With a few weeks to go before the Dec. 17 deadline, many organizations are working hard to comply with the Whistleblower Protection Act. Whistleblowers are also increasingly in the news. Time for a newsletter!
Kick off Integrity Week with Whistleblower Protection Act course
December 1 marks the start of Integrity Week, which is organized by the ICC every year. December 8 is the final conference in Madurodam. But what better way to start this week than taking The Integrity Coordinator's Whistleblower Protection Act course? Some seats are still available.
We still sometimes encounter whistleblower procedures in which the report is submitted to the confidant, after which management follows up. We do not consider that a "good practice. And it violates the law. Recently, the district judge in one such case awarded hefty severance pay. That could have been a lot better.
LUMC director steps down after whistleblower goes to press
At Leiden University Medical Center, fraud was perpetrated for years to attract European grant money. A whistleblower denounced the fraud. Only after Follow the Money and Omroep West published about this did the director in question step down (temporarily).
Because of the Whistleblower Protection Act, we expected more stories of whistleblowers in the news. Indeed, that appears to be the case. For example, ONE-Dyas was recently in the news. There seems to be some work to be done there in the area of safe working and safe reporting.
Recently, the union FNV published a study on transgressive behavior in the workplace. The results are shocking. There is work for employers to do. Everyone has the right to a safe workplace. Good reporting procedures help.
Article Work & Safety now available on our website
We already informed you in our August newsletter that an article by our director on safe working and safe reporting had been published in Work & Safety magazine. This article is now also available on our website.
Implementation whistleblower directive inadequate, according to TI
Transparency International has been fighting bribery and corruption for many years. Whistleblowers play a vital role in revealing this. That's why TI is also committed to protecting whistleblowers. The European Directive to protect whistleblowers provides a good start in this regard. But have the member states implemented them properly? And how does the Netherlands fare?
In honor and memory of bell-ringer Frits Veerman, the Veerman Lecture will henceforth be held annually. On June 23, 2023, International Whistleblower's Day, Director of the Social and Cultural Planning Office Karen van Oudenhoven delivered the first Veerman lecture. You can download and read it now (through the link) on the website of the House of Whistleblowers.
Where will you meet us?
On Nov. 28, Geert Vermeulen gives a guest lecture at the University of Nijmegen
On December 1, we will organize the Whistleblower Protection Act course in Utrecht
On December 6, we are hosting the course "How to coordinate a whistleblowing internal investigation report?" at EIMF from Cyprus.
The final conference of Integrity Week will be held on December 8
On December 13 and 15, we will conduct a training course on 'How to conduct third party due diligence' for EIMF
And also on December 15, we will give a lunchtime talk on the Whistleblower Protection Act at the European Medicines Agency, which will also be attended by a number of other international agencies
