What is coming soon for companies and what to do now

In brief

The EU Whistleblower Directive has been in force since 16 December 2019, and was to be implemented in national law by 17 December 2021. On 27 July 2022, the German Federal Cabinet approved a government draft of the Whistleblower Protection Act (“HinSchG-E”), so that—with considerable delay—the further legislative process has been initiated.

Key points of the government draft

• Companies with at least 50 employees are obliged to set up an internal reporting system.
• Whistleblowers are to be comprehensively protected, in particular from reprisals. Any discrimination against a whistleblower in connection with the report is prohibited. The burden of proof lies with the companies.
• The whistleblower can freely choose whether to report the suspicious case internally or externally.
• Groups can implement a central group-wide internal reporting system at the group level.
• Companies are free to decide whether anonymous reports can be submitted.

Which companies have to implement a reporting system?

The obligation to establish a whistleblower system applies to companies with at least 50 employees (Sec. 12 para. 2 HinSchG-E). Regardless of the number of employees, companies in certain industries, such as financial services providers, are already required to set up reporting channels under existing law (Sec. 12 para. 3 HinSchG-E).

Who can be a whistleblower or rather who is protected?

The scope of the HinSchG-E includes any...

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