Whistleblowing
On December 20, Law No. 93/2021, of December 20, was published, establishing the general regime for the protection of whistleblowers (RGPDI), transposing Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 23, 2019, concerning the protection of persons who report violations of Union law, creating the obligation to implement internal reporting channels and procedures to ensure compliance with the principles underlying this new legal framework.
A “Whistleblower” under Portuguese Law No. 93/2021, of December 20, is considered to be a natural person who reports or publicly discloses an infringement based on information obtained in the context of their professional activity, regardless of the nature of the activity or the sector in which it is carried out.
For this purpose, the following may be considered whistleblowers:
- Their employees;
- Other workers from the private, social, or public sector;
- Service providers, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers, as well as any persons acting under their supervision and direction;
- Clients;
- Holders of shareholdings and persons belonging to management or supervisory bodies or fiscal bodies of legal entities, including non-executive members;
- Volunteers and interns, whether paid or unpaid.
It is noted that a natural person may still be considered a whistleblower even if the report or public disclosure of an infringement is based on information obtained during a former professional relationship, as well as during the recruitment process or another pre-contractual negotiation phase, whether or not the professional relationship was formalized.
Submit a report
To exercise your right to report, you must consult the law to ensure you can be considered a “Whistleblower” under this statute.
To submit a report under this framework, you must first consult Law No. 93/2021, of December 20. Only reports of the infringements provided therein are admissible, as follows:
- By letter, to the address of BTL, specifically addressed to the Manager of the Reporting Channel;
- By completing the online form;
By email: denuncias@btl.pt.
Whistleblowing Form
This reporting form constitutes the Internal Reporting Channel of BTL, which aims to allow the reporting of situations that constitute infringements by act or omission, which amount to crimes or administrative offenses, related, namely, to the areas of:
- Fraud (errors and omissions of relevant information to third parties);
- Corruption and related offenses, including active and passive corruption, improper receipt and offering of advantages, embezzlement, economic participation in business, coercion, abuse of power, malfeasance, influence peddling, money laundering or fraud in obtaining or diverting subsidies, grants, or credit;
- Verified misconduct, conflicts of interest (personal situations or inappropriate relationships with third parties that may affect proper performance of duties towards BTL, putting personal interests before those of the organization);
- Situations/actions that are considered inappropriate to the ethical standards and values, which may negatively affect or harm the good name of BTL and/or the wellbeing of employees, interns, suppliers, service providers, subcontractors, and clients;
- Human rights: violation of human rights;
- Workers’ rights: conduct that endangers workers’ health and integrity or causes discrimination or harassment;
- IT resources: inappropriate use of BTL’s IT equipment;
- Solvency and accounting aspects of BTL: asset concealment, as well as systematic recording and analysis of commercial and financial transactions that violate accounting regulations;
- Anomalies in the origin and destination of capital: conduct that makes internal policies to prevent money laundering ineffective, as well as fraudulent obtaining, management, and use of public aid or subsidies;
- Industrial property: use of trademarks and patents without proper license or authorization;
It is also possible, through the internal reporting channel, to reveal situations that constitute infringements by act or omission, which amount to crimes or administrative offenses, relating, in particular, to the areas of:
- Public procurement;
- Financial services, products, and markets and prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing;
- Product safety and compliance;
- Transport safety;
- Environmental protection;
- Radiation protection and nuclear safety;
- Food safety for human and animal consumption, animal health, and animal welfare;
- Public health;
- Consumer protection;
- Privacy and personal data protection and security of networks and information systems;
- Financial interests of the European Union;
- Competition rules and state aid;
Violent crime.
The report must include information about criminal offenses, irregularities, or violations of the law within BTL, and the whistleblower must have become aware of the infringement in the context of their professional activity, with the report being relevant to safeguarding the public interest.
The whistleblower should provide clear evidence of their suspicions, presenting facts and indications of irregular and/or unlawful conduct, based on a serious belief that these are true, demonstrating the truthfulness of the report under the principle of good faith.
If the matter reported to BTL is outside its competence, the report will be forwarded to the competent entity or authority.
When preparing your report, you must act in good faith, have a serious basis to believe that the information provided is true, have become aware of the infringement in the context of your professional activity, and the report must be relevant to safeguarding the public interest. Thus, the report should be complete and well-founded, providing, whenever possible, detailed information about the facts, evidence, location, justification for the report, and other relevant matters.
If you wish to submit an anonymous report, you must be careful not to provide elements that could identify you. Please note that if you choose to submit an anonymous report, you will not receive any feedback or information about it afterwards.
