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What it is

Bill proposing full legal protection for whistleblowers in Spain

Admitted step 2 of 7 · Unfinished

It is a members’ bill. Introduced by parliamentary groups, the Senate, regional governments or citizens. It was introduced on 11 December 2019. Introduced by: Baldoví Roda, Joan y 15 Diputados.

Official title: Private member's bill on the comprehensive protection of whistleblowers.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 123/000003· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The bill would establish measures to protect people who reveal information about irregularities, violations or wrongdoing that harms the general interest, in both the public and private sectors, and would regulate the channels for receiving such reports.
  2. It protects not only the person who reports, but also facilitators: people or entities such as NGOs, unions, journalists or lawyers who help pass the alert along.
  3. Whistleblowers and facilitators would be guaranteed safety, anonymity and confidentiality, access to information about the procedure, and free legal aid.
  4. Workplace and economic retaliation would be banned: anyone fired could choose between reinstatement or compensation for unfair dismissal, and self-employed people forced to stop working would get six months with their social security contributions suspended.
  5. A whistleblower would only need a reasonable belief that the information is reliable; verifying the facts falls to the investigating body. Someone reporting wrongdoing they took part in would benefit from a mitigating factor that reduces the sentence by one or two degrees.
  6. Public administrations, companies with more than 50 employees and other entities would have to set up anonymous and secure reporting channels, and the whistleblower could freely choose which channel to use, without having to go through the internal one first.
  7. It would create an Independent Authority for the Protection of Whistleblowers and Facilitators, which would act as an external channel, legally represent whistleblowers, provide legal aid and sanction violations.
  8. Very serious violations, such as revealing the identity of an anonymous whistleblower or retaliating against them, would carry fines of up to €300,000 and bans of up to three years.

Who it affects

  • Employees and public workers who witness wrongdoing at their organization: They could report anonymously and with protection, without facing workplace retaliation.
  • Private companies with more than 50 employees: They would have to create internal anonymous and secure reporting channels.
  • Public administrations and public entities: They would have to set up internal and external reporting channels and cooperate with the new Authority.
  • NGOs, unions, journalists and lawyers: They would be protected as facilitators when they help spread an alert.
  • Those who retaliate against whistleblowers: They would face fines of up to €300,000 and the duty to compensate for damages.

Words worth knowing

Alertador
A person who reveals or reports information about violations or wrongdoing that harms the general interest (a whistleblower).
Facilitador
A person or entity that helps the whistleblower reveal or make the information public, such as a journalist or an NGO.
Indemnidad
A guarantee that no one can harm or retaliate against the person who reports.
Represalia
Any act that harms someone for having reported, such as firing, sanctions or threats.
Proposición de ley
A bill introduced by members of Congress; it is not yet an approved law.

It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 2 of 7 steps. It reached Admitted, and today it is unfinished.

  1. Introduced11 December 2019Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted13 December 2019The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendmentsnot reachedGroups propose changes.
  4. Committeenot reachedA committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenarynot reachedAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senatenot reachedThe Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOEnot reachedIt is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 6 official steps on a timeline
Dec 2019Dec 2020Dec 2021Dec 202211. 11 December 2019: Presentación22. 13 December 2019: Boletín Oficial de las Cortes Generales Publicación desde 13/12/2019 hasta 20/12/201933. 13 December 2019: Calificación44. 20 December 2019: Gobierno Contestación desde 20/12/2019 hasta 29/02/202055. 29 February 2020: Pleno Toma en consideración desde 29/02/2020 hasta 30/05/202366. 30 May 2023: Concluido - (Caducado) desde 30/05/2023 hasta 16/06/2023

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

The legislature ended before it finished. To go on, someone would have to introduce it again in the new Cortes.

It has not been presented again yet.

Presented before in:

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

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