According to Act No. 171/2023 Coll., on the protection of whistleblowers (hereinafter referred to as the "Whistleblower Protection Act"), the term whistleblowing refers to the process of exposing misconduct by filing a report, i.e., providing information to persons who can investigate the reported matter, take action, and adopt corrective or preventive measures. When investigating a given situation, emphasis is placed on the absolute protection of the whistleblower's identity. It is therefore a tool that leads to the prevention and detection of illegal practices and unfair or unlawful conduct.
| Expression | Definition |
|---|---|
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Unfair practices |
Unlawful conduct that constitutes a criminal offense or an offense punishable by a fine of at least CZK 100,000, conduct that violates the Whistleblower Protection Act, or conduct that violates other legal regulations or EU legal regulations in areas defined by the Whistleblower Protection Act. If these conditions are met, this may include, for example, corruption, endangerment of health, safety, or the environment, as well as abuse of power and activities that serve to cover up the above-mentioned acts. |
| Announcer | A natural person who reports unfair conduct that they have learned about in connection with their work or similar activities. Typically, these are current and former employees, persons working on the basis of agreements concluded outside of employment, cooperating self-employed persons and their employees, or members of commercial companies' bodies. |
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Relevant person |
The person responsible for the entire investigation process, who will deal with the reports submitted, investigate them, and provide feedback in accordance with the Whistleblower Protection Act and this directive, including to the whistleblower and persons who decide on any corrective measures to be taken. This person is properly trained and maintains strict confidentiality. |
Whistleblowers can use both internal and external reporting channels. However, they should primarily use the internal reporting channel to submit reports. The report must include the first name, last name, date of birth, and job position. Anonymous reports will not be investigated. Externally, reports can be submitted to the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic: In writing – via an electronic form and by email; Verbally (by telephone); In person – upon request. Contact details are available on the Ministry of Justice website.
Internal reporting can be done in the following ways:
All reports will be assessed by the relevant person objectively, confidentially, impartially, and thoroughly. Unless otherwise specified in this directive or the Whistleblower Protection Act or other law, the relevant person is obliged to maintain confidentiality regarding the facts they learn in the course of performing this activity. Other persons who gain unauthorized access to the report or parts thereof are obliged not to disclose information that could frustrate or jeopardize the purpose of the report.
The relevant person shall notify the reporter of the receipt of the report and instruct them in accordance with the directive.
In the case of an oral report (by telephone or in person), the relevant person shall make an audio recording (if technically possible) and, if necessary, a transcript of the recording. When making a transcript of the recording, the relevant person shall allow the whistleblower to comment on the transcript and shall attach the whistleblower's comments to the transcript. If the whistleblower does not consent to the making of an audio recording or transcript, the relevant person shall not make it. In such a case, or if the audio recording is not made for another reason, the person shall make a record that faithfully captures the essence of the oral report and allow the reporter to comment on the record; the reporter's comments shall be attached to the record.
The relevant person is obliged to investigate the report and inform the reporter of the outcome of the investigation in writing within 30 calendar days of its receipt (unless the reporter has requested not to be notified, or if notification would reveal the reporter's identity). In particularly complex legal or factual cases, the deadline may be extended by a further 30 calendar days, but no more than twice. The whistleblower must be informed of any extension of the deadline before it is extended. The relevant person shall duly justify the outcome of the investigation.
If the report does not fall within the scope of this directive, the competent person shall immediately notify the reporter in writing and recommend how to proceed with the report (e.g., who to contact with the reported facts). If the relevant person assesses the report as incomplete, they shall contact the reporter with a request to provide additional information necessary for a proper investigation.
If the report is directed against a specific employee, that person must be informed of the content of the report without undue delay and must be given the opportunity to comment on the matter, as well as to submit documents, written materials, and other information related to the matter under discussion.
As mentioned above, when investigating reports, emphasis is placed on protecting the identity of the whistleblower and protecting personal data in accordance with the relevant legal regulations. If it is possible to deduce the identity of the whistleblower from the content of the report, the employee against whom the report is directed will not be made aware of the content of the report or any other information that could reveal the identity of the whistleblower, unless the whistleblower consents to the disclosure of their identity. The same procedure shall apply to other persons.
If the relevant person is required to provide identity data to the competent public authorities in accordance with legal regulations, they shall first notify the whistleblower in advance, state the reasons for doing so, and allow the whistleblower to comment on the provision of the information.
If the report is deemed justified, the relevant person will propose to the executives or authorized representative that specific corrective measures be taken to prevent or remedy the unlawful situation reported by the whistleblower. The nature of the specific corrective measures shall then be decided by the company's executives on the basis of the recommendation of the relevant person. Once the executives have decided what specific corrective measures will be taken, they shall notify the relevant person thereof. The relevant person shall notify the whistleblower of the corrective measures taken without undue delay. The relevant person shall not notify the whistleblower of the corrective measures taken if the whistleblower has expressly requested not to be notified of the corrective measures or if this would reveal the identity of the whistleblower.
If the relevant person assesses the report as unfounded, they shall notify the reporter in writing without undue delay that they have not found any suspicion of unlawful conduct or that they have found that the report is based on false information, and shall inform the reporter of their right to file a report with a public authority. This notification shall be duly justified.
It is out of the question that the whistleblower should be punished in any way in connection with the report. Such action would be considered retaliation, which is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated. Protection applies not only to the whistleblower, but also to a wider group of people defined by the Whistleblower Protection Act, such as people close to the whistleblower. A person who has knowingly made a false report will not be protected from retaliatory measures. Knowingly making a false report, as well as any other misuse of the reporting channel, will be considered a breach of employee obligations, for which employees may face sanctions.