Whistleblowing In Denmark: New Developments

Published date10 August 2021
Subject MatterEmployment and HR, Whistleblowing
Law Firmlus Laboris
AuthorMr S'ren Skjerbek (Norrbom Vinding)

The law implementing the EU whistleblowers Directive into Danish law has finally been passed. Under it, Danish groups of companies can implement a joint whistleblower scheme (at least for the time being), rather than one for each entity with over 249 employees.

Background

Back in April 2018, the European Commission presented a proposal for a new directive to increase protection for whistleblowers who report violations of EU law. The Directive was adopted following a series of adaptations in October 2019 and must be implemented in the Member States by December 2021.

In Denmark, a draft of the bill was sent for consultation by the Ministry of Justice on 24 February 2021 (see here, in Danish). A bill was subsequently submitted to the Folketing, the Danish Parliament, on 14 April 2021. In the most important respects, the bill was identical to the previous draft, and the adopted law is also largely identical to the draft.

During the consideration of the bill in the Folketing, however, a large number of Danish groups approached with questions regarding the possibility of establishing a common whistleblower scheme for groups, as according to the wording of the bill in conjunction with the draft legislation, groups were obliged to establish a whistleblower scheme for each legal entity with over 249 employees.

New: common whistleblower schemes for groups

The Folketing has decided that it must be possible for Danish groups to establish a joint whistleblower scheme for the entire group...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT