{"id":1418,"date":"2026-02-28T19:13:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T18:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wisling.com\/?p=1418"},"modified":"2026-03-19T16:45:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T15:45:12","slug":"an-employee-can-go-directly-to-the-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wisling.com\/en\/2026\/02\/28\/kan-en-anstalld-ga-direkt-till-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Can an employee go directly to the media?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Can an employee go directly to the media?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Yes - in some situations.<\/p>

But not always.<\/p>

EU Whistleblowing Directive, EU Directive (EU) 2019\/<\/b><\/span>1937<\/b><\/span>, provides protection for people who report breaches of EU law. The protection covers not only internal and external reporting - but also disclosure, which in practice can mean going to the media.<\/p>

The question is under what conditions.<\/p>

Three levels of reporting<\/b><\/h2>

The Directive is based on a three-step structure:<\/p>

  1. Internal reporting<\/b><\/span> - within the organization<\/p><\/li>

  2. External reporting<\/b><\/span> - to the competent authority<\/p><\/li>

  3. Publication<\/b><\/span> - for example to the media<\/p><\/li><\/ol>

    Protection is strongest for internal and external reporting. Disclosure is possible - but only under certain conditions.<\/p>

    When is it allowed to go directly to the media?<\/b><\/h2>

    An employee may be covered by disclosure protection if one of the following applies<\/p>

    • The person has first reported internally and\/or externally without appropriate action being taken within a reasonable time.<\/p><\/li>

    • there are reasonable grounds to believe that the infringement involves an imminent or manifest danger to the public interest.<\/p><\/li>

    • There is a risk of retaliation or destruction of evidence if reporting is done through internal or external channels.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>

      What matters is that the person had reasonable grounds to believe<\/b><\/span> that the information was accurate and that the conditions for publication were met.<\/p>

      The motive behind the publication is in principle irrelevant. What matters is whether the criteria are met.<\/p>

      How does this relate to the duty of loyalty?<\/b><\/h2>

      An employment relationship is based on a fundamental duty of loyalty.<\/p>

      At its core, the duty of loyalty means that the employee must:<\/p>

      • defend the interests of the employer<\/p><\/li>

      • not harm the business<\/p><\/li>

      • not spreading harmful information without proper justification<\/p><\/li><\/ul>

        In many situations, going directly to the media can be perceived as a breach of this duty of loyalty.<\/p>

        But the Whistleblowing Directive means that the duty of loyalty is not absolute.<\/p>

        When the specified criteria are met, the protection of public interest reporting outweighs the employer's interest in internal control over information.<\/p>

        This does not mean that the duty of loyalty disappears.<\/p>

        This means that it has to be balanced against the right to raise the alarm about serious breaches.<\/p>

        What happens if the criteria are not met?<\/b><\/h2>

        If an employee goes directly to the media without meeting the conditions of the Directive, he or she may be left without the specific protection provided by the Directive.<\/p>

        In such a situation, the general duty of loyalty in the employment relationship comes into play again.<\/p>

        It is not the case that an employee is always protected just because information is provided to the media. The protection is conditional.<\/p>

        Executive summary<\/b><\/h2>

        Can an employee go directly to the media?<\/p>

        Yes - but only if:<\/p>

        • there are reasonable grounds to believe that the information is accurate; and<\/p><\/li>

        • the conditions for publication under the Directive are met.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>

          The Whistleblowing Directive creates an opportunity to break the silence when the public interest requires it.<\/p>

          But it is not a general right to override the duty of loyalty in the employment contract.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Can an employee go directly to the media? Yes - in some situations. But not always. The EU Whistleblowing Directive, EU Directive (EU) 2019\/1937, provides protection for people who report breaches of EU law. The protection covers not only internal and external reporting - but also disclosure, which in practice can mean going to the media. The question is under what conditions. Three levels of reporting The directive is based on a three-stage structure: Internal reporting - within the organization External reporting - to the competent authority Public disclosure - for example to the media Protection is strongest for internal and external reporting. Public disclosure is possible - but only under certain conditions. When is it allowed to go directly to the media? An employee may be covered by disclosure protection if one of the following applies: the person has first reported internally and\/or externally without appropriate action being taken within a reasonable time. there are reasonable grounds to believe that the breach involves an imminent or manifest danger to the public interest There is a risk of retaliation or destruction of evidence if reporting is done through internal or external channels. The decisive factor is that the person had reasonable grounds to believe that the information was correct and that the conditions for disclosure were met. The motive behind the disclosure is in principle irrelevant. What matters is whether the criteria are met. How does this relate to the duty of loyalty? An employment relationship is based on a fundamental duty of loyalty. At its core, the duty of loyalty means that the employee must: protect the employer's interests not harm the business not spread damaging information without a factual basis Going directly to the media can in many situations be perceived as a breach of this duty of loyalty. But the Whistleblowing Directive means that the duty of loyalty is not absolute. When the specified criteria are met, the protection of reporting breaches of public interest outweighs the employer's interest in internal control over information. This does not mean that the duty of loyalty disappears. It means that it has to be balanced against the right to raise the alarm about serious breaches. What happens if the criteria are not met? If an employee goes directly to the media without the conditions set out in the Directive being met, he or she may be left without the specific protection provided by the Directive. In such a situation, the general duty of loyalty in the employment relationship comes into play again. It is therefore not the case that an employee is always protected simply because information is provided to the media. The protection is conditional. Summary Can an employee go directly to the media? Yes - but only if: there are reasonable grounds to believe that the information is accurate, and the conditions for disclosure under the Directive are met. The Whistleblowing Directive creates a possibility to break the silence when the public interest requires it. But it is not a general right to override the duty of loyalty in the employment contract.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisling.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisling.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisling.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisling.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisling.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1418"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/wisling.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1579,"href":"https:\/\/wisling.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1418\/revisions\/1579"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisling.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisling.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisling.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisling.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}