come to the notifier's knowledge in the context of an employment or other similar relationship and which the whistlewblower believes in good faith to be prejudicial to the public interest, the economy or the reputation of the Authority.

    

5. The report must be legible, understandable and make it clear what anti-social activity it is referring to.

    

6. In order to allow a thorough examination of the report, whistleblowers should, as far as possible, provide the following information in their reports:

1. a detailed description of the act with all known relevant facts (what happened, where, when, what behaviour led to the suspicion, who is the suspect, etc.)

2. information on how the whistleblower obtained the information that is the subject of the report

3. whether there are any witnesses or other persons involved (specify and identify)

4. whether the whistleblower has specific supporting documents or evidence (to be provided)

5. whether the whistleblower has already spoken to anyone about the matter and, if so, with whom

6. the identity and contact details of the whistleblower - if the whistleblower chooses to make a report, anonymously, he/she shall not provide his/her identity

    

If the whistleblower submits the report anonymously, he or she may provide the employer with an anonymous email contact through which he or she can continue to communicate and answer any questions. The employer is also obliged to acknowledge receipt of the report and inform the whistleblower of the outcome of the investigation of the complaint via this email address.

 

7. The filing of a report with the Authority does not relieve the reporter of the obligation to report or prevent an offence under the Criminal Code.

 

 

Article 4

Receipt and registration of reports

 

1. The report shall be made to the person responsible and may also be made anonymously. If it is submitted to a superior employee or to the President of the Office, the latter shall without delay deliver it to the responsible person in the manner provided for in Art. 3(2). At the same time, they shall be obliged to maintain the confidentiality of the facts which have come to their knowledge in connection with the report, in particular those which could identify the whistleblower or the persons concerned.

    

2. The responsible person must accept any report and refrain from any action that would prevent its submission or verification.

    

3. The responsible person shall immediately register each report in the register of reports separately from the register of other documents and shall acknowledge receipt of the report to the whistleblower within seven days at the latest.

    

4. The records shall be kept in written form and shall be accessible only to the responsible person. The President of the Office shall have the right to request the records from the responsible person for the purpose of checking the responsible person's action in a particular case, in particular on the basis of a whistleblower's complaint pursuant to Art. 3(1) of this Directive. Where the report concerns the activities of the President of the Office, the Vice-President of the Office shall have the right to request the records for the purpose of checking the action of the person responsible; in such a case, the person responsible may not provide the President of the Office with the records. The responsible person shall protect the register against loss, destruction, damage, misuse or other unauthorised disposal and shall take care to prevent unauthorised persons from gaining access to it.

    

5. The report shall be kept in a file in a locked cabinet. Once the review of the notification has been completed, the written documentation shall be placed in a sealed envelope and stored in an archive box in a locked cabinet in the archives.

    

6. The report shall be registered for a period of three years to the extent of:

1. the serial number of the report, according to the order in which it was received and the year in which it was received

2. the date of receipt of the report

3. if the report was not anonymous, the name, surname and residence of the reporting party

4. subject of the report

5. result of the review of the report

6. the date on which the review of the report was completed

 

 

Article 5

Review of reports

 

1. On the basis of the content and other features of the report, the person responsible shall assess whether the report is a report of anti-social activity, a report of serious anti-social activity or another report and shall decide on the further course of action.

    

2. The responsible person shall examine each report within 90 days of the date of acknowledgement of receipt; if receipt of the report has not been acknowledged, within 90 days of the expiry of seven days after receipt of the report.

    

3. Reports shall be reviewed by the responsible person. If necessary, he/she may also invite another member of staff or an external consultant to carry out the review. The invited staff member or external adviser shall be bound by a duty of confidentiality concerning the identity of the whistleblower and the person concerned as well as the content of the report.

    

4. The notification must not be verified by a person:
   

1. against whom the report is directed, nor the person under its management

2. which has taken part in the activity which is the subject of the report

3. whose impartiality may reasonably be doubted in view of their relationship to the whistleblower or to the subject-matter of the report

    

5. If the report cannot be reviewed by the responsible person for the reasons set out in the preceding paragraph and at the same time Article 2(1)(a) cannot be applied, the report shall not be subject to the provisions of Article 2(1)(a). 2(b) of this Directive, the President of the Office shall decide on the competence to examine and subsequently deal with the report.

    

6. All organisational units and all employees of the Office are obliged to provide assistance in the review of the notification, the discussion of the results of the review and the drawing up of the minutes of the review of the report, if requested by the responsible person.

    

7. The person reviewing the notification is authorised to:

1. 1. enter premises, equipment, vehicles and land owned or used by the employer

   2. require the production of original documents, data records on storage media, extracts thereof, statements and other information necessary to verify the report and to provide evidence of possible anti-social activity

   3. make and dispose of copies of original documents, data records on storage media, extracts thereof, statements and other information necessary to verify the report and to secure evidence of possible anti-social activity

   4. require the data subject and the employer to provide the necessary cooperation to verify the report

       

8. A record of the review of the report shall be made in accordance with the model in Annex 2 to this Directive. The person responsible shall inform the Chairperson of the Authority of the outcome of the review of the report by sending this report to the Chairperson of the Authority. If the report concerns the activities of the President of the Office, the person responsible shall inform the Vice-President of the Office of the outcome of the review of the report by sending the written report.

    

9. If the report is found to be substantiated by the review, the responsible person shall propose in the written record the corrective measures to be taken, the organisational unit which is to carry them out and the deadlines by which it is to do so. On expiry of the proposed time limit, the responsible person shall request the relevant organisational unit to draw up a report on the measures taken. Where the assistance of other organisational units is necessary for the assessment of appropriate remedial measures, the responsible person shall be entitled to convene such a working meeting, including in the presence of the President of the Office or the Vice-President of the Office. The organisational units concerned shall provide the responsible person with the necessary assistance in proposing remedial measures.

