Source: whistleblower-net.de
“On the eve of the first anniversary of Germany’s new whistleblowing legislation – adopted to transpose the EU Directive on Whistleblowing into German national law – Whistleblower Protection NGO – Whistleblower-Netzwerk e.V. (WBN) has issued a Press Release criticising the lack of progress in evaluating and improving the law.
WBN claims that despite the legal framework established by the new law – known as the Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz ( HinSchG) – to protect whistleblowers from reprisals and facilitate both internal and external reporting, significant shortcomings remain unaddressed.
The Act, which came into force on July 2, 2023, mandates the creation of reporting channels within organisations to protect individuals who expose misconduct. However, WBN asserts that these measures will only be effective if whistleblowers feel adequately informed, protected, and supported.
Despite legislative intentions to conduct an evaluation by mid-2025, WBN reports that the draft federal budget has not allocated funds for this purpose.
“The Whistleblower Protection Act has improved the legal landscape for whistleblowing, but practical implementation is severely lacking,” said Kosmas Zittel, Managing Director of WBN. “Many municipalities and companies still have not established the required internal reporting channels, and the government shows no intent to rectify the numerous deficiencies of the law.”
WBN has identified several critical flaws since the early stages of the EU Directive’s implementation debate in Germany. These include the law’s narrow focus on legal violations, excluding other forms of gross misconduct from protection; the exclusion of matters related to national security and intelligence services; the limited protection for whistleblowing on classified government documents; and the restricted, legally uncertain conditions under which whistleblowers can go public.
As the first anniversary of the HinSchG approaches, WBN’s press release serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges in implementing effective whistleblower protections in Germany, and in implementing the EU Directive across Europe. The NGO’s call for a comprehensive evaluation and urgent legislative reforms highlights the critical need to ensure that whistleblowers are genuinely supported and protected in their efforts to expose wrongdoing.”