POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tomasz Konopka, Katarzyna Randzio-Sajkowska, Katarzyna Stradomska-Balcerzyk and Michał Zieliński, Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak
4.4 Whistle-Blower Protection Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the pro - tection of persons reporting breaches of Union law obliged member states to implement it by 17 Decem - ber 2021. Poland passed the Whistleblower Protec - tion Act in June 2024, and the Act entered into force on 25 September 2024, establishing comprehensive protection mechanisms for whistle-blowers in both the public and private sectors. According to the Whistleblower Protection Act, every company employing more than 50 people is obliged to establish an internal reporting procedure. This should be done after appropriate consultations either with the company trade unions, if any operate within the company, or with employee representatives, who are selected by applying an appropriate internally adopt - ed procedure. A whistle-blower is protected, including against retali - ation, from the moment of reporting, provided that they had reasonable grounds to believe that the infor - mation being the subject of the report was true at the time of reporting, and that it constituted information about a violation of the law. A violation of the law is an act or omission that is unlawful or intended to circumvent the law, relating to: • corruption; • public procurement; • financial services, products and markets; • counteracting money laundering and terrorism financing; • product safety and compliance with requirements; • transport safety; • environmental protection; • radiological protection and nuclear safety; • food and feed safety; • animal health and welfare; • public health; • consumer protection; • protection of privacy and personal data; • security of IT networks and systems; • financial interests of the State Treasury of the Republic of Poland, local government units and the European Union;
petty offence who notifies enforcement authorities of relevant circumstances concerning the offence (par - ticularly the persons who assisted in committing the offence) before the authorities become aware of the offence shall not be subject to a fiscal crime or fiscal petty offence. This rule is applicable only if the public debt has been fully repaid. An alternative solution is provided to the perpetrators of the abuse of the trust offence. If the perpetrator thereof has voluntarily redressed in full the inflicted damage, before the criminal proceedings have been instituted, then they are not subject to a penalty. 4.3 Plea Agreements, Co-Operation, Self- Disclosure and Leniency In general, no special “credit” is granted for voluntary disclosure of any offence. However, as described in 4.2 De Minimis , in the case of some offences – such as active bribery – disclosure of all the substantive circumstances of an offence can result in non-pun - ishment. There are several possibilities to avoid a criminal trial; however, there are no deferred prosecution agree - ments under Polish law (see 2.7 Deferred Prosecu- tion ). With respect to fiscal crimes, it is only possible for the person responsible for committing the act to avoid criminal fiscal liability by presenting the “active repent - ance” described above, or adjustment to a tax return. The FCC stipulates a number of specific requirements for acts of “repentance” that need to be met for any actions to avoid liability to be effective. In the last quarter of 2023, a new norm has been introduced to Polish CC, which states that the per - petrator of the crime of obstructing or thwarting a public tender, who notified the authority responsible for prosecuting crimes or the competition protection authority of a European Union member state or the European Commission of the fact of its commission, and disclosed all relevant circumstances, shall not be punished.
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