According to the EU Directive, the Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG), also known as the Whistleblower Protection Act, will come into force in Germany on July 2, 2023. High time to take a look at the most important points of the new regulation.
The central goal of the law is to protect whistleblowers who report violations of laws, regulations and internal company policies from retaliation by their employers. This law is an important step in promoting transparency and accountability in the workplace. However, it also brings new challenges and potential liabilities for companies operating in Germany.
Challenges for companies
The Whistleblower Protection Act requires companies with more than 50 employees to establish internal reporting channels and procedures for whistleblowers to report violations of laws, regulations and internal company policies. These reporting channels must be easily accessible and ensure the confidentiality of the reporting person’s identity. The law also prohibits retaliation against whistleblowers and provides them with legal protection.
Failure to comply with the Whistleblower Protection Act can result in fines and reputational harm. Companies that do not establish internal reporting channels and procedures for whistleblowers risk not only violating the law, but also negative media coverage and damage to their reputation. In addition, whistleblowers who face retaliation may file claims against their employers, leading to litigation and potential financial liabilities.
The Whistleblower Protection Act is an important step in promoting transparency and accountability in the workplace. However, it also brings new challenges and potential liabilities for companies operating in Germany. Companies that do not comply with the law risk fines, reputational damage and litigation; repercussions that can be avoided with a GRC tool.
Benefits of a compliance solution
A professional compliance solution can help companies successfully deal with the impact of the Whistleblower Protection Act by enabling them to set up and document their reporting processes and procedures. This not only helps ensure compliance with the law, but also helps identify potential weaknesses in the whistleblower reporting process.
In this way, potential risks can be identified more quickly and successively reduced. This is done with the help of analytics that identify trends and patterns in reported violations so that companies can take proactive measures to prevent future violations.
Specific risk treatment is then based on a sophisticated risk management process in accordance with the ISO 27001 standard. The risk is recorded and treated with various measures. This can significantly reduce the remaining risk and also serves as proof of professional risk prevention to public institutions and to avert corporate consequences.
Conclusion
Despite the positive development for the protection of whistleblowers, new laws often lead to an additional effort for companies to implement these laws into the existing process landscape. This often leads to an unintended shift of resources away from core business to mandatory compliance tasks. An effective cloud software solution can help organisations deal with the impact of the Whistleblower Protection Act by enabling them to establish and document their reporting channels and procedures, monitor compliance with the law, and identify and mitigate potential risks associated with whistleblower reports. By implementing such a tool, companies can not only comply with the law, but also demonstrate their commitment to ethical and responsible business practices, which in turn can have a positive impact on reputation and trust towards the company.