Whistleblower protection and internal whistleblowing channel

The Whistleblower Protection Act, laki Euroopan unionin ja kansallisen oikeuden rikkomisesta ilmoittavien henkilöiden suojelusta (1171/2022), came into effect in Finland on 1 January 2023 and requires the protection of persons who report misconduct. The Act is based on the EU whistleblowing directive that came into effect in autumn 2019.

The Act creates a framework for how to report misconduct or illegal activity, and outlines the kind of protections given to whistleblowers. The Act obligates companies with over 50 employees to set up an internal whistleblowing channel for whistleblowing. Whistleblowers that must be provided protection pursuant to the act include, among others, the company’s current and former employees, agency contract workers, and interns. 

Vuokraturva’s internal whistleblowing channel is called First Whistle. It runs on Juuriharja Consulting Group’s server and is not part of Vuokraturva’s website.

Go to Vuokraturva’s whistleblowing channel: https://firstwhistle.fi/vuokraturva

Before writing a whistleblowing report, please read Juuriharja Consulting Group’s instructions for whistleblowers here: https://www.juuriharja.fi/en/for-whistleblower-faq

You can submit a report, return to a report you have already submitted, and communicate with the people processing your report using the same whistleblowing webpage. Once the whistleblowing channel service has received your report, you will be given confirmation that it has been received within seven days. The following people participate in processing reports submitted via Vuokraturva Oy’s whistleblowing channel: Hanna Häkli, administrative manager, Katja Ekholm, service director and Timo Metsola, managing director. Reports are processed thoroughly and any further action is decided based on the processing. You will receive feedback on your report from the processors through the First Whistle service within three months of receiving confirmation that the service has received your report. 

Vuokraturva’s privacy policy contains information on how personal data is processed with regard to reports submitted through the whistleblowing channel. If you have any questions about data protection with regard to the whistleblowing channel, please contact Hanna Häkli: hanna.hakli@vuokraturva-yhtiot.fi

The Chancellor of Justice maintains a centralised whistleblowing channel for officials at: https://turvaviesti.gov.fi/ilmoituskanava-rapporteringskanal However, if a company has an internal whistleblowing channel, reports should primarily be submitted to the company’s own whistleblowing channel.