The whistleblowing channel will be launched on 1 April 2023
On 1 April 2023, the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia will launch a whistleblowing channel. The purpose of the channel is to highlight grievances and to guarantee fair and uniform treatment of all notifications. All private and public sector organisations employing at least 50 people are required by law to establish this channel. The introduction of the channel is based on the EU Whistleblower Directive and the national whistleblower protection act, which entered into force at the beginning of the year. The internal reporting channel of the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia is intended for the use of the staff of the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia, and the reporting of misconduct is primarily made to that reporting channel. In certain situations required by law, notification can also be made to the central external notification channel of the Chancellor of Justice or directly to the competent authority. Through the website of the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia, applicants for project funding and parties involved in the implementation of projects funded and implemented by the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia can also submit a notification to the voluntary notification channel. In addition, Finland, which is renewing and competent in the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia, can submit a notification to the notification channel for follow-up measures centralised during the EU's regional and structural policy programme 2021-2027. The application of the Act on the Protection of Notifiers to the notifier and the notification will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the conditions of application of the Act. A prerequisite for the protection of whistleblowers is that the whistleblower reports an irregularity detected in or in connection with their work; and the declarant has reasonable grounds at the time of notification to believe that the information on the breach is correct and that the information on the breach falls within the scope of the Act on the Protection of Reporters. The notifying party does not need to be fully informed, but the notification must be made in good faith. It is strictly forbidden to make intentional false declarations. The name and contact information can be provided at the time of the notification, but the notification can also be made completely anonymously via a data-protected notification channel. The service is provided by Easywhistle Oy, an independent third-party service provider. It is responsible for the technical implementation of the channel and ensures that the anonymity of the reporter is secured, the information in the report is well protected and the system meets the most demanding data protection criteria. For more information, see https://www.easywhistle.com/users. Reported suspicions are handled and investigated confidentially, impartially and independently, and any sanctions are not taken before the investigation is completed. The notification and the related investigation shall only be accessible to persons who absolutely need it in order to carry out the investigation or who need it in another …
