Why set up a Notification Channel?

Studies show that companies that invest in sustainable business get a 5–15-year head start over their competitors. A notification channel is a part of a company’s responsible operations, and it is required and appreciated by personnel, customers and stakeholders.

With the help of the Finland Chamber of Commerce’s Notification Channel service, your organisation will be able to provide whistleblowers with an anonymous and reliable way to report malpractice and irregularities at an early stage. The processors receiving notifications in the service will be able to manage and process notifications easily. The Notification Channel makes it possible for your organisation to meet the requirements of the upcoming whistleblower protection law.

The whistleblower protection law will soon enter into force

The Council of the European Union adopted the whistleblower protection directive (Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of whistleblowers) on 7 October 2019. The Finnish Government’s proposal regarding the whistleblower protection law was presented in September 2022, and the law is likely to enter into force at the end of the year.

The law will require an organisation that employs at least 50 people to implement a channel for reporting observed malpractice and irregularities within the organisation. The channel also makes it possible for an organisation to notify a whistleblower of any actions that have been taken.

With the help of the Finland Chamber of Commerce’s Notification Channel service, your company will meet the legal requirements and provide employees and other whistleblowers with a reliable and easy-to-use channel for submitting notifications.

If your organisation meets any of the following criteria, a notification channel is for you:

1. Your organisation has at least 50 employees

Organisations that employ 50 or more employees must have a channel for reporting observed malpractice and irregularities. Smaller organisations can implement the channel voluntarily and demonstrate their responsibility.

2. Your organisation is active in certain sectors

Regardless of size, your organisation is obligated to provide a notification channel if it operates in any of the following sectors:

The financial sector and other sectors covered by the Anti-Money Laundering Directive
Aeronautics, maritime transport
Oil and gas extraction at sea

3. Your organisation operates responsibly

Set up a notification channel when you wish to act responsibly and to offer a way to report suspected malpractice.

Through a notification channel, you will be able to provide personnel and stakeholders with the opportunity to submit notifications about your organisation’s activities either anonymously or using a name. The notifications may relate to infringements, irregularities or malpractice observed or suspected by the whistleblower. The Notification Channel service can also be used to discuss with the whistleblower and to request more information about the incident, if necessary.

Only people authorised by your organisation will have access to the notifications. They will be able to discuss with the whistleblower through the Notification Channel. The notifications are entirely between the whistleblower and the processors.

Who should be able to submit a notification?

At a minimum, an organisation’s current employees must be able to submit notifications.

Protection against retaliation is also given to

current and former employees as well as jobseekers
potential volunteers and trainees
employees of subcontractors and suppliers
shareholders

If the organisation has set up a notification channel solely for its personnel, the other persons mentioned above can report their concerns directly to the authority’s notification channel. Notification channels are therefore often activated for all of the groups mentioned above.

Plan internal processes when activating a notification channel:

1. Name the person or unit responsible for operating the notification channel

2. Plan notification processing procedures that are appropriate for your organisation, while taking data protection and data security into account:

Who in your organisation is responsible for receiving, processing and following up on notifications?
What steps are being taken to ensure that the deadlines for processing notifications are met?
How often and to whom are notifications reported?
Where are received notifications archived, and what information is stored in the archive?

3. Ensure that your personnel and stakeholders can find your company’s notification channel. The channel’s existence can be communicated to personnel in, for example, the intranet, and to other stakeholders on the organisation’s website. State the notification channel’s purpose clearly.

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The whistleblower protection law will require organisations to provide a channel for reporting suspected malpractice. The Finland Chamber of Commerce’s Notification Channel service provides your organisation with a cost-effective and effortless way to set up a channel.

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