SLOVENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Martin Šafar, Šafar & Partners
are substantiated, following an HR internal investiga - tion. In rare cases, employers may organise training on this topic.
whistle-blower is prohibited, including but not limited to: • termination of employment; • suspension of the employment contract; • demotion, hindrance of promotion, or denial of advancement; • reassignment of duties, change of workplace, working hours, reduction of workload, non-pay - ment or reduction of salary or benefits, non-pay - ment of bonuses or severance; • hindrance or denial of education and professional training; • low performance ratings or negative employment references; • disciplinary proceedings, sanctions, or penalties; • harassment, coercion, intimidation, bullying, exclu - sion, or inadequate protection of dignity; • discrimination or unfair treatment; • refusal to enter into a fixed-term contract when conditions are met; • early termination of a fixed-term contract; • other arbitrary actions by the employer causing harm, including reputational, financial, or business loss; • early termination of contracts for goods or services or other business co-operation; • revocation or suspension of licenses or permits; • arbitrary imposition of health or fitness-for-work checks; • blacklisting within a sector or industry affecting future employment; or • initiating malicious proceedings against the whis - tle-blower. Furthermore, the whistle-blower is entitled to protec - tive measures, including: • confidentiality and prohibition of identity disclosure; • exemption from liability; • judicial protection and interim measures in case of retaliation; • free legal assistance; • unemployment compensation; and • psychological support.
7. Data Protection 7.1 Collecting Personal Data
The employer may collect or process only personal data that is strictly necessary and only for as long as required for the purposes of the investigation. 7.2 Specific Rules It is necessary to comply with the general provisions of the Employment Relationships Act, the General Data Protection Regulation, and the Personal Data Protection Act; no other specific provisions apply when collecting and/or processing personal data for an HR internal investigation. 7.3 Access The parties in all types of proceedings have the right to access personal data which is collected. The right applies to the employee under investigation and, in cases of proceedings concerning mobbing, harass - ment or discrimination, also to the reporting employee. 7.4 AI AI is not used, nor should it be used when conducting internal investigations (due to personal data protec - tion). In Slovenia, whistle-blowing is also regulated by law under the Whistleblower Protection Act, which imple - ments Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons reporting breaches of EU law. Under this law, a whistle-blower is an individual who reports or publicly discloses information on violations learned in their work environment. A whistle-blower is entitled to protection if they had reasonable grounds to believe that the reported information was true at the time of reporting. Any form of retaliation against the 8. Special Cases 8.1 Whistle-Blowing
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