Source: lexology.com
A new whistleblowing law adopted in Slovakia. Law 189/2023 amending and supplementing Act no.54/2019 on the protection of whistleblowerswas passed on the 10 May 2023 and amends the previous whistleblowing Act no. 54 of 2019, to bring national law in line with the new requirements of the EU Directive on Whistleblowing (2019/1937).
Slovakia is delayed in transposing the Direcctive. The official deadline for all 27 Member States was the 17 December 2021. Slovakia is the the 24th country to adopt transposition legislation.
The reforms of the law include include:
- Exanding the definition of a whistleblower to include a wider range of persons including former employees and applicants, contractors, suppliers, job candidates, etc.
- Extending retaliation protection to other persons including those who assist a whistleblower, close associates, companies owned/co-owned by the whistleblower and whistleblowing officers.
- Redefining retaliation to include examples of prohibited action such as dismissal, demotion or denial of promotion, revocation of a contract, as well as damage to a person’s reputation.
The new law also clarifies that anonymous reports are possible and that where an anonymous whistleblowers is subsequently identified, they will be afforded protection under the Act.
The law is likely to come into force on 1 July 2023, with various provisions not in effect until 1 September 2023.