Glossary
Interim Measures
Provisional remedies such as reinstatement or suspension of dismissal available to a retaliated whistleblower while the case is decided. EU Directive 2019/1937 Article 21(6) requires member states to ensure interim relief pending resolution of proceedings. Ireland has the most developed regime, with a Circuit Court able to grant relief within 10 days.
Full definition
Article 21(6) of EU Directive 2019/1937 requires member states to ensure that protected reporters can access remedies and full compensation against retaliation, including 'interim relief, pending the resolution of legal proceedings'. In practice interim measures take the form of an injunction suspending a dismissal, ordering reinstatement, or restraining the employer from further adverse actions until the substantive claim is heard. The Irish Act has the most developed interim-relief regime: a Circuit Court can grant interim relief restraining a dismissal within ten days of an ex parte application, with the burden on the employer to show the dismissal had nothing to do with the protected disclosure. Germany's HinSchG §36 permits einstweilige Verfügung (interim injunction) through the Arbeitsgericht. France relies on the conseil de prud'hommes' référé procedure. Interim relief is the practical lever that distinguishes effective whistleblower regimes from purely declaratory ones: a reporter who is reinstated within 30 days suffers far less harm than one whose remedy comes years later.
Related terms
- Retaliation Any direct or indirect adverse measure taken against a whistleblower because of their report. Article 19 of EU Directive 2019/1937 prohibits dismissal, demotion, transfer, withheld training, negative reviews, reputational damage, blacklisting, and contract termination. Article 21(5) reverses the burden of proof so the employer must justify the measure on unrelated grounds.
- Reverse Burden of Proof Under EU Directive 2019/1937 Article 21(5), once a reporter shows a protected disclosure followed by an adverse measure, the burden shifts to the employer to prove the measure was based on grounds unrelated to the disclosure. The mechanism matters because retaliation is hard to prove directly, and national courts in Germany, France, and the Netherlands have applied it since 2024.
- Protected Disclosure A protected disclosure is a report of an EU or national law breach that triggers automatic protection from retaliation under EU Directive 2019/1937 Articles 5 to 15. The reporter must have had reasonable grounds to believe the information was true at the time of reporting. False or malicious reports are not protected.