Signal Protection Act. Who is he for and who is he protecting?

A long-awaited legal act protecting a signaler or individual reporting a violation of the law has appeared in our legal system. 24 June 2024 in the authoritative diary of the Laws was published Act on the Protection of Signallers. It will enter into force 3 months after the date of publication, 25 September 2024. What does it mean for us citizens to see a new, universally binding act? How will the fresh law affect the private sector and the public sector?

As a associate State of the European Union since 2021, we have been obliged to implement in our legal strategy Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019. on the protection of persons reporting infringements of Union law.

Should we be afraid of the laws we have been waiting for since 2021?

Who will be affected by the fresh law?

The entry into force of this government will require many private and public sector entities to implement alleged interior notification channels, i.e. de facto the introduction of fresh interior procedures. These procedures must include the anticipation of reporting infringements (the alleged interior notification channel) and supply protection to the signaler and to persons assisting him against retaliation. In addition, the interior procedures in force in the organisation, specified as organisational regulations or individual data protection policies, must comply with the procedures related to the signaller.

In line with the provisions of the Signalling Protection Act, these procedures are required to implement public and private sector entities for which at least 50 people work. employment should be examined on 1 January or 1 July of the year concerned. Entities operating in the financial sector, including banks, will be required to implement specified channels, whether public or private, and regardless of the number of employees employed. In the local government sector, offices or organisational units of a municipality or territory with little than 10,000 inhabitants are exempted from the work to establish interior procedures.

June 25th this year on page Office for individual Data Protection an entry has appeared in which we can read “... providing that the application of the Act may give emergence to serious doubts in practice, The president of the UODO, together with experts from the Office for individual Data Protection and the PUODO Social Expert Group, took the initiative to organise an urgent gathering on this matter, which will aim to identify and discuss areas that may make the top interpretational doubts." As you can see, despite the emergence of a national legislative act, doubts about its assumptions are inactive there.

The Act of 14 June 20024 on the Protection of Signallers states, inter alia:

• principles and measures for the protection of signallers in the organisation,
• conditions for the creation of interior procedures in the organisation,
• rules for reporting to public authorities information on infringements,
• rules for making public information on infringements,
• The function of the Ombudsman in reporting information on infringements.

Despite long waiting for the national law to be published and further doubts to arise, our attention should be directed at the applicable importance for citizens of the regulations contained in the law and the directive.

Signalling Genera in Poland

The Signalling Directive is simply a slogan that has appeared in the media since 2021. This. Act, on the basis of which the legislator has established national regulations on the protection of persons reporting infringements. According to its records, anyone who makes a study of a violation of the law acting in good religion shall be protected.

Many people wonder what is the effect of acts straight relating to the protection of the signaller in the legal trade, since a citizen who is aware of the violation should argue it and at the same time have no negative consequences for him. That is due to the fact that the directive, and on the basis of it, the national law explicitly prohibits the usage of retaliation against whistleblowers and persons who assist the signaller in reporting irregularities. The directive, like our national law, besides defines in a very transparent way what is simply a retaliatory action.

Although the Polish legal strategy has long established regulations relating to the protection of civilian rights, the emergence of the Directive seems to be very good and beneficial, and forcing national legislators to act in the form of a national act – as correct as possible.

One mostly applicable act identifies a strategy of protection for honest people who do not want to stay passive to breaking the law.

In my view, the directive and the current national law must be considered on 2 levels. The first is the encouragement of citizens to argue violations of the law and the second is to defend the signaller. The fresh act may be considered a revolution, but its functioning depends on appropriate implementation into the Polish legal strategy and its application by public authorities, in peculiar courts.