EU Whistleblower Protection Directive in Lithuania: The most common mistakes in practice
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EU Whistleblower Protection Directive in Lithuania: The most common mistakes in practice

2 min.

Encouraging employees to report wrongdoing and protecting them when they do, is essential for preventing corruption in both the public and private sectors. ECOVIS ProventusLaw provides a review of the most common difficulties facing companies and mistakes related to the application of the law.

The Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers (the “Law”) has been in force in Lithuania for almost four years. However, there are many mistakes which must be avoided. One of the most common is that companies do not maintain a separate internal reporting channel for submitting reports on breaches relating to the Law. Companies should ensure that such a channel is clearly separate from the procedures for submitting other kinds of complaint.

Businesses must take appropriate measures to ensure whistleblower protection.
Brigida Bacienė, Associate Partner, Head of Employment Practice, Certified Data Protection Expert (CIPP/E), ECOVIS ProventusLaw, Vilnius, Lithuania

Establish confidentiality procedures

The Attorney General’s Office has found that the procedures for enforcing the confidentiality of the reporter often do not exist in practice. The Ecovis experts recommend:

  • Ensure that the company has procedures for the confidentiality, storage, and destruction of the data obtained under the Law
  • Provide access to the internal channel to only a limited number of persons
  • Appoint a competent person to be responsible for investigating the reports

It should be noted that companies often forget that the information obtained from submitting a report under the Law, or after the investigation, belongs to the category of personal data, and as such it is subject to the GDPR. Companies must ensure that their employees, as well as any other people who may report the breach, are informed about the personal data processing related to the protection of whistleblowers.

For further information please contact:

Brigida Bacienė, Associate Partner, Head of Employment Practice, Certified Data Protection Expert (CIPP/E), ECOVIS ProventusLaw, Vilnius, Lithuania
Email: brigida.baciene@ecovis.lt

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