Notify suspected misconduct (Whistleblowing)

Notifications will be treated confidentially and impartially. Notifications shall be processed only by persons expressly authorised to do so. The persons responsible for handling reports shall take the necessary measures to establish the accuracy of the report and any other necessary follow-up measures.

Notification data can only be accessed by authorised processors.  If necessary, processors will request additional information from the notifier or experts. However, confidentiality is never compromised.

The notifier shall be provided an acknowledgement of receipt within seven days of the receipt of the notification, if the notifier has provided their contact details. If necessary, additional information may be requested from the notifier. In addition, in accordance with the requirements of the Whistleblower Act, the notifier is provided information within three months of the delivery of the acknowledgement of receipt on what measures are taken or considered to be taken on the basis of the notification, however, taking into account, among other things, the legal restrictions on confidentiality and the protection of privacy, as well as the proper conduct of the investigation.

Notifications and other investigative material are stored in a secure manner and access is restricted to those authorised to process notifications.

The persons responsible for handling reports are bound by the obligation of professional secrecy regarding the identity of the notifier and the subject of the report. The information is shared with third parties only in accordance with legal conditions.

Notifications and other material will be stored only for as long as necessary to clarify the matter, and unnecessary data will be deleted without undue delay. Notifications and other material in accordance with the Whistleblower Act are deleted no later than five years after the receipt of the notification, unless their retention is necessary for the implementation of the rights or obligations provided for in the law, or for the establishment, exercise, or defence of a legal claim.

For more information on the processing of personal data, please refer to the Privacy Policy of the Whistleblower Channel Register. 

Whistleblower legislation prohibits retaliation against the person who made the notification. In addition, the notifier must not be prevented from submitting a report.

Prohibited retaliatory measures include, for example, a procedure in which the terms and conditions of employment would be weakened, the employee would be dismissed, or the person would otherwise be treated unfavourably because the person has submitted a report to the reporting channel, or otherwise participated in the investigation of the matter.  It is also forbidden, for example, to impose negative consequences on the contract supplier due to the fact that the party in question has submitted a notification in accordance with the Whistleblower Act.

Caruna’s reporting channel is the primary way to report suspected misconduct. However, under the following exceptional conditions of the Whistleblower Act, the notifier has the right to submit a notification to an external centralised notification channel maintained by the Office of the Chancellor of Justice if

• the suspected breach falls within the scope of application of the Whistleblower Act; and
• Caruna’s internal reporting channel would not be available for any reason, or the notifier would not have been given the opportunity to report via Caruna’s reporting channel; or
• the notifier has reasonable grounds to believe that the notification submitted to Caruna’s reporting channel has not given rise to the necessary measures to establish the accuracy of the notification and, if necessary, to address the infringement within a period of three months; or
• the notifier has reasonable grounds to believe that the breach cannot be effectively addressed on the basis of an internal report; or
• the notifier has reasonable grounds to believe that he or she is at risk of retaliation as a result of submitting the notification.

A report of suspected misconduct can be submitted to the centralised external reporting channel of the Office of the Chancellor of Justice electronically, in writing or orally:

• Website: Office of the Chancellor of Justice
• Email: ilmoittajansuojelu@gov.fi 
• Postal address: Chancellor of Justice of the Government of Finland, P.O. Box 20, 00023 Government, Finland

The Office of the Chancellor of Justice transfers the notification to the competent authority.

The Whistleblower Act (1171/2022, in Finnish), which entered into force in 2023, applies, with certain exceptions, to breaches of the legislation falling within its scope, inter alia, in the following areas of legislation; public procurement; financial services, products and markets; prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; product safety and product compliance; traffic safety; environmental protection; radiation and nuclear safety; food and feed safety and animal health and welfare; public health as defined by Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; consumer protection, privacy and personal data protection, as well as network and information system security.

With regard to the aforementioned legislative areas, the Whistleblower Act applies only to  suspected acts or omissions: which are punishable; which may result in a criminal administrative sanction; or which may otherwise seriously jeopardise the achievement of the public interest objectives pursued by the legislation.

In addition, the Whistleblower Act applies to whistleblowers who report suspected misconduct regarding legislative violations of the financial management of the European Union, EU or national grants or state aids, competition rules or the taxation of companies and associations.