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Enterprise Alert Launcher 

Verified 02 December 2020 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Any employee who identifies a serious risk to public health or the environment in the undertaking must notify his employer. The alert shall be recorded in writing in a special register. Whistleblowers who follow the alert procedure are protected.

A whistleblower is an employee who disselfishly and in good faith discloses or reports a serious risk to public health or the environment in the enterprise.

Reporting procedures differ whether or not the employee is a member of the Social and Economic Committee and according to the company's workforce.

General case

The employee must notify his employer, his direct or indirect supervisor, or a referent designated by the employer.

Disagreement may arise with the employer as to the validity of the alert transmitted or failure to act within one month.

The employee then sends his report either to the judicial authority (Prosecutor), to the administrative authority (prefect) or to the professional orders.

As a last resort and in the absence of treatment within 3 months, the report may be made public (e.g. media information).

Companies with more than 50 employees

The employer must set up a special register and establish a procedure for collecting reports. The procedure shall specify the following information:

  • How the whistleblower sends his report to the direct or indirect superior, the employer or the referent
  • How it provides facts, information or documents (in any form or medium) to support its reporting
  • How it provides the elements for an exchange with the addressee of the alert

The procedure for collecting reports follows a strict formalism:

  • It shall lay down the provisions by which the author of the alert shall be informed without delay of the receipt of the alert, of the reasonable and foreseeable time required for his examination.
  • It determines how the author will be informed of the action taken.
  • It shall ensure the strict confidentiality of the author of the alert, of the facts and of the persons concerned, including in the event of communication to third parties if necessary.
  • It provides for a period of time for the destruction of the elements of the alert file which could make it possible to identify the author of the alert and the persons to whom the alert relates. If no action has been taken, that period of destruction may not exceed 2 months from the closure of the admissibility or verification operations. The author of the alert and the persons referred to in the alert shall be informed of this closure.
  • It must be broadcast in the company by any means (display, broadcast on the intranet of the company...).

Companies with less than 50 employees

The employer must set up a special register in which alerts are recorded.

The employer must also inform the whistleblower employee of his or her response to the warning.

If the employee is a member of the SSC

After the alert has been recorded in a special register, the employer shall examine the situation jointly with the staff representative at the SSC. It shall inform the member of the SSC of its follow-up.

Disagreement may arise with the employer as to the validity of the alert transmitted or failure to act within one month.

The member of the SSC then sends his report either to the judicial authority (Prosecutor), to the administrative authority (prefect) or to the professional orders.

As a last resort and in the absence of treatment within 3 months, the report may be made public (media information,...).

Companies with more than 50 employees

The employer must set up a special register and establish a procedure for collecting reports. The procedure shall specify the following information:

  • How the whistleblower sends his report to the direct or indirect superior, the employer or the referent
  • How it provides facts, information or documents (in any form or medium) to support its reporting
  • How it provides the elements for an exchange with the addressee of the alert

The procedure for collecting reports follows a strict formalism:

  • It shall lay down the provisions by which the author of the alert shall be informed without delay of the receipt of the alert, of the reasonable and foreseeable time required for his examination.
  • It determines how the author will be informed of the action taken.
  • It shall ensure the strict confidentiality of the author of the alert, of the facts and of the persons concerned, including in the event of communication to third parties if necessary.
  • It provides for a period of time for the destruction of the elements of the alert file which could make it possible to identify the author of the alert and the persons to whom the alert relates. Where no action has been taken, that period of destruction may not exceed 2 months from the closure of the admissibility or verification operations. The author of the alert and the persons referred to in the alert shall be informed of this closure.
  • It must be broadcast in the company by any means (display, broadcast on the intranet of the company...).

Companies with less than 50 employees

The employer must set up a special register in which alerts are recorded.

The employer must also inform the whistleblower worker of the action he or she is taking.

A special register is opened by the employer to record alerts. The pages of this register are numbered.

Alert is dated and signed..

It shall indicate the products or manufacturing processes which the worker considers in good faith to pose a serious risk to public health or the environment. It shall also indicate the possible consequences for public health or the environment and any other information relevant to the assessment of the alert.

This register shall be kept available to staff representatives at the ESC.

An employee who complies with the reporting procedure shall be protected against any punishment, dismissal or discrimination.

Within the scope of his/her mandate, the staff representative shall protected..