Seven-day deadline

The seven-day deadline is a central response period in the procedure of internal and external reporting offices under the German Whistleblower Protection Act (Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz, HinSchG). It obliges the competent reporting office to send the whistleblower an acknowledgement of receipt no later than seven days after a report is received. The deadline starts when the report actually reaches the reporting office, irrespective of whether the report was made orally, in writing or during an in-person meeting.

The purpose of the deadline is to give the whistleblower early certainty that their report has arrived and is being handled. This is intended to build trust in the reporting channel and to encourage the willingness to report violations. The acknowledgement of receipt must respect the confidentiality requirement: it must not endanger the whistleblower's identity and must be transmitted via a communication channel chosen by, or accessible to, that person. For fully anonymous reports without a return channel, an acknowledgement is naturally not possible.

The seven-day deadline must be distinguished from the three-month deadline, within which the reporting office must give the whistleblower feedback on planned or already implemented follow-up measures. While the acknowledgement of receipt merely documents arrival, the feedback concerns the substantive status of case handling. Although failure to provide a timely acknowledgement of receipt may not be directly subject to a fine, it undermines the proper functioning of the whistleblowing system and may be assessed unfavourably in a supervisory and liability context. Complete documentation of receipt and acknowledgement is therefore strongly recommended.