Since its founding last year, the federal contact point for whistleblowers has received an average of around 90 reports per month of suspected malpractice in authorities and companies. As a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Justice announced upon request, the external reporting office at the Federal Office of Justice received 902 reports between July 2, 2023 and April 30, 2024. However, the reporting office pointed out that in individual cases there could still be a slight correction in the statistics regarding the last few months, especially in cases in which it only later became clear that the whistleblower initially preferred advice and not yet a report in the actual sense wanted to give away.
The Whistleblower Protection Act came into force on July 2nd last year. It is intended to protect people who uncover abuses from dismissal and harassment. The law requires authorities and companies to set up contact points to receive reports of fraud, corruption or violations of animal welfare or environmental protection regulations. The law belatedly implemented a corresponding EU directive.
According to the law, authorities and companies with more than 50 employees must create contact points that confidentially receive and process reports from whistleblowers. Anyone who violates the law faces a fine of up to 50,000 euros. Employers with 250 or more employees had to implement the requirements of the Whistleblower Protection Act by July 2nd. For companies with 50 to 249 employees, there was a waiting period until mid-December.
In addition, the external reporting office at the Federal Office of Justice was created. The law allows whistleblowers to decide whether they report violations internally or externally. In its online form, the federal reporting office warns against false accusations.
