More protections are on the way for those who report crimes in the workplace, the so-called whistleblowers, including private ones. On the table of the Council of Ministers next Friday 9 December, in fact, a draft legislative decree will arrive which implements the European directive on the matter. According to the provisions of the draft provision, the audience of beneficiaries of the protections provided for by the regulations passed starting from 2012 and then by the law which in 2017 introduced this figure in Italy by borrowing it from the Anglo-Saxon countries is being enlarged.
Who is the whistleblower
Whistleblower is literally the one who blows the whistle like a referee who signals an impropriety and stops the game. This term therefore indicates the worker who, upon discovering an offense, decides to report it, assuming the risk of harassment, retaliation or harassment. In the draft of the draft legislative decree, in addition to civil servants, collaborators, consultants, volunteers or trainees are also protected as whistleblowers, but also work colleagues of the reporting person who have a regular relationship with them.
The role of the Anac
It is the Anac (National Anti-Corruption Authority) which protects the worker who, following the report, and because of it, suffers retaliatory measures, sanctioning the perpetrator of the retaliation. And in the scheme that should be approved, the boundaries of what are considered these retaliations also widen: not only dismissal or a reduction in salary, but also, for example, discrimination or damage, even to reputation, particularly on social media . “Finally, Italy has implemented the European legislation on whistleblowing – underlines the president of Anac, Giuseppe Busia – strongly desired by Anac. The protection of the whistleblower is a fundamental right, internationally recognized, an extension of the right to freedom of expression”.