Exceeding in parts, falling short in others - Whistleblower Protection Act: What can employers expect?

At the European level, Directive (EU) 2019/1937 (the "Directive") requires Member States to implement transformation and protection laws for so-called "whistleblowers" at the national level. The previous government of the Federal Republic of Germany submitted a draft at the end of 2020, which ultimately failed due to differences of opinion within the coalition at the time. However, the Directive had to be implemented by December 17, 2021, which is why the European Commission initiated infringement proceedings against Germany, among others, in January/February of this year.

On April 13, 2022, the new Federal Minister of Justice, Marco Buschmann (Liberal Democratic Party), presented a new draft bill on the Whistleblower Protection Act (Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz - HinSchG). It is expected that the draft bill will pass the legislative process in June and that the new law will enter into force at some point during the fall of 2022. In the following, the content of the draft is examined in more detail, and the draft provisions are highlighted in terms of advantages and disadvantages for practice.