In brief

The Whistleblower Protection Act was (finally) passed on 12 May 2023 after the Mediation Committee (Vermittlungsausschuss) agreed on the German Whistleblower Protection Act (GWPA) on 9 May 2023 and the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) passed the resolution recommended by the Mediation Committee on 11 May 2023, the Federal Council (Bundesrat) also approved the bill on 12 May 2023. The long overdue law serves to implement the European Whistleblower Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/1937), which actually provided for an implementation deadline of December 2021. The law will now come into force in mid-June 2023. For companies with fewer than 250 employees, the law still provides for an implementation period until 17 December 2023. For companies with more than 249 employees, the law applies immediately.

Contents

1. In depth
   1. Main changes made by the Mediation Committee
   2. Latest developments in the legislative process
   3. Purpose of the German Whistleblowing Protection Act
   4. Core elements of the German Whistleblower Protection Act
      1. Whistleblower protection
      2. Confidentiality requirement
      3. Modalities of the whistleblowing system
      4. Consequences of violations
   5. What companies should do now
   6. What is at stake for companies?

In depth

Main changes made by the Mediation Committee

• Internal and external reporting offices are not obliged to allow anonymous reports to be submitted, but are expected to process them.
• Violations of the law will be subject to lower fines than originally envisaged.
• The...

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