Protection of whistleblowers according to Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report infringements of Union law, its successor Act No. 171/2023 Coll., on the protection of whistleblowers and in accordance with the internal regulation of the Occupational Safety Research Institute.
The aim of whistleblowing is to protect the whistleblower from sanctions, discrimination or other reprisals.
Requirements of the notification
The notification should contain information about possible infringements that:
- has the elements of a criminal offence, or
- has the characteristics of an offence for which the law provides for a fine of at least CZK 100 000, or
- violates this Act, or
- violates another legal regulation or a regulation of the European Union.[1]
The whistleblower may do so by notifying the Occupational Safety Research Institute for which he has performed or is performing work or other similar activity – dependent work performed in a basic employment relationship, service, volunteer activity, professional practice, internship, applying for a job (or performing other similar activity), self-employment, exercise of rights associated with participation in a legal entity, exercising the functions of a member of a body of a legal person, performing tasks within the scope of the activities of a legal person, in its interest, on its behalf or on its account, administering a trust fund, exercising rights and obligations arising from a contract the subject of which is the provision of supplies, services, construction work or other similar performance.
Submission of notification
Notification can be made:
- in writing or in person at the office no. 206 of the authorized person;
- in writing by electronic submission to whistleblowing@vubp.cz.
A 
vzor oznámení may be used to submit the notification.
The Whistleblower Protection Act requires that the name, surname and date of birth, or other information from which the identity of the whistleblower can be inferred (e.g., unique employee registration number), be included on the notice. If the person´s identity is not established, he or she may not be afforded the level of whistleblower protection required by law.
All notifications will only be forwarded to the appropriate person or persons who meet the requirements under the Whistleblower Protection Act (in particular the provisions of Section 10 of the Act):
Mgr. Denisa Civínová, email: whistleblowing@vubp.cz
The designated person will subsequently inform the whistleblower of the receipt of the notification and the results of the assessment of its validity, followed by appropriate corrective or preventive measures.
The oral notification shall be audio-recorded or recorded in a manner that faithfully captures the substance of the oral notification. An audio recording of an oral communication may be made only with the consent of the communicant. The competent person shall give the whistleblower the opportunity to comment on the recording or transcript of the audio recording, if made. The statement of the whistleblower shall be attached to the recording or transcript.
Alternative to internal notification
As an alternative to the internal notification system, you can use the external notification system operated by the Ministry of Justice:
https://oznamovatel.justice.cz/chci-podat-oznameni/
Notification to the Ministry of Justice can be made orally or in writing.
More information can be found here:
https://oznamovatel.justice.cz/informace-pro-oznamovatele/
[1] In the area of 1. financial services, due diligence and other assurance services, financial products and financial markets, 2. corporate income tax, 3. prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, 4. consumer protection, 5. compliance with product requirements, including product safety, 6. transport, transport and road safety, 7. environmental protection, 8. food and feed safety and animal health, 9. radiation protection and nuclear safety, 10. competition, public auctions and public procurement, 11. protection of internal order and security, life and health, 12. protection of personal data, privacy and security of electronic communications networks and information systems, 13. protection of the financial interests of the European Union (Article 325 TFEU), or 14. functioning of the internal market (Article 26(1) and (2) TFEU), including the protection of competition and State aid under European Union law.