"EU moves to bring in whistleblower protection law", 16 April 2018

The European commission will next week propose legislation that intends to protect whistleblowers. Recent scandals have exposed the limited help available for people seeking to expose corporate behaviour in the public interest...

Proponents of an EU whistleblower law argue it could have led to earlier exposure of the VW emissions scandal...

“Where potential whistleblowers do not feel safe to come forward … this translates into underreporting and therefore missed opportunities for preventing and detecting breaches of union law which can cause serious harm to the public interest.”

The law would give whistleblowers protected status, including the right to legal aid and possible financial support. Companies would be banned from firing or demoting whistleblowers and face “dissuasive” penalties for seeking to block employees seeking to uncover wrongdoing.

EU member states would be responsible for deciding on details, such as the type of sanctions, in domestic legislation...

The draft law will be revised by EU governments and the European parliament, a process that usually takes 18-24 months. Although the law will only come into force until after the UK leaves the EU, the British government may find it forms part of core EU standards...