The Whistleblower Act: a deep dive into some key concerns

This seminar has already taken place

As of 16 February 2023, all private companies with 250 or more employees, and all private companies active in the financial sector, have to implement a compliant internal whistleblower reporting channel. Companies (except for those in the financial sector) employing between 50 and 250 employees have time until 17 December 2023 to comply.

Although the long-announced Belgian Whistleblower Act sets minimum conditions that the internal reporting channel must meet, a lot of questions emerge regarding issues or consequences that are not (comprehensively) addressed in the law.

Next to the key take aways of the Belgian Whistleblowing Act on private companies we cover some of the particular issues or concerns that would arise if companies effectively receive a (multiple) notification(s) through their internal channel.

Programme

12.00: Lunch and registration 
12.20: General introduction 
12.40: Deep-dive topics:

• How to set up a reporting channel that complies with GDPR and respects the privacy of employees?
• How to address criminal offences brought to your attention?
• To which extent could the responsibility of the board and directors be triggered when dealing with a whistleblower report?
• How does the Whistleblower Act interact with the Market Abuse Regulation?
• How to act upon a whistleblower report from an employment law perspective?
• To which extent are whistleblowers protected against dismissal?

14.00: End of seminar

1 IBJ-IJE training point will be allocated