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Whisteblowing in Czechia

13. 6. 2023 Igor Pieš Whistleblowing

We would like to bring your attention to the fact that the president has signed the Whistleblower Protection Act, which, in particular, (i) requires companies employing 50 or more employees to have an internal system for reporting relevant harmful conduct in accordance with legal requirements and (ii) protects employees in new ways. The law is effective as of 1 August 2023, the deadline for the implementation depends, among other things, on the size of the entity, for smaller companies, the deadline is postponed to 15 December 2023. 

Please note that even if you already have some form of whistleblowing system, it is essential that it is adjusted to meet the local legal requirements, if it does not already do so. In particular, the following should be considered:

• The obliged entity must designate a special competent person who will, in particular, receive and assess the validity of the notification and propose measures to remedy or prevent the infringement. The competent person can be external (we also provide this service), as the statutory penalties apply directly to this competent person, not just to the obliged entity.
• In the case of a larger global company, the obliged entities may share the internal notification system, but only if they employ no more than 249 employees, otherwise the entity needs to use the internal system itself (including the relevant contractual documentation).
• The obliged entity must comply with the time limits laid down by the law, i.e., in particular it must investigate the notification and inform the notifier in writing of the results of the validity of the notification within 30 days (in complex cases this time limit may be extended to 3 months).
• Ensure the technical capability of the notification system (which is not always part of global solutions):
  • there has to be a recordable telephone number;
  • provide the notifier with the possibility to submit the notification through the internal notification system in writing and orally or in person at his/her request; and
  • archive certain facts for 5 years.

If you would like more information on the above, implementation of the whistleblowing platform or use the services of an external competent person (we are able to provide this also in other jurisdictions), please do not hesitate to contact us.

Mgr. Igor Pieš partner

igor@kastnerpies.cz