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• Who is affected by the new whistleblower policy?

  The EU Directive on the “Protection of Persons Reporting Breaches of Union Law,” adopted by the European Council in October 2019, will require certain companies to establish internal reporting channels in the future. The reporting process must also ensure the follow-up of the notice and designate a person responsible for this. The directive must be transposed into national law by December 17, 2021. Companies with 50 to 249 employees have until Dec. 17, 2023, to implement internal reporting channels.

• To whom does this policy apply?

  Private companies with more than 50 employees are required to set up an internal reporting system to receive tips. In addition, companies in certain sectors (e.g. financial sector) also have to comply with this obligation, regardless of their size. This obligation also applies to all state administrative bodies, all regional administrations and departments, municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, and legal entities under public law.

• Requirements from the directive

  Establish transparent reporting channels and trusted communication channels. The organizations concerned must implement an internal reporting process that allows internal and external parties to report their indications anonymously. Notices must be given by telephone, in writing, or in person. The follow-up of the information must be ensured and a person responsible for this within the organization must be appointed and trained accordingly. Information on the reporting process must be provided in a transparent and easily accessible manner.

• Multi-level whistleblowing system

  Whistleblowers are encouraged to first report the grievance internally (if appropriate reporting channels exist for this purpose). If the report is not processed by the competent body within three months, whistleblowers may turn to a competent authority.

  Under certain circumstances, whistleblowers may also do so directly: E.g., when the violation to be reported may pose an immediate or obvious threat to the public interest, such as in an emergency situation or when there is a risk of irreversible harm. In such cases, for example, messages can be passed on directly to the media.

• Obligation to report back within a reasonable period of time

  There is a requirement that the whistleblower must be informed within three months of the action taken as a result of his report.
  Protection and mechanisms to avoid retaliation.
  The directive aims to protect whistleblowers from retaliation, such as workplace harassment, discrimination or dismissal.
  In addition, the reversal of the burden of proof applies, which means that should legal proceedings ensue as a result of reprisals suffered by a whistleblower, the employer must prove that the disadvantage suffered is unrelated to the whistleblower’s report. Persons who have supported the whistleblower (e.g. trusted persons, colleagues or relatives) are also protected.

• Obligation to introduce sanctions

  In the event that employers do not fulfill their obligations, do not ensure the anonymity of whistleblowers or do not initiate follow-up measures, they must expect sanctions. Exactly which ones will depend on the concrete implementation of the legislator.

  How the whistleblowing system is designed, which reporting channels should be available to employees, and how reports are processed and handled should be customized for each company.

• KPMG Integrity Service

  For this reason, KPMG Law has developed the “KPMG Integrity Service” together with the experts from KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft and EQS. This is a web-based whistleblowing system that employees can access simply and easily via a link. The platform is available in up to 60 languages and is therefore also ideally suited for internationally operating companies. Furthermore, the system enables communication with the whistleblower – while preserving his or her full anonymity.

  Our experts support you in the implementation and ongoing operation of the whistleblowing system: from the receipt of information to internal investigations and representation in legal proceedings, we cover all technical and legal aspects of whistleblowing worldwide and from a single source.

  Our KPMG Integrity Service represents a fully comprehensive service. We take care of the conceptual design, technical set-up and maintenance of the system and also offer case management. Companies receive meaningful reports and status reports for management or the board of directors at predefined intervals. The cooperation of the Compliance and Data Protection, Forensic and Law departments enables us to offer an individual full service from a single source, ranging from case management and legal advice to the conduct of internal company investigations in the event of an incident. In addition, we are available to you 365 days a year with the help of our worldwide FairCall centers. This enables your company to receive and process concerns in a timely manner and respond appropriately.

  The KPMG Integrity Service combines the services of KPMG Faircall, KPMG Law, KPMG Forensic and EQS Group into a holistic solution.