German Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG)
Submit a report
If you would like to make a report under the Whistleblower Protection Act, please click below or contact us by calling:
+49 (0) 89 / 242 158 - 91.
Whistleblower Protection Act
(HinSchG)
On July 2, 2023, the Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG) came into force. The law transposes the EU Whistleblower Directive 2019/1937 into national law and entails an immediate need for action for many companies.
Who is a reporting person?
According to the wording of the statute, a reporting person (“whistleblower”) is any person – including employees, managing directors and temporary workers – who has obtained information about breaches of legal provisions in a professional context and wishes to report it. The company is obliged to provide an anonymized reporting procedure – as a result for the protection of the whistleblower.
Protection of reporting persons
The protection of whistleblowers also includes a comprehensive ban on reprisals. Whistleblowers may not be prosecuted under labour law if they report bone fide.
However, this protection only applies if the reported information can be considered truthful at the time it is submitted. Persons who intentionally or through gross negligence report false or misleading information are not protected.
Internal reporting channel
The Whistleblower Protection Act obliges companies to set up an internal reporting channel (sections 12 et seq. of the HinSchG) for whistleblowers. The department operating the internal reporting channel must receive information in verbal or written form and enable whistleblowers to meet in person.
The reporting channels must be confidential and protected from access by non-authorized persons. Reports must be documented and stored. Companies can also outsource the reporting channel to an external third party, such as a trusted lawyer or an ombudsperson.
