Samenvatting

The private member’s bill ‘Huis voor klokkenluiders’ is a step forward in the protection of whistleblowers in The Netherlands. However, adoption of the bill will not end the discussion about the protection of whistleblowers, because the bill has several flaws. The new ‘Huis’ has too many roles, the ‘Fonds’ provides the wrong incentives, and whistleblowers who go straight to the relevant authorities are not protected. Therefore, the next step should be a general Whistleblowing Protection Act, which provides legal protection, both to public and private employees who report serious organizational deviances to the relevant authorities and who, in doing so, have acted with due care. Enforcement of the Act, including the award of compensation, should be provided by the industrial law courts and not by a ‘Huis’ or a ‘Fonds’.