Ahlers & Vogel Verwaltungen GbR informs: Federal Council approves Whistleblower Protection Act

After the government draft for a German Whistleblower Protection Act (“Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz”/ ”HinSchG”) had failed in the Federal Council in February 2023, the Federal Council has now approved the act in its meeting on 12 May 2023. Therefore, the Whistleblower Protection Act will soon come into force and will result in a need for action in companies with more than 50 employees.

Background of the HinSchG

The Whistleblower Protection Act transposes the EU Whistleblower Directive into national law. The act aims to improve the protection of persons who seek to report violations against applicable law committed within a company.  Compared to the previous drafts, the HinSchG contains some changes that the mediation committee was recently able to agree on. For example, it is no longer mandatory to ensure that reports can also be received anonymously. In addition, the scope of application of the act and also the previously contained regulation on the reversal of the burden of proof have been changed. The maximum limit for penalty of the HinSchG has been reduced to 50,000.00 €. The law still allows to commission a third party with the operation of a whistleblowing system.

Consequences for companies

The HinSchG obliges companies to set up an internal reporting office to receive notices of violations of the law by the company. This obligation initially applies to companies with more than 250 employees. For companies with 50 – 249 employees, a transition period until 17.12.2023 is intended.

Support for implementation

In order to implement the obligations arising from the HinSchG in compliance with the directive, Ahlers & Vogel Verwaltungen GbR offers an overall solution adapted to each company or group size, which includes not only the provision of the whistleblowing system but also the handling of reports received.

If you would like to make use of these services to comply with your obligations under the HinSchG, please do not hesitate to contact

Ahlers & Vogel Verwaltungen GbR
Contrescarpe 21
28203 Bremen
phone: +49 (421) 1462195-5
e-mail: hinweisgeber@av-verwaltungen.de
Tax authority Bremen, 60/151/04617

The contact persons are Dirk Schuster and Moritz Naegeler.

Disclaimer: These are services offered by Ahlers & Vogel Verwaltungen GbR and not by Ahlers & Vogel Rechtsanwälte PartG mbB.