In our June newsletter, we reported in detail on the new German Act to Improve the Protection of Whistleblowers (“HinSchG”), which entered into force on 1 July 2023. In the future, whistleblowers within businesses will be better protected if they disclose information about violations that are related to their professional activities.
Pursuant to sec. 12 HinSchG, a “reporting office” must be set up in a company depending on the number of employees and the purpose of its business, and an ombudsperson must be appointed. Medium-sized businesses (>50 employees) must implement this by mid-December 2023. Non-implementation or violations may result in fines of up to €50,000.
We advise affected businesses to start implementation now, as it usually takes 2–3 months to meet the requirements.
Data protection and compliance experts from ePrivacy are ready to take on the tasks of the internal reporting office in accordance with sec. 13 HinSchG, assuming the role of the ombudsperson as a new service. As part of this activity, ePrivacy is setting up a whistleblower system including reporting channels and the necessary software within the company.
This is especially relevant for businesses with 50 or more employees that would like to have this issue covered by an external expert, since the internal implementation effort is usually considerably higher. The costs for the software license are manageable. We will be happy to provide you with an appropriate offer at short notice.