On 25 September 2024, the Whistleblower Protection Act came into force.

In accordance with its content, the regulations on whistleblower protection are applied to a number of entities, including i.a. to a legal entity, for the benefit of which at least 50 persons perform work as at 1 January or 1 July of a given year. This number includes employees in full-time equivalent units or persons performing work against remuneration on a basis other than the employment relationship if they do not employ other persons for this kind of work, regardless of the employment basis. The Act is also applied, among others, to legal entities performing activities in the scope of services, products and financial markets as well as in the scope of counteracting of money laundering and terrorism financing, transport safety and environmental protection falling within the scope of legal acts of the European Union mentioned in parts I.B and II of the Appendix to Directive 2019/1937, regardless of the number of persons performing work.

Entities, to which the Whistleblower Protection Act is applied, are obliged to implement a procedure of internal reports.

Provisions of the Act provide for a criminal liability for failure to establish the procedure of internal reports or establishing the procedure with a material breach of law. Such an action constitutes an offence subject to a fine. The Act itself does not specify the amount of a fine and therefore it may be imposed in the amount from PLN 20 up to PLN 5,000, in accordance with the Code of Offences.

It is worth mentioning that in accordance with the opinion of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 11 July 2024, the procedure of internal reports which will be used by whistleblowers may start to operate in legal entities (to which the threshold of employees is applicable) at the beginning of the next year. Only then it will be mandatory to verify the number of the persons employed.