Obstruction of reporting
Obstruction of reporting is any attempt to prevent a whistleblower from making a report or to make reporting more difficult; such conduct is prohibited under the German Whistleblower Protection Act and may result in a fine.
Obstruction of reporting refers to any act that prevents a whistleblower from reporting a breach or that makes submitting a report more difficult. The German Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG) expressly prohibits such obstruction and subjects it to sanctions in order to safeguard the effectiveness of internal and external reporting channels. It covers both open prevention, such as blocking access to the reporting channel, and more subtle forms such as intimidation, withholding information about available reporting routes, or creating unreasonable organisational hurdles.
Obstruction is closely related to the prohibition of reprisals, but must be distinguished from it: whereas reprisals follow a report that has already been made and disadvantage the whistleblower after the fact, obstruction occurs at an earlier stage and is directed against the reporting process itself. Even an attempt at obstruction is covered, so it does not matter whether the report is ultimately abandoned. Employers and their reporting offices are obliged to design reporting channels in such a way that confidential and unimpeded reporting is possible at all times.
Anyone who intentionally obstructs a report or the communication following it commits an administrative offence and may be fined. For companies this means that they must not only ensure the technical availability of the reporting channel, but also foster a corporate culture in which reporting breaches is neither sanctioned nor hindered. Clear internal rules, trained managers and an independently operating reporting channel are the central building blocks for effectively preventing obstruction and meeting the level of protection for whistleblowers required by law.
Legal Basis
Section 36 HinSchG (prohibition of reprisals and obstruction), Section 40 HinSchG (administrative fines); Art. 19, 23 EU Whistleblower Directive (EU) 2019/1937
Practical Example
A department head learns that an employee intends to report suspected corruption via the internal reporting channel. He then deactivates the employee's access to the digital whistleblowing system and tells him that the matter is to be "clarified internally" and discussed outside the official channel. The compliance officer designated as the internal reporting office identifies this as a prohibited obstruction of reporting: she immediately restores access, documents the incident, informs management of the looming fine risk under Section 40 HinSchG, and ensures that the employee can submit his report confidentially and without impediment.