The European Union has adopted the so-called Whistleblowing Directive, which seeks to ensure that persons discovering suspected breaches of EU law in the course of their work can anonymously report them without fear of retaliation.
In Finland, the Act on the Protection of Persons Reporting Breaches of EU Law is expected to enter into force in early 2023. The Act protects all persons working in the public and private sectors, and it covers breaches related to public procurement, protection of privacy and personal data, and security and information systems.
The University of Eastern Finland will introduce an internal whistleblowing channel once the Act has entered into force. The internal whistleblowing channel is intended for members of the academic community, as well as for stakeholders. A national, centralised whistleblowing channel will operate under the Office of the Chancellor of Justice.
Breaches are reported confidentially via the whistleblowing channel: the identity of the person reporting the breach, the breach itself, and the identity and other personal data of any other people involved in the matter are protected in the channel. Persons reporting breaches will receive an acknowledgement of receipt within 7 days, and the measures to be taken must be announced within 3 months. Retaliation against persons reporting breaches is prohibited.
The university’s internal whistleblowing channel will be available in e-Services. For reports from outside the academic community, a link to e-Services will be established via the university’s public website.
The UEF Board discussed the setting up of a whistleblowing channel at its meeting on 14 December 2022.
For further information, please contact:
Petri Rintamäki, Director of Legal Affairs, University of Eastern Finland, petri.rintamaki@uef.fi
Laura Aivio, Lawyer, University of Eastern Finland, laura.aivio@uef.fi
Helena Eronen, Data Protection Officer, University of Eastern Finland, helena.eronen@uef.fi