European employees agree that whistleblower rights should be protected. But 19 per cent of Eastern Europeans and one out of 10 Western European employees believe their employers would not protect them if they reported fraud, bribery or corruption, according to an Ernst & Young survey.

The survey of workers in 13 countries - Austria, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Czech republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Russia - found that one out of five felt that they couldn't report suspicions of fraud, bribery and corruption.

Only 34 per cent of Eastern European and 40 per cent of Western European employees reported having a whistleblowing hotline in their company.

While most European employees feel safe to speak up, the survey suggests that employers still have some work to do.