Poland approves Whistleblower Protection Act

At a glance

• The Whistleblower Protection Act (Act) was published in the Journal of Laws on 24 June 2024.
• The Act applies to all companies with 50 or more employees and establishes a comprehensive framework for whistleblower rights in Poland.

The implementation of the EU Whistleblower Directive (EU Directive 2019/1937) into Polish law has been completed: The Act was published in the Journal of Laws on 24 June 2024.

Scope and timeframe:

• Legal entities with more than 50 employees (working under employment contracts or civil law contracts) and those whose activities are specified in the law must implement an internal reporting policy until 25 September 2024. 
• Public bodies being responsible for receiving external reports are provided more time to implement new policies: The respective provisions will come into force six months after publication, ie on 25 December 2024.

Our Polish team have produced a guide on the new regulations. For details on the spectrum of reportable cases and the internal reporting procedure, please access the guide here.