Whistleblowing: Italian companies still non-compliant just before 17 December deadline (Norme & Tributi Plus Diritto – Il Sole 24 Ore, 13 December 2023 – Vittorio De Luca)

The task force focus team highlights companies’ failure to adopt decree provisions.

Six months after the entry into force of the Italian legislative decree on Whistleblowing the dedicated task forceof De Luca & Partners’, a leading law firm in consultancy and assistance in employment law, analyses its actual implementation by Italian companies.

The decree requires employers to implement a system of protection and safeguards for those who report crimes and irregularities within the context of a public or private work relationship.

According to analysis by the De Luca & Partners task force, Italian companies are still far from compliant with the provisions which, from 17 December 2023, also affect smaller organisations with between 50 and 249 employees.

The task force noted that it is primarily in the field of dedicated company procedures – such as the identification of breaches that can become the subject of a report or the recipients of the reports themselves – that companies show general non-compliance.

“Looking at companies’ behaviour to date, we notice a general tendency to underestimate the complexity of the activities to be carried out to comply with the provisions of the Whistleblowing Decree”, underlines Vittorio De Luca, Managing Partner of De Luca & Partners. “Just to mention the main areas, all aspects of the process must be detailed in specific company procedures. Companies are delaying the careful consideration necessary to assess through which system, including computerised systems, they should make reports, in full compliance with current privacy legislation. Not only that, but it is also necessary to ensure that the disciplinary code adopted is adequate to avoid invalidating any disciplinary measures taken. And this is all in the context of regulatory framework that contains two significant risks for the failure to adopt an appropriate report management process: a fine of up to EUR 50,000, and the loss of the exemptions provided for in Italian Legislative Decree no. 231/01”, adds Vittorio De Luca.

The task force launched by De Luca & Partners includes the Firm’s Compliance team and offers all aspects of legal support required by companies to adopt the procedures necessary to guarantee compliance with all aspects of the legislation.

Continue reading the full version on Norme & Tributi Plus Diritto of Il Sole 24 Ore.