As of: February 7, 2024, 7:02 a.m
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whistleblower.jpg © Karl-Josef Hildenbrand
Anyone who uncovers grievances in the company should not suffer any disadvantages: Even companies with 50 or more employees must now have a contact point for whistleblowers.
Another legal requirement that some people are more comfortable with and others less comfortable with.
District – The federal government wants to better protect whistleblowers.
Anyone who justifiably points out violations of the law or grievances at their employer should not be disadvantaged by the employer - for example through warnings or dismissals.
Since mid-December, a discreet, internal reporting point has also been mandatory for smaller companies with 50 or more employees.
This is required by the so-called Whistleblower Protection Act, which was passed by the European Union in 2019 and is also called the “Whistleblower Act”.
Many smaller institutions in the Starnberg district feel somewhat overwhelmed by this - the Neighborhood Aid (NBH) Inning, for example.
The association employs 57 permanent full- and part-time employees.
“It is once again an additional task that costs us money and time,” says NBH chairwoman Gabriele Kaller.
She delegated the issue to former mayor Werner Röslmair, who has been supporting the board in an advisory capacity for a few months.
“After 50 years, the first man to help the neighbors,” says the 80-year-old and has to laugh.
The facility on Enzenhofer Weg was built during his time as mayor; his wife was also formerly on the board - he has a lot in common with the NBH.
That's why he now wants to take care of "this madness", as he says.
“We do everything we can to ensure that employees are protected, we need everyone.
Why do I need something like that now?” he asks, alluding to the requirements.
For example, it is important to appoint an internal whistleblower protection officer and set up several reporting channels - digital and analogue.
NBH chairwoman Kaller has also taken a rather pragmatic approach so far: “Anyone can come to us.
“You can talk.” The neighborhood help went well with it.
Werner Röslmair sees the law as a money machine for law firms and similar service providers.
He has already written a letter of complaint to the Prime Minister, district administrator and mayor, but he has not yet sent it.
Armin Heil, managing director and nursing manager of the Tutzing outpatient nursing service, says: “We work with people and for people.
This leads to conflicts and misunderstandings.
But they can be clarified in a one-on-one conversation.” He is “of the old school” and considers the measure to be excessive.
In the case of outpatient nursing, it does not involve a lot of effort.
The data protection officer, an external service provider, now covers whistleblower protection.
The additional costs are “not worth mentioning,” says Heil.
The Paritätische Bayern welfare association, for example, points out a service that costs organizations between 50 and 250 employees 65 euros per month.
And that internal solutions can certainly bring with them conflicts of interest.
FortStep GmbH, a provider of daycare centers based in Niederpöcking with a total of 450 employees, has been carrying out the task with its own staff since summer 2023 and therefore has no ongoing costs.
An employee was named as the representative “who has nothing to do with decision-makers and is therefore neutral,” reports data protection officer Lisa Kometer when asked.
The employee is also qualified for this as a mentor and supervisor.
A special email inbox in which senders are anonymized has been set up - and also a separate mailbox.
“So far no one has complained.
I hope it stays that way,” says Kometer.
If the worst comes to the worst, companies must make (legitimate) information public and also document what they have done as a result.
The whistleblower law “makes sense,” says the data protection officer.
Evidence of serious problems in facilities is unlikely to have negative consequences.
Especially since FortStep also works with public funding.
“But I don’t think this can be broken down into all sectors,” says Kometer.
Smaller companies would not have the know-how or IT infrastructure to meet the requirements and would therefore have to outsource the order.
Like the road and civil engineering company Strobl in Frieding, a family business with around 65 employees.
“We repair burst pipes, we have no state secrets,” says managing director Michael Strobl, when asked about the topic.
In principle, he can understand the intention of the legislator, but not so much for his industry.
“It all costs money.
And ultimately we have to pass the costs on to the end consumer.”
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