Two years after the EU Whistleblowing Directive came into force - Last deadline expires: small companies must now also establish confidential reporting channels

EQS-Media / 15.12.2023 / 12:00 CET/CEST

Two years after the EU Whistleblowing Directive came into force:

Last deadline expires: small companies must now also establish confidential reporting channels

• Companies without a whistleblowing system face severe penalties as well as reputational damage
• EQS Group reaches the target of 2,800 new compliance customers ahead of schedule

Sunday (December 17th) is the final deadline for German companies to comply with the whistleblower protection law. Two years after the EU Whistleblowing Directive came into force, even small companies with 50 or more employees are now obliged to set up a confidential reporting channel for whistleblowers to report any wrongdoing or breaches of the law. It is therefore not surprising that EQS Group, the European market leader for digital whistleblowing systems, has seen strong demand for its compliance products in recent weeks. Penalties are also proving expensive for large companies with at least 250 employees who have been obliged to comply with the German Whistleblower Protection Act’s requirements since July.

"The time has finally come. Until now, the protection of whistleblowers has not been a top priority for many companies. This is now changing and penalties are in place for companies that try to circumvent the Whistleblower Protection Act. Much worse and often irreparable, however, is the reputational damage that could have been avoided in many cases with early reporting via a digital whistleblowing system," explains Achim Weick, founder and CEO of EQS Group AG.

Best practice: EQS Group also supports short-term implementation

EQS Group has already welcomed more than 2,800 new customers this year who are using the market-leading whistleblowing software to fulfil all requirements of the German Whistleblower Protection Act in a legally secure and reliable manner. "As the legal deadline approached, we received an increasing number of enquiries from customers who wanted to fulfil their obligations at short notice without compromising on quality. We were also able to ensure the implementation of our systemsthat enable anonymous reporting at short notice," explains Marcus Sultzer, member of the EQS Group Executive Board.

Digital whistleblowing systems such as EQS Integrity Line have established themselves as best practice, as only these fulfil all the requirements for secure and GDPR-compliant communication. These tools can be set up in several languages, as recommended by the legislator, especially for international groups. In addition, they can also automate the prescribed processes for acknowledgement of receipt and feedback to the whistleblower. EQS Integrity Line is integrated into EQS Compliance COCKPIT, allowing compliance managers to efficiently manage all essential workflows such as approval processes, policy management or the requirements of the Supply Chain Act in one platform.

Pressekontakt:

Christian Doll
Director Group Marketing

Christian.doll@eqs.com

+49 (0)89 444430-173

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1798039 15.12.2023 CET/CEST