Glossary
Whistleblower
Under EU Directive 2019/1937, a whistleblower is any natural person who reports breaches of EU or national law acquired in a work-related context. The scope covers employees, ex-employees, applicants, contractors, suppliers, shareholders, volunteers, and board members. Protection applies whenever the reporter had reasonable grounds to believe the information was true.
Full definition
Under EU Directive 2019/1937, a whistleblower (formally: 'reporting person') is any natural person who reports or publicly discloses information on breaches acquired in a work-related context. The scope is broad: employees, ex-employees, applicants, self-employed contractors, suppliers, shareholders, volunteers, and members of administrative or supervisory bodies are all protected. The protection applies regardless of whether the person is paid, whether they still work for the organization, or whether the report turns out to be substantiated, as long as they had reasonable grounds to believe the information was true.
Related terms
- 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.
- 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.