The Congress of Deputies has approved the Law regulating the protection of people who report on regulatory violations and the fight against corruption (also known as the Whistleblower Protection Act). It aims to protect people who report possible regulatory violations or acts of corruption in the workplace and public sector. This rule transposes a European directive into Spanish legislation.
This law establishes a legal framework that guarantees the protection and confidentiality of people who report this type of act, as well as their right not to suffer reprisals for doing so. Likewise, measures are established to guarantee the safety and anonymity of whistleblowers. In addition, the law establishes that companies and public bodies must have internal procedures to receive and manage complaints effectively and confidentially.
Which public administrations does the Law affect?
The public administrations affected by this law are:
- General Administration of the State: the law is applicable to all authorities and public bodies that depend on the General Administration of the State.
- Autonomous and local administrations: the law is also applicable to the authorities and public bodies of the different autonomous communities and town councils.
- State public sector entities as well as state companies and consortia with majority state participation.
- Companies and entities of the regional and local public sector that depend on the different autonomous communities and town councils.
All public administrations they have to implement one complaint channel within a maximum period of three months if they do not want to face sanctions and the ban on accessing subsidies from European Funds. In the case of municipalities with less than 10.000 inhabitants, the deadline is extended until December 1, 2023.
What should public administrations do?
Administrations must take into account several key aspects for its application:
- Establish an appropriate communication channel: administrations must make available to citizens an appropriate channel for receiving complaints, which can guarantee the confidentiality and security of the information received. This channel must be well publicized and accessible to citizens.
- Establish an internal procedure: administrations must establish an internal procedure for the management of complaints received.
- Protection of whistleblowers: administrations must guarantee the protection of whistleblowers and prevent possible retaliation by the accused party. For this reason, they must maintain the confidentiality of the identity of the complainant, whenever requested, and adopt the necessary security measures for their protection.
- Communication with the reporting person: administrations must inform the reporting party of the reporting process, the measures that have been taken to protect their safety and the final resolution of the case.
- Staff training: administrations must train their staff for the application of this law and the management of complaints received.
The approval of this law is another step in promoting a culture of transparency and ethics in public management.
Ethical mailbox service: training and conferences
From the AOC we offer the Ethical mailbox, a common whistleblower protection service that guarantees institutional integrity and good governance.
Training
We regularly hold training webinars in this service and you can consult the entire training offer at AOC Campus.
The next session is scheduled for Thursday March 2, 2023 from 10 a.m. to 13 p.m, through the TEAMS platform. You must fill in the registration form
Content of the Ethical Mailbox webinar:
- Block I. Welcome, latest legal developments, reporting channels and alert systems as a common solution
- Block II. Service as an administrator and other roles
- Block III. Case management
Other resources available regarding the Ethical Mailbox service:
Conference "News on the protection of whistleblowers: the recent state law"
The next March 13 2023 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., the School of Public Administration of Catalonia (EAPC) organizes the day "News regarding the protection of whistleblowers: the recent state law"
The objectives of the day are:
- Discern, conceptually, what it means to have complaint channels, ethical mailboxes and the function of legal advice.
- Provide an applied analysis of European regulations and their transposition, with attention to complex aspects such as the coexistence between reporting channels, ethical mailboxes and the function of legal advice.
- Identify the main challenges for the management of alert/complaint channels and establish the criteria to do so effectively.
- Reflect on the different measures to comprehensively protect whistleblowers in accordance with current regulations.
