Legal to terminate whistleblower, but not to remove his duties

An IT consultant in a municipality worked primarily with one large IT system and several smaller systems. The employee worked primarily with and was responsible for the large IT system. He became aware that the use of the system could be illegal and reported this to management.

After a month without a response, he reported it to the internal whistleblowing scheme. Shortly afterwards, management removed his duties related to the IT system. A little while later, he went on sick leave and, after six months, was terminated. There was a disagreement on whether his sick leave was related to management removing his duties and, therefore, whether the termination was lawful.

The District Court ruled that removing the employee's duties was unlawful, and he was awarded compensation equivalent to two months' salary. However, the court found that it was lawful to terminate him because the reason was his long-term sick leave, not the fact that he was a whistleblower.

IUNO’s opinion

Whistleblowers are generally protected from being treated worse because they are whistleblowers – for example, through demotion or termination. However, the case shows that removing duties from a whistleblower can also be unlawful. This is the first time the court has ruled on the level of compensation in practice, and the case confirms that it follows the same level as if the employee had been pregnant.

IUNO recommends that companies document in writing why they are changing a whistleblower's terms and conditions if this happens shortly after a whistleblower has reported an incident. If the whistleblower can prove that they were treated worse afterwards, the company must be able to prove the opposite.

Read more about how IUNO can help with your whistleblowing scheme here.

[Copenhagen District Court's decision of 2 October 2024, in case BS-33549/2023-KBH]