European companies are expected to rush to comply with new whistleblower protection rules only when they take effect in December, meaning workers are not adequately protected for any disclosures they make in the meantime.

Legal experts believe many businesses will wait until their governments transpose the EU Whistleblowing Directive into national law before they make any serious effort to improve—or even facilitate—any speak-up arrangements.

Neil Hodge is a freelance business journalist and photographer based in Nottingham, United Kingdom. He writes on insurance and risk management, corporate governance, internal audit, compliance, and legal...