What falls under a violation in the whistleblower law?

Wrongdoing: breach of law in the public interest

Wrongdoing first and foremost comprises a suspicion of a breach of EU law in one of the areas covered by Directive (EU) 2019/1937, such as financial services, money laundering, product safety, transport safety, the environment, public health, consumer protection and the protection of personal data. Furthermore, the Whistleblower Protection Act goes broader than EU law alone: it also covers conduct or omission where the public interest is at stake — for example, a danger to public health, a threat to the safety of persons, environmental damage, or the failure of public authorities or an undertaking to function properly as a result of breach of a legal obligation or an internal rule. This always concerns a suspicion on reasonable grounds, not certainty in advance.

What usually falls outside the scope is a purely individual employment dispute without any legal obligation or public interest being at stake: dissatisfaction with an appraisal, a disagreement over a change of position or a personal dispute with a manager. This can be relevant as a report of misconduct — bullying, intimidation, discrimination — but under the law this is a separate category alongside wrongdoing, with its own position in the procedure. Both belong in the same reporting channel, but the distinction sometimes determines which protection and which procedure apply.

Legal basis: Article 2 and 5 of the Directive, and the Whistleblower Protection Act

The material scope — the areas of EU law covered by the Directive — is set out in Article 2 of Directive (EU) 2019/1937; the definitions, including what constitutes a report and a breach, are set out in Article 5 of the same Directive. The Dutch transposition and the broader definition of wrongdoing, including the link to the public interest, is set out in the Whistleblower Protection Act.