External reporting channel
An external reporting channel is a state-run reporting body independent of the employer under the German Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG), which whistleblowers may use as an alternative or in addition to the internal reporting office.
Under the German Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG), an external reporting channel refers to state-run contact points outside the company or authority to which whistleblowers can report breaches. The central body is the federal external reporting office, established at the Federal Office of Justice (Section 19 HinSchG). In addition, Sections 21 et seq. HinSchG provide for special external reporting offices, for example at the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) for financial services breaches and at the Federal Cartel Office for competition law breaches; the German states may set up their own external reporting offices (Section 20 HinSchG).
The external reporting office must be organised and staffed independently and operates reporting channels that allow written and oral reports and, at the whistleblower's request, an in-person meeting (Section 27 HinSchG). It acknowledges receipt of a report within seven days, assesses its validity, maintains contact with the whistleblower, takes appropriate follow-up action and, as a rule, provides feedback within three months – in justified cases up to six months (Section 28 HinSchG). Throughout the procedure the confidentiality requirement and the protection of the whistleblower's identity apply.
The HinSchG grants whistleblowers a genuine right to choose between the internal and the external reporting channel (Section 7 HinSchG); there is no mandatory precedence for internal reporting – the legislator merely encourages it where the matter can be remedied effectively in-house. Companies should therefore make their internal reporting office trustworthy and responsive enough that employees voluntarily prefer it. Anyone who reports through the external channel enjoys the same comprehensive protection against reprisals as with an internal report, provided there were reasonable grounds to believe the information was true.
Legal Basis
Sections 19–31 HinSchG, in particular Section 7 HinSchG (right to choose), Section 19 HinSchG (federal external reporting office), Sections 27, 28 HinSchG (procedure)
Practical Example
An employee of a mid-sized company suspects systematic billing manipulation and fears that the internal reporting office is too close to management. She decides to also contact the federal external reporting office at the Federal Office of Justice in parallel. The office acknowledges receipt within seven days, carries out a plausibility check and gets back to her after just under three months with the status of follow-up measures. The company's compliance officer should be prepared for authorities to take up a report even without prior internal handling, and should keep robust documentation of internal processes accordingly.