Whistleblowing
Contributing Editors
In this new age of accountability, organisations around the globe are having to navigate a patchwork of new laws designed to protect those who expose corporate misconduct. IEL’s Guide to Whistleblowing examines what constitutes a protective disclosure, the scope of regulations across 24 countries, and the steps businesses must take to ensure compliance with them.
Learn more about the response taken in specific countries or build your own report to compare approaches taken around the world.
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13. Who can be a whistleblower?
13. Who can be a whistleblower?
France
France
- at Proskauer
- at Proskauer
To benefit from whistleblower protection, the individual can be:
- an employee;
- a former employee when the information was obtained in the course of his or her employment;
- applicants for a job;
- shareholders or partners of the entity concerned;
- external and occasional employees of the entity; and
- contractors and subcontractors.
Germany
Germany
- at Oppenhoff
- at Oppenhoff
Whistleblowers may be employees, but also, for instance, self-employed persons, volunteers, members of corporate bodies or employees of suppliers. In addition to persons who obtain knowledge in advance, such as in a job interview or during pre-contractual negotiations, the scope of protection also includes those for whom the employment or service relationship has been terminated. As a result, the status of a whistleblower is not dependent on formal criteria such as type of employment.