[author: Jörn-Philipp Klimburg]*

Germany’s new Whistleblower Protection Act is now in force. Large and medium-sized companies need to act quickly to comply and avoid possible fines.

Background

Having failed to meet the deadline for transposing the EU Whistleblowing Directive due to a long period of political back-and-forth, the German Whistleblower Protection Act only came into force very recently, on 2 July 2023.

The legislation follows the Directive rather closely, but also contains some specific provisions that companies operating in Germany should be aware of. In this article, we take a look at what employers need to know.

Implementation deadlines and thresholds

• Since 2 July 2023, all companies with 250 or more employees must set up a whistleblower system, i.e. secure and reliable channels for the internal reporting of violations. For financial institutions, this obligation applies regardless of the number of employees.
• From 1 December 2023, all companies with 250 or more employees and financial institutions that have not yet set up a whistleblower system will face a fine of up to EUR 20,000.
• From 17 December 2023, all companies with 50 or more employees must set up a whistleblower system; they also face a fine of EUR 20,000 from this date if they do not comply.

The employee thresholds apply to each legal entity, which means that smaller entities within in a group might not fall under the new legislation at all, or only from December onwards.

Centralised reporting...

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