16. December 2022In Whistleblower Protection Act1 Minutes

On Friday, 16 December 2022, the German Bundestag passed the Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG). Now the approval of the Bundesrat is still pending. The next session will take place on 10 February 2023.

The Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG) is therefore expected to come in Q1 2023.

Further information on the law can also be found at https://www.bundestag.de/dokumente/textarchiv/2022/kw50-de-hinweisgeber-926806.

Essential contents

Compared to the original draft law, there were still decisive changes, in particular:

  • Companies should create incentives so that internal reporting channels are used in preference to external reporting channels. However, whistleblowers still have the right to choose between internal and external reporting channels.
  • Anonymous reports should also be processed.
  • Internal and external reporting channels should also enable communication between the whistleblower and the reporting office.
  • The scope of application is also to include violations of the constitutional loyalty of civil servants
  • Face-to-face meetings between MROS and the whistleblower can also be conducted remotely,.
  • Whistleblowers can also claim compensation for non-material damages.

WhistleBlog gives overview

Our WhistleBlog summarises the changes and informs about everything essential that companies now need to know: WhistleBloG – kln.secure (kln-secure.com)