In principle, this bill should be subject to a second constitutional vote within three months. However, the Chamber of Deputies has already asked to be exempted from this second vote. It is therefore very likely that the law will be published and enter into force very soon.
The entry into force of this law will oblige employers withmore than 50 employees to put in place procedures allowing them, in certain cases, to breach their duty of confidentiality and to make an internal report. It should be noted that the Luxembourg legislator has decided to go further than its European counterpart by targeting not only violations of certain rules of European law, but more globally any violation of the rule of law. Thus, all the rules governing an employment relationship subject to Luxembourg law could, in principle, be the subject of a report.
In addition to setting up this internal reporting procedure (and all related communication), employers will also have to ensure that the whistleblower is protected against any retaliation, and even against any attempt at retaliation, such as dismissal or refusal of a promotion. However, this protection of the employee will not be without limits, and the employee will have to respect certain obligations in order to avail himself of the whistleblower status. In addition, the employee may, in certain cases, be held personally liable (e.g. for using unfair methods to obtain information).
The law also provides for a range of fines for employers who fail to comply with the provisions of the law, whether in terms of informing employees, setting up the internal whistleblowing procedure or protecting whistleblowers as such.
We therefore recommend that employers quickly take an interest in the provisions of this law, it being understood that it will be up to them to comply with them before 17 December 2023. In this context, our team specialised in labour law and its specialist in personal data protection is ready to provide Luxembourg employers with all the necessary expertise and assistance.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
