Can Whistleblowing Strengthen Labour Law Enforcement? The EU Framework and the Polish Implementation Model

Małgorzata Grześków

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  • Source Type: Journal
  • Document Type: Study
  • Document Language: English
  • Published on: 31. 3. 2026
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In: Societas et iurisprudentia • 2026 • Volume 14 • Issue 1 • Pages 19-35 • ISSN 1339-5467

Abstract: This paper examines whether and through what legal pathways whistleblowing may strengthen labour law enforcement under the Directive (EU) 2019/1937 and in the Polish implementation model. It argues that the Directive was primarily designed to improve the enforcement of the Union law in selected fields, but it also leaves room for broader national use. Although labour law is not included in the Directive’s mandatory material scope, whistleblowing may still support labour law enforcement where the same conduct concerns a breach falling within one of the Directive’s protected areas of the Union law and, at the same time, produces consequences in the sphere of labour law, where national law extends protection to labour-law breaches, or where legal entities broaden internal reporting systems. The paper shows that the Polish model adopts a restrained approach: while it complies with the European Union minimum standards, it does not include labour-law breaches in the mandatory statutory catalogue. As a result, it recognises the relevance of whistleblowing for labour law only partially. The paper concludes that whistleblowing may operate as a meaningful bottom-up enforcement mechanism, but only where the legal framework provides sufficient scope, credible reporting channels, and effective protection against retaliation.

Key Words: Labour Law; Labour Law Enforcement; Whistleblowing; Directive (EU) 2019/1937; Whistleblower Protection; Retaliation; Freedom of Expression; Internal Reporting; Material Scope; the European Union; Poland.

Web of Science ResearcherID: OPM-9021-2025

ORCID: ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8449-898X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31262/1339-5467/2026/14/1/19-35

URL: https://sei.iuridica.truni.sk/archive/2026/01/SEI-2026-01-Studies-Grzeskow-Malgorzata.pdf

CopyrightCopyright © 2026 Małgorzata Grześków

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Bibliographic Citation

GRZEŚKÓW, M. Can Whistleblowing Strengthen Labour Law Enforcement? The EU Framework and the Polish Implementation Model. Societas et iurisprudentia [online]. 2026, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 19-35 [cit. 2020-01-01]. ISSN 1339-5467. Available at: https://doi.org/10.31262/1339-5467/2026/14/1/19-35.

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