The internal reporting channel duty in Greece

2022-11-11 (date of publication in Government Gazette, Issue A, No. 210)

Private sector entities employing fifty (50) or more workers at the same time, irrespective of the nature of their activities and of the duration of each worker's employment within the year (Art. 9(1)). Headcount is calculated under Law 4308/2014 and includes full-time employees, persons in a relationship equivalent to salaried work however remunerated, staff leased from another entity, and owner-entrepreneurs who work in and are paid by the entity; trainees and students on education and training contracts are excluded. Public sector bodies with 50 or more staff (Art. 8(1)). No threshold at all for private sector entities active in financial services, products and markets, transport and the environment, entities operating under an environmental permit decision, and entities whose activities by their nature may pose a risk to the environment and public health (Art. 9(4)). Entities with fewer than 50 workers may appoint an officer voluntarily (Art. 9(3)).

17 December 2023. Transitional Art. 25(1): private sector undertakings with 50 to 249 employees must comply with the obligation to establish an internal reporting channel by 17 December 2023 and must notify the Labour Inspectorate or the relevant sectoral supervisory body within two months of compliance. Undertakings with more than 249 employees had six months from entry into force, i.e. until 11 May 2023 (Art. 25(2)).

Not required by the Law itself, but expressly contemplated by the binding ministerial decision that defines the internal procedure. Law 4990/2022 does not oblige entities to follow up anonymous reports; Art. 6(3) protects persons who reported anonymously and are later identified, provided they meet the Art. 6(1) conditions. Joint Ministerial Decision 47312 (FEK B' 6944/11.12.2023), issued under Art. 24(4)(a) and specifying the mandatory Art. 10 internal procedure for public and private entities, opens its Article 2 with the rule that the internal report may be submitted in name or anonymously, in writing or orally or through the electronic platform. An internal channel that blocks anonymous intake is therefore not on firm ground.

Εθνική Αρχή Διαφάνειας (Ε.Α.Δ.) / National Transparency Authority - designated as the external reporting channel (Arts. 11-12). For breaches of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU the external channel is the Επιτροπή Ανταγωνισμού (Hellenic Competition Commission), which exercises the Art. 12 powers exclusively. Compliance with the duty to appoint the internal officer is verified, and the fine imposed, by the locally competent Επιθεώρηση Εργασίας (Labour Inspectorate) or, for Art. 9(4) entities, by the relevant sectoral supervisory body (Art. 9(11)-(13)).

Two separate regimes, and the specific one is incomplete. (1) For failing to appoint the Υ.Π.Π.Α., i.e. failing to establish the internal channel, Art. 9(13) states that the breach "συνεπάγεται επιβολή προστίμου" - entails the imposition of a fine by the Labour Inspectorate or the competent supervisory body - but the amount and the criteria for setting it are left to a joint ministerial decision of the Ministers of Justice, Finance and Development and Investments under Art. 24(3).. (2) For obstructing or attempting to obstruct the submission of a report, for retaliation or malicious proceedings, and for breach of the confidentiality of the reporter's identity, Art. 23(1) provides criminal penalties of imprisonment and a pecuniary penalty; knowingly false reports carry imprisonment of at least two years plus a pecuniary penalty (Art. 23(3)). Where any breach of the law was committed for the benefit of or on behalf of a legal person, Art. 23(5) imposes on that legal person an administrative fine of not less than EUR 10,000 and not more than EUR 500,000, measured by the gravity of the breach and the degree of fault.

Yes, expressly. Art. 9(7): the Υ.Π.Π.Α. "μπορεί να είναι είτε εργαζόμενος του φορέα ιδιωτικού τομέα είτε τρίτο πρόσωπο, το οποίο συμμορφώνεται με τις επιταγές του παρόντος" - may be either an employee of the private sector entity or a third person who complies with the requirements of this law. In both cases the officer reports directly to the entity's most senior administrative body. Entities with 50-249 employees may also use a shared Υ.Π.Π.Α. for receiving reports (Art. 9(5)).