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On July 2, 2023, the law better known as the Whistleblower Protection Act, designed to improve the protection of whistleblowers and to implement the Directive on the protection of persons who report breaches of EU law, will enter into force.

The Act transposes the EU Whistleblower Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/1937) into national law.

The Act will cover whistleblowers, those who support whistleblowers, individuals who are the subject of a report, and anyone else affected by the report. Sanctions against whistleblowers are prohibited, meaning that employers will now bear the burden of proof (reversal of the burden of proof) to demonstrate that any measures taken against employees are not related to a report.

The Whistleblower Protection Act will henceforth cover all reports concerning:

• Violations of German criminal law,

• Violations subject to fines if the violated regulation serves to protect life, limb, or health, or the rights of employees or their representatives. This includes, for example, regulations concerning occupational safety and health, violations of the Minimum Wage Act or the Temporary Employment Act, as well as violations of the Works Constitution Act subject to fines.

• Violations of legal norms enacted to implement European regulations, such as regulations concerning:

• Money laundering,

• Data protection,

• Consumer protection,

• Environmental protection,

• Public procurement law,

• Product safety,

• Accounting for corporations.

A legal obligation to establish so-called internal reporting offices applies from July 2, 2023, for employers with more than 250 employees. Employers with more than 50 employees (up to 249 employees) have until December 17, 2023. Within corporate groups, a single internal reporting office can be established for several independent companies.

Contrary to what was initially proposed during the legislative process, there is no obligation to accept anonymous reports, although these "should" be processed by the internal reporting office according to Section 16 of the Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG).

Violations of the Whistleblower Protection Act can be punished as administrative offenses with a fine. However, the threat of a fine for violating the obligation to establish an internal reporting office under Section 42 Paragraph 2 of the HinSchG only applies from December 1, 2023.