The phenomenon of signaling, i.e. reporting violations of the right to entities in which these infringements have occurred or to the authorities of the State and related notification of protection of signallers, is sometimes misunderstood. The basic thing to remember is that not everyone can be a whistleblower and that not all violation of the law can be signalled.
The Act lists:
- persons who may be signallers,
- categories of infringements which may be subject to signalling.
The Act (hereinafter: UoS) besides indicates that a violation of the law may be subject to signaling, provided the whistleblower has taken information about it in the context of work; this context is besides defined in the Act
In order to be a whistleblower and thus be protected, the conditions of each category must be fulfilled.
Who Can Be a Signaller
The signal holder may be a individual who is defined in Article 4(1) of the UoS.
This provision reads as follows:
‘1. The signal is simply a natural individual who declares or discloses to the public information about a breach of the law obtained in the context of work, including:
1. employee;
2. temporary staff;
3) a individual who provides employment on a basis another than employment, including a civilian contract;
4) an entrepreneur;
5. the proxy;
6. the shareholder or shareholder;
7. a associate of a body of a legal individual or an entity without legal personality;
8. a individual providing work under the supervision and direction of a contractor, subcontractor or supplier;
9. an intern;
10) volunteer;
11. trainee;
(12) an officer within the meaning of Article 1(1) of the Act of 18 February 1994 on the provision of pension provision to police officers, the interior safety Agency, the Intelligence Agency, the Military Counterintelligence Service, the Military Intelligence Service, the Central Anti-corruption Office, the Border Guard, the Marshal's Guard, the State Protection Service, the State Fire Department, the Customs and taxation Service and their families (Journal of Laws of 2023, items 1280, 1429 and 1834);
13. a soldier within the meaning of Article 2(39) of the Law of 11 March 2022 on the Defence of the Homeland (Journal of Laws of 2024, items 248 and 834).’
The quoted provision is supplemented by Article 4(2) UoS, which extends the scope of possible signallers. A individual who has obtained information in a work-related context may besides be a signer under this provision, but who has obtained it before or after the establishment of an employment relation or another legal relation on which to supply work or services or to service in a legal entity or body.
It should be stressed that if a violation of the law – which violation is subject to the notification below – is indicated by a individual who does not belong to the persons mentioned on the list quoted here, the individual will not be a whistleblower within the meaning of the law, so he will not be protected under the Act on the Protection of Signallers, nor will the persons associated with him or the persons providing his assistance be protected.
