The mandatory transposition of the European Union Directive 2019/1937 on the protection of whistleblowers, already effective in national law in December 2022, forces many private companies and all public sector companies to implement whistleblower systems within their organization. The regulations introduce significant changes in compliance procedures, which will particularly affect private companies with more than 50 employees. In the case of the public sector, the obligation will extend to all entities with public capital, in the broadest sense, regardless of their size.

With these new legal obligations in mind, Grant Thornton, in a joint effort between the fields of legal and technological consulting, has designed a pioneering tool to manage the complaint channel supported by blockchain technology. In this way, it is an immutable control system in terms of time and content registration, and, unlike the old internal claims system, it gives the channel the greatest legal security, reliability and objectivity.

The system developed by Grant Thornton meets all the requirements of information security, data protection, anonymity and the protection of informants contained in the Directive and the future Spanish regulation, and at the same time it indicates how technological advances should be applied in solutions. The technological progress of the tool has led it to win the Best Innovation Award, awarded by Grant Thornton International's global network among its more than 140 member countries, "for the clear innovation and improvement that Blockchain brings to a classic business channel".

On the other hand, regardless of the legal obligation described, which includes a very important sanctioning regime, the regulation must be read in the economic situation that puts more pressure on the employees and managers of the companies and has brought new risks that can be reported in the work environment. The Blockchannel GT tool will allow you to anonymously and securely report any violation related to data protection, information security, harassment, corruption, etc., so that the company has the right information and elements to comply with regulations and ethical standards.

The tool designed by Grant Thornton represents an opportunity for organizations to outsource their whistle-blowing channel and therefore provide greater independence and objectivity in investigating irregularities within the company. It also implies the optimization of resources for organizations that do not have the structure to establish an internal complaints channel and an ad hoc department.