New law to protect whistleblowers

Last year, a government inquiry was presented into how the protection for whistleblowers can be strengthened.

In April this year, a proposal for a legal council referral was sent and a bill is expected soon.

- We should not have quiet workplaces where problems are swept under the rug, Minister of Labor Eva Nordmark wrote in a press release.

The government proposes that the law should apply to all private and public activities - and not only employees should be covered by the law, but also, for example, jobseekers, self-employed people, volunteers, trainees and shareholders.

Current legislation protects people who report 

, but according to the investigation, misconduct that

should suffice 

.

The main rule is that you must first alert internally and if nothing happens, you can go on to an affected authority and ultimately to the media.

Damages

SVT Nyheter Småland, has told about Gunnar Lindén who tried to raise problems with the economy and in the business of a small company that ran an HVB home.

Following threats of damages from the company's lawyer, he decided to alert the authorities.

The new law will increase the opportunities for people like Gunnar Lindén to be able to receive damages after possible retaliation, according to Lise Donovan, a lawyer at TCO who was part of the investigation's reference group.

- The starting point is a reduced level for what protection can be reported on and that more people are covered by the protection, she says.

Exceptions for smaller companies

At the same time, it is proposed that all companies with more than 50 employees should introduce their own channels for reporting irregularities.

This change thus applies to smaller companies of the type that Gunnar Lindén and many others in the welfare sector work for.

According to a report from the Swedish Competition Authority in 2015, the majority of the companies that ran HVB homes were small companies.