A whistleblower may be a person who has information or a reasonable suspicion of an existing or potential violation of the law in the organization where the whistleblower works or worked or with whom the whistleblower maintains or has maintained contact in a work-related context.

The reporting person may be:

1. an employee;
2. a temporary employee;
3. a person providing work on a basis other than employment relationship, including under a civil law contract;
4. an entrepreneur;
5. a proxy;
6. a shareholder or a partner;
7. a member of a body of a legal person or an organisational unit without legal personality;
8. a person performing work under the supervision and management of a contractor, subcontractor or supplier, including on the basis of a civil law contract;
9. a trainee;
10. a volunteer;
11. an apprentice;
12. an officer;
13. a soldier.

The reporting person may be a person who became aware of a violation in a work-related context.

Not every violation of the law is covered by the directive and the law on so-called whistleblowers. Irregularities can be reported in strictly defined instances, and these violations concern:

1. corruption;
2. public procurement;
3. financial services, products and markets;
4. prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing;
5. product safety and compliance;
6. transportation safety;
7. environmental protection;
8. radiological protection and nuclear safety;
9. food and feed safety;
10. animal health and welfare;
11. public health;
12. consumer protection;
13. privacy and personal data protection;
14. security of information and communication networks and systems;
15. the financial interests of the State Treasury of the Republic of Poland, of a local government unit and of the European Union;
16. the European Union's internal market, including competition and state aid rules; and corporate taxation;
17. constitutional freedoms and rights of the human being and the citizen - occurring in the relations of the individual with the public authorities.

Your report should outline the information you possess or your reasonable suspicion that a legal violation has occurred  or is likely to occur. The report might also pertain to an attempt to hide such a violation.

Any form of retaliation against the reporting person is strictly prohibited. To ensure legal protection for the reporting person, it is necessary for them to have a reasonable basis, at the time of reporting, to believe that the divulged information regarding the legal violation is factual.

However, making a report in bad faith, without genuine intent, will not grant protection. In such cases, the reporting person could potentially face legal consequences for their unfounded report.

The information in the report must be true, or at least you should have reasonable grounds to believe it’s true. Creating a report that contains false information, using a report to defame another person, infringing on another person’s personal rights, copyright, privacy laws, duty of confidentiality, or including trade secrets which, if unjustified, could lead to unlawful acts  for which you may face legal consequences, including criminal liability.