Liability alert for companies with 50 or more employees! As an external reporting office, we take care of all reporting management. This allows you to minimize your liability risks. Maximum relief for you, maximum protection for your company.
The establishment of an internal reporting office is mandatory for you under Section 12 Whistleblower Protection Act, but poses significant difficulties in implementation:
Expertise & neutrality (Section 15 Whistleblower Protection Act): Reporting officers must be qualified and completely free of conflicts of interest – often difficult to achieve internally. The law therefore expressly allows you to commission specialized third parties to operate your reporting office.
Strict access control (Section 16 Whistleblower Protection Act): Only authorized persons may have access to reports (technical and organizational safeguards).
Strict deadlines (Section 17 Whistleblower Protection Act): Confirmation of receipt after 7 days and final feedback after 3 months at the latest.
High fines (Section 40 Whistleblower Protection Act): Errors in the procedure or a missing reporting office can cost up to € 50,000.
The whistleblower portal must be freely accessible to all employees—in particular, permanent staff, temporary workers, trainees, and interns. Companies also have the option of opening the whistleblower portal to third parties (e.g., customers or business partners) in order to identify risks early on along the entire supply chain.
The subject of a report may, for example, be information about violations of criminal law or regulations on environmental protection, data protection, or consumer protection. The whistleblower must have obtained this information in connection with their professional activities.
The disclosure of information to the reporting office is permitted despite legal or contractual confidentiality obligations, provided that the whistleblower acts in good faith and the report is necessary to uncover a relevant violation.
Reporting offices are legally obliged to maintain confidentiality. This includes the identity of the whistleblower and all persons named in the report. When processing personal data, the provisions of the GDPR must also be complied with.
Any discrimination against whistleblowers is prohibited by law – this includes threats or attempts to discriminate. If a whistleblower nevertheless suffers professional disadvantages, the law presumes that this is an inadmissible reprisal. In the event of a dispute, the employer must prove that the measure was objectively justified and had nothing to do with the report. Violation of this prohibition may result in damages!
If false information is provided intentionally or negligently, damages may be claimed!
Then contact us now!
