The
Protection of the Whistleblower
The Protection of the Whistleblower Act Cap.
527 came into force in
September 2013. By means of
this Act, an employee who makes a
protected disclosure is protected from detrimental action, in that the
whistleblower will not be liable to any civil, criminal proceedings or
disciplinary proceedings for having made such a disclosure.
The below characteristics define what
makes an internal disclosure protected or unprotected.
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Protected Disclosure
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Unprotected Disclosure
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A disclosure is considered protected when:
1. the disclosure
is made in good faith;
2. the
Whistleblower reasonably believes that his/her disclosure on any improper
practice committed by the employer / another employee of his employer /
persons acting in the employer’s name and interests are substantially true;
3. the disclosure
is not made for the purposes of personal gain.
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A disclosure is considered unprotected when:
1. the disclosure
is made by an employee who knowingly discloses information s/he knows or
ought to reasonably know is false. Such is deemed to be an offence punishable
in accordance with article 101 of the Criminal Code;
2. a person
discloses information protected by legal professional privilege;
3.
it is made
anonymously. In such cases the WRO may still process such disclosures, but if
they are deemed defamatory or libellous, they will be discarded.
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Should the whistleblower be a
perpetrator or an accomplice in the improper practice, then s/he is NOT exempt
from civil, criminal or disciplinary proceedings. Nevertheless, in giving its
judgement or decision, any court or tribunal may take into account the fact
that the disclosure was made.
Each Government Ministry is represented
by a Whistleblowing Reporting Officer (WRO), from the rank of Assistant
Director and above. The
contact details of the Whistleblowing Reporting Officer within the Ministry for
Health are outlined below:
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Whistleblowing
Reporting Officer:
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Doreen Portelli, Director General Strategy & Implementation
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Contact Number:
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22992235
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Contact Email:
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whistleblower.mfh@gov.mt
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The WRO is responsible for receiving
internal disclosures and addressing the concerns raised by the whistleblower
accordingly. Nevertheless, if the whistleblower is not satisfied with the
outcome or s/he has reasoned beliefs which are in line with arictle 16 of the
said act, then s/he may submit an external disclosure to the Whistleblowing
Reports Unit of the authority as provided in OPM Circular No. 18/2013.