On 2 July 2023, the German Whistleblower Protection Act (the Act) came into force (Link to official text in German). It requires most employers to establish internal reporting channels enabling employees to report certain illegal activities and prohibits retaliation against whistleblowers.

The Act transposes Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of EU law (the Whistleblowing Directive). However, across all 27 EU member states directives do not fully harmonize the rules on their respective subject matters, and therefore employers with several locations across EU countries need to be aware of the national specifics. (See also our alert on the Italian Whistleblowing Act).

Material Scope

Compared to the Whistleblowing Directive, the scope of the Act is significantly broader. It especially includes the following matters within the scope of behavior that may be reported through a whistleblowing scheme:

• Violations of all German criminal laws;
• Violations of all laws aimed at protecting the life, health, or bodily integrity of people or the rights of employees, to the extent such violations are punishable by fines (Bußgelder);
• Laws regulating the rights of stockholders in stock corporations (Aktiengesellschaften); and
• Tax laws applicable to companies.

Affected Companies

Employers’ obligations under the Act are generally subject to thresholds of employee numbers in Germany:

• Up to 49 employees: no obligation to set up a reporting channel;
• 50...

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