Whistleblowing channel: New guidelines published by the Italian Anti-Corruption Authority

At a glance

• The Italian Anti-Corruption Authority has recently published guidelines on the implementation and management of the whistleblowing report. 
• Companies should set up an IT platform where whistleblowers can make their reports.
• The report must be handled, without any interference, by an individual who is properly trained.
• Companies that don't comply with these guidelines could face significant fines.

The Italian Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC) has recently published guidelines on the implementation and management of the internal whistleblowing channel, with a deadline of 9 December for private employers to submit comments on the guidelines. 

As the deadline has now passed, ANAC is expected to publish the final version of the text in the coming weeks. 

For the time being, the guidelines published so far provide that the internal reporting channel must be easily accessible to all employees and external persons who need to make a report. Whistleblowing reports should ideally be received and managed through a dedicated IT platform. ANAC states that the use of software makes it possible to adopt stricter security measures and to ensure a higher level of protection of the whistleblowers' personal data, both during the reporting phase and during the management phase. 

On this basis, ANAC considers that the use of mail (ordinary or certified) as an internal reporting system is not sufficient to ensure the confidentiality of the whistleblower's identity (especially when the whistleblower uses the e-mail account provided by the employer to submit the report).

Although written reports are preferred, the ANAC allows reports to be made verbally, through telephone lines, voice messaging systems and through a face-to-face meeting with the whistleblower (at a place away from the workplace).

The internal channel must also be managed by a person with sufficient knowledge of the company and its organisation to be able to handle the reporting process without interference. For example, the report-manager must have full access to the organisation's services (such as databases, platforms and other relevant tools) and be able to involve other internal or external structures as appropriate. In addition, the report manager must be specifically trained for the effective management of reports.

The guidelines issued by ANAC serve as an important roadmap for the implementation of reporting channels by companies, as ANAC is empowered to impose administrative fines ranging from EUR10,000 to EUR50,000 in cases where reporting channels are not established or procedures for the preparation and management of reports are not adopted.