Whistleblower protection is being extended to colleagues who help employees flag abuse at the place of work, thanks to fresh proposals to be debated in parliament in the coming weeks.

Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said on Thursday that the protection afforded under the Whistleblower Act, which had come into force in September 2013, will also start being offered to "facilitators", people who assist whistleblowers to file a report.

The law, which is being amended as the government transposes a 2019 EU directive, will also extend the definition of 'employee' to include shareholders and those in a pre-contractual relationship with the employer.

Past employees can also flag abuse at a place of work, as long as they were duly registered with JobsPlus.

Zammit Lewis said Malta is one of just 10 member states who have a whistleblower legislative framework in place.

It is worrying that according to Eurobarometer data only one out of five Europeans who witnessed abuse filed a report about it, he added.

The law, he said, ensured that the civil service and private companies employing 50 people or more had a reporting officer who referred cases of abuse to the relevant people within the business. 

If internal proceedings about the abuse were unsuccessful, the case could be referred to external entities such as the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, the Revenue Commissioner and the Malta Financial Services Authority, among others. 

Many of the provisions remain unchanged. These are some others:

• The wrongdoings that can be reported fall under specific categories: public procurement, financial services, products and markets, prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, product safety and compliance, transport safety, protection of the environment, radiation protection and nuclear safety, food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, public health, consumer protection, protection of privacy and personal data, and security of network and information systems.
• The definition of retaliation includes several actions, ranging from dismissals to unjust referrals.
• Record keeping is an additional obligation for employers within the private and public sectors.   

More information here.