Knowingly false report
A knowingly false report is the deliberate or grossly negligent submission of untrue information about alleged breaches; it is not protected under the HinSchG and can trigger liability for damages and administrative fines.
A knowingly false report occurs when a whistleblower reports or discloses information about breaches that they know to be untrue. Protection under the German Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG) is tied to the good faith of the reporting person: only those who, at the time of reporting, had reasonable grounds to believe that the reported information was true are protected. Anyone who knowingly provides false or misleading information falls outside the scope of protection and cannot rely on the prohibition of reprisals or the reversal of the burden of proof.
A knowingly false report must be distinguished from a good-faith mistaken report. If a reported matter later turns out to be inaccurate, protection remains in place as long as the whistleblower could reasonably assume it was correct based on the circumstances known to them. The standard is not objective truth but subjective good faith. Only those who intentionally or with gross negligence spread inaccurate information cross the line and act unlawfully. The law therefore protects courageous, honest reports while sanctioning abuse of the reporting system.
The consequences of a knowingly false report are twofold. First, the entire protection of the HinSchG no longer applies, so that employment-related or civil-law responses by the employer do not count as prohibited reprisals. Second, the reporting person is obliged to compensate any damage caused by the intentional or grossly negligent false report. In addition, the knowing submission of inaccurate information can be sanctioned as a regulatory offence with an administrative fine. For internal reporting offices, careful documentation and plausibility checks are therefore essential to distinguish honest reports from abusive ones.
Legal Basis
Section 33(1) no. 3 HinSchG (loss of protection), Section 38 HinSchG (whistleblower liability for damages), Section 40(1) no. 2 HinSchG (administrative fine); in conjunction with Section 33(1) no. 2 HinSchG (reasonable grounds / good faith)
Practical Example
An employee who is unhappy with a promotion decision uses the internal reporting channel to claim that their manager accepted bribes from a supplier. The internal reporting office conducts a thorough investigation and finds that the employee fabricated the allegations to harm the manager. Because the statements were knowingly untrue, HinSchG protection does not apply. The subsequent conduct-based warning does not count as a prohibited reprisal, and the company can claim the damage caused by the investigation. Crucially, the reporting office must document the motives and the factual basis in a comprehensible way before concluding that a knowingly false report was made.