Brazil: Whistleblower channel as a compliance tool

published on 22 February 2022 | reading time approx. 1 minute

A new directive regarding Whistleblowing Channels is in force in the European Union from December 2021. It is expected that for compliance reasons, the same directives will be respected in Brazil since the role played by those who report corruption, fraud and mismanagement is vital for the good image of the company. 
  

  
Nowadays in Brazil the legal protection of whistleblowers is limited to corruption cases, but the whistleblower channel is much more than that. The whistleblower channel is an instrument for detecting possible irregularities that include, in addition to corruption, fraud, illegal acts, and non-compliance with the code of ethics and principles.
 

A whistleblowing channel must be consistent with the company's profile, considering the access of its employees to at least one of the channel types, whether via email, WhatsApp, website, among others.
 

ADVANTAGES IN ESTABLISHING A WHISTLEBLOWING CHANNEL

• Preservation of the whistleblower's anonymity throughout the process
• Structured compliance department
• Reduction of the company's exposure to labor, fiscal and tax issues
• Transparency: All people involved directly or indirectly with the company must be duly aware of the existence of the Channel for Complaints
   

Although many companies have well-structured compliance sectors, for small and medium-sized companies (up to 200 employees) it is suggested that this channel be done by someone external, independent, and without any conflicts of interest in relation to the organization.
 

Additionally, it is important that the company maintains a policy and an operational standard when receiving the complaint, so that the rules and procedures that will be followed in the treatment of each report are clear, considering the screening of the complaints received, conduct of investigation, policies, communications, transparency, metrics to know if it is achieving its goals.

HOW WE CAN HELP:

As a part of a Compliance Management System, Rödl & Partner offers different solutions related to the implementation and compliance of Whistleblowing policies and channels, such as:

• Development of Whistleblower Channel policies and fit with the company's code of conduct
• Implementing and Managing the whistleblowing channels
• Development of guides for incoming complaints
• Training