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Lantero's CEO comments in Dagens Industri (Swedish) on the strong development for whistleblower services. Due to the new law, the market has gained momentum, which is expected to continue in the coming years. The article discusses how different players handle pricing in different ways, depending on whether the business model is based on the system solution or on investigation services.

In an interview in Dagens Nyheter (Swedish), Project Manager Tina Bohlin talks about the new whistleblower standard and what significance it may have in relation to the new legislation in the area. Tina Bohlin talks about the international collaboration around developing the standard, which organizations are affected and how an organization can approach the issue. Among other things, she describes how the work becomes easier if you have worked with the issue before and already have some type of solution and routines in place. She also describes that the standard is not directly linked to certain legislation, but should be international and general. It therefore cannot be guaranteed that a solution based on the standard will meet all legal requirements. Tina Bohlin is also clear about the importance of working with openness in the organizational culture so that people will dare to speak out about misconduct.

Swedish medical industry daily newspaper Dagens Medicin acknowledges the lack of whistleblower systems in a majority of the Regional Authorities. The article (Swedish) mentions the upcoming EU legislation, making such systems mandatory. 

There is a new international standard for whistleblower systems, ISO 37002: 2021. The standard is a guidance and will be handy as the new whistleblower EU legislation comes into force at the end of the year.  National committees have participated in the work and Lantero has been part of the Swedish committee under SIS management.  Overall, it can be said that it is a document developed to be as useful as possible for companies and organizations in all countries, regardless of local legislation. The standard therefore aims to take on different perspectives on relevant issues and problems, and give the tools to assess risks depending on the organizations own conditions. The standard is less focused on how to handle specific legislation. From Lantero's perspective, the standard could have been clearer on information security issues and more clearly highlighted the risks that apply to internal investigators of whistleblower cases, but in general the standard covers most important issues in the area.

The new law on whistleblowing is coming soon. The interest is great, and the questions are many.  What should you as a corporate leader  do to comply with the law and get the greatest possible business impact. Lantero was invited to a webinar with Nordea Private Banking to share thoughts and experiences. You can see the result here divided into three short films (in Swedish), each focusing on a relevant area. Without going into too many details, it gives you a good overview of the challenges and the opportunities. Part one, what is the new whistleblowing law about?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w58-_XqrSdA Part two, The whistelblowing process in four steps, that you should know about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGb3C-pVwvc Part three: What kind of reports can you expect and how do you maximize the positive impact when implementing a whistleblowing channel?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwd6-HbQEWo

When the new whistleblower directive is implemented in Swedish legislation, it is proposed that Groups may not share reporting channels for subsidiaries with more than 249 employees. In a debate article (Swedish) in Dagens Industri, general counsels in a number of large Swedish companies raise the issue and call for a change in the proposed legislation. The argument is about increased bureaucratisation and that there are in fact greater opportunities for independent handling of disclosed cases if the function is centralized. The debate article makes important points and takes a practical perspective, where the new legislation risks creating more problems than it solves. However, it is worth considering what limitations are actually proposed. If, for example, separate reporting channels are established, the same administrator could possibly investigate cases for several Group companies if the assignments are regulated by separate agreements. Our assessment is that the procedure would be fully viable if it is an external law firm that staffs the whistleblower solution. But the question is whether it would not also be feasible to apply the same logic with an internal Group of Trustees at the Group Head Office.

The proposal for the Swedish implementation of the EU Whistleblower Directive went to the Legal Affairs Council in mid-April. The proposal was accepted without further comments by the Legal Affairs Council and a final bill could therefore be presented on 25 May. (Read more here, in Swedish) There are no big surprises in the proposal, but compared with the previous Swedish whistleblower law (which is now being replaced) there are some changes. Most noticeably, it will be mandatory for organizations with more than 50 employees to set up a whistleblower channel, including some specific requirements on how reporting can take place and requirements on independent handling of disclosures. What is considered a "whistleblower case" is also changed and broadened. An important change in the wording is that there should be a public interest in the information coming out. What is considered public interest is not entirely clear, but overall the threshold for what can be reported is lowered, at the same time as the lawmaker aims at getting rid of matters concerning individuals and focus more on systematic misconduct. According to the proposal, the law will enter into force on 17 December, 2021.

On 20th May 2021, Minister of Labor Eva Nordmark held a press conference to talk about the forthcoming law on strengthened protection for whistleblowers. The bill that is presented is largely in accordance with the EU directive and the Swedish investigation that forms the basis for the law. The messages emphasized in the press conference are: - The ”Meddelarskyddet” that already exists today is not affected, the new law will complement this, and replace the whistleblower law that already exists today. - The new law means that the protection is now extended to apply to all employers, in both public and private sectors. - It becomes clear to employers that they have an obligation to make it easy for their employees to report and to handle the reports that come in via internal whistleblower channels, otherwise they break the law. The difference from the current whistleblower law is described as an extension from previously including only protection for the whistleblower to also include a clear process on how whistleblower reports should be handled. It is not clear what the concept of clear process will mean. Feedback, follow-up and contact with the whistleblower are actions that is mentioned. The requirement for confidentiality regarding the whistleblower is also mentioned. But there is no mention of the requirement for an independent and autonomous investigation. Something that has been clear in the directive and the Swedish investigation. View the press conference here

Authorities often put a lot of time and effort into understanding complex issues in order to be able to set relevant procurement requirements. Although the cost of a whistleblower system is quite low. Many times the responsible people don't take advantage of the existing framework agreements, which can greatly facilitate the process and reduce the work.  Whistleblower systems have been included in several Swedish framework agreements for several years, through the Swedish Chamber of Commerce and SKR, but so far few have used the opportunity. Redpill Linpro tells more about the theme here.

As head of the fishing company Samherji, Jóhannes Stefánsson understood that the company was involved in widespread corruption linked to fishing quotas in Namibia. He left the company in protest and then came to expose the misconduct within his own company and other parts of the industry in "The Fishrot Files". The ensuing debate shook the industry and toppled two Namibian ministers, among others. Jóhannes Stefánsson now wins the prestigious sustainability award "WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award 2021" and a prize sum of one million Swedish kronor for the unveiling. Read more here. (Swedish)