    

10. The responsible person shall inform the whistleblower in writing of the result of the review of the report and the action taken, if any, on the basis of the review of the report within 90 days of the acknowledgement of receipt of the report or, if the receipt of the report has not been acknowledged, within 90 days of the expiry of seven days from the receipt of the report. If the review of the report results in the referral of the matter for processing under the Criminal Procedure Code or special provisions, the person responsible shall inform the whistleblower of this fact in advance, this shall not apply if informing the whistleblower could frustrate the investigation of the report. The person responsible shall be obliged to request the result of the investigation to the extent permitted by the special regulation and to inform the whistleblower thereof within ten days of receipt of the result.

 

 

Article 6

Retaliatory measure and protection of the employee

 

1. Retaliation against whistleblowers is prohibited. No one may be subjected to discrimination, disciplinary action, loss of employment or other sanction for reporting anti-social activity made in good faith or for refusing to participate in anti-social activity. This does not apply if the whistleblower has participated in the reported anti-social activity and the violation of related rules and regulations. The whistleblower may not waive this protection.

    

2. A retaliatory act shall not be deemed to be an employment act related to the termination of the employment relationship or a change in the employment relationship that is the result of a legal fact that does not depend on the employer's judgment or decision or is not demonstrably related to the employee's report of the anti-social activity.

    

3. If the employee believes that the termination or change of employment is retaliatory, the employee has the right to report the suspected retaliation to the responsible person before it takes place.

    

4. The responsible person shall verify the whistleblower's report that retaliation is being retaliated against.

    

5. The following shall apply, as appropriate, to the filing, receipt, recording, and verification of retaliation notices the provisions of Art. 3, 4 and 5 of this Directive.

    

6. The responsible person shall report the outcome of the review of the retaliation report within 15 days of the completion of the review of the retaliation report to the Chairperson of the Authority and the whistleblower. If the allegations of retaliation are confirmed, the report shall propose corrective and preventive measures to prevent retaliation in the workplace. If the report involves the activities of the Chair of the Office, the responsible person shall report the outcome of the review of the retaliation report to the Vice Chair of the Office and the whistleblower within 15 days of the completion of the review of the retaliation report.

    

7. The person who retaliates shall be subject to the appropriate sanctions under Art. 3(1) of this Directive.

    

8. A whistleblower who has reported a serious antisocial activity to a law enforcement or administrative authority may apply to the prosecutor for preventive protection pursuant to Sections 3 and 4 of the Act in criminal proceedings or to the competent administrative authority pursuant to Sections 5 and 6 of the Act in administrative offence proceedings (protected whistleblower status). A whistleblower who believes that an employment action has been taken against him or her in connection with the report with which he or she disagrees may also apply to the Whistleblower Protection Office for the suspension of the effectiveness of that employment action pursuant to Section 12 of the Act.

    

9. The provisions of paragraphs 1 to 8 shall also apply mutatis mutandis to a close person of the whistleblower; a natural person - entrepreneur or a legal person which the whistleblower controls, in which he/she has an interest, in which he/she performs the function of a member of a body of a legal person or for which he/she performs an employment activity; a natural or legal person who controls a legal person in which the whistleblower has an interest or in which the whistleblower is a member of an organ of the legal person; a person who has provided assistance to the whistleblower in connection with the report; and a responsible person or a person who is involved in the performance of the responsible person's tasks.

 

 

Article 7

Obligation of confidentiality

 

•  

• 1. The responsible person, the employer, the employees and the persons cooperating in the examination of the report shall keep confidential the identity of the person making the report, the person against whom the report is made and the facts which have come to their knowledge in the course of receiving and examining the report. The person responsible shall always contact the whistleblower in such a way as to avoid disclosing the identity of the whistleblower (by e-mail, in person or by telephone). The written consent of the whistleblower shall be required to disclose information about the identity of the whistleblower.

•  

• 2. The obligation of confidentiality regarding the identity of the whistleblower and the data subject shall continue even after the completion of an internal review or investigation by law enforcement authorities, even if the suspicion of anti-social activity has not been established, as well as after the termination of the employment relationship with the whistleblower or the data subject.

 

 

Article 8

Processing of personal data and protection of the personal data of the whistleblower

 

1. The processing of personal data obtained in the course of the review of a report shall be carried out in accordance with a specific regulation.¹
   
2. For the purpose of recording the report, the responsible person shall process personal data within the scope specified in Art. 4(6) of this Directive.
3. The responsible person shall also process personal data other than those referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article for the purpose of verifying the report, if this is necessary for a proper and complete investigation of the report.
4. The personal data referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be kept for three years from the date of receipt of the report; this shall be without prejudice to the Office's obligations under specific legislation².
5. The whistleblower shall provide personal data that is true and up-to-date so as not to frustrate the vetting process.
6. The deliberate communication of false facts which it is obvious that the person making the communication could not reasonably have believed them to be true at the time of the communication and which are likely to damage the reputation and goodwill of a natural or legal person shall be regarded as a serious breach of labour discipline.

 

 

Article 9

Effectiveness

 

This Directive shall enter into force on 01.07.2023 and shall repeal and replace in its entirety Directive 06/2021 on the protection of whistleblowers of the Whistleblower Protection Office.

č. z.: 1698/2023

č. s.: : 63/2023

 

SPECIMEN - Record of the oral notification [.pdf, 676 kB]

SPECIMEN - Record of the review of the report [.pdf, 570 kB]