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Nov 22, 2023 · Updated: 22/11/2023. 3 min. Chapters. Italy’s drawn-out EU Whistleblowing Directive transposition process has finally come to an end. The majority of EU member states failed to implement the Directive’s requirements by the original December 2021 deadline and Italy was among them.
The first-ever whistleblowing regulation generally applicable to the private sector in Italy came into force on December 29, 2018, with the passage of Law No. 179/2017 (the Law).
Dec 21, 2020 · By NICOLE WINFIELD. Published 4:27 PM PDT, December 21, 2020. ROME (AP) — The U.N. epidemiologist who denounced the World Health Organization’s withdrawal of a report on Italy’s coronavirus response says he is suffering retaliation for having spoken out and is calling for the agency to live up to its obligations to protect whistleblowers.
Jun 23, 2022 · 23 June 2022. Every year on 23 June, we take a moment to recognise the crucial role that whistleblowers play in the fight for a more just world. There has been no shortage of evidence of this in recent years, as we all reckoned with the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet, this year’s World Whistleblowers Day comes with a sobering reminder that our ...
- Introduction
- Who Is Protected?
- Which Disclosures Are Covered?
- Procedure For Making A Disclosure
- Payment
- Protection Available
- Contracting Out
- Remedies
- Whistleblowing Policies/Arrangements
- Practical Implications
Italy introduced a key piece of legislation at the end of 2017, which for the first time, specifically broaches the topic of whistleblowing and applies not only to the public sector. The new legislation establishes that public and private sector employees must be protected if they report illegal practices within their company/organisations.
Employees are protected by a specific legislation safeguarding them from dismissal, disciplinary action or any form of discrimination/retaliation as a consequence of having flagged any unlawful practices to the authorities.
Given the absence of any specific legislation for the private sector, there is no clear-cut definition of what makes a qualifying disclosure. Under general principles of law, employees may not make unfounded accusations which could damage an employer’s reputation or needlessly incur legal costs. As such, in accordance with general principles of law...
The law does not provide a specific procedure for the private sector for making a qualifying or protected disclosure. In general, there must be one or more channels for employees and all personnel to report unlawful practices. Any such disclosure must be based on specific and objective information. In terms of the public sector, the law states that...
There is no legislation requiring a company to award a payment to an individual to make a disclosure. Likewise, there are no provisions entitling an individual to payment for flagging a concern.
Workers are protected by the law and the applicable collective bargaining agreement. It is automatically unfair to dismiss or victimise an employee because he/she made a disclosure if in doing so he/she did not breach the law or contract.
It is not possible to agree with individuals that they will not make a protected disclosure. Any such arrangement would be void under Italian law.
The remedies depend on the worker’s collective agreement and in the event of an unfair dismissal, on the individual judge’s decision. In some cases an individual can be entitled to reinstatement, payment in lieu of reinstatement and/or damages.
There is no statutory requirement that employers put in place a whistleblowing policy or whistleblowing arrangements. There is, however, an increasing awareness that doing so means that concerns can be dealt with efficiently and transparently. There is also the added benefit that having an internal policy in place means that concerns can be raised ...
The practical implications for employers are devising and implementing a policy which safeguards employees and at the same time also guards against any abuse of whistleblowing to air personal grievances rather than genuine concerns. Practical implementation might include a “whistleblowing hotline”. Our International Employment Issues summary provid...
Jul 16, 2021 · Transparency Int'l 16 July 2021. In May 2020, at a time when the Italian people were still battling with the devastating first COVID-19 wave, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a report investigating Italy’s pandemic preparedness. The report aimed to provide lessons for countries not yet affected by the virus.
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Oct 19, 2023 · Transparency International’s paper Whistleblower Protection at the United Nations highlights the pervasive risk of retaliation United Nations workers face, a major deterrent to reporting misconduct. It finds that fragmented and unclear whistleblowing policies, retaliation by staff, and a top-down culture within the United Nations threaten and ...
