The European Whistleblower Protection Directive has been in the EU Official Journal since November 2019. Your requirements have now come into force and have been in effect since this Saturday (December 18, 2021). The member states previously had two years to transpose EU law into national law. The former black-red government coalition could not agree on a common line, so Germany let the deadline pass. Nevertheless, the norms can now for the most part be asserted directly, at least vis-à-vis the state.
Legal persons such as companies, authorities and other legal entities with more than 50 employees as well as all companies in the field of financial services must in principle provide an internal whistleblower system in accordance with EU requirements and provide a special representative as a contact person. Exceptions can only be made for municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants.
In contrast to what has been stipulated by German case law so far, a whistleblower no longer has to first report an abuse internally in his own company or authority. He can also contact superordinate whistleblower offices directly or in the event of irreversible damage, imminent specific reprisals and if there is no quick response to the media.
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