Internal Reporting Office – Whistleblower Protection

The Act for Better Protection of Whistleblowers (Whistleblower Protection Act – HinSchG) came into force on 2nd of July 2023.

The aim of the Whistleblower Protection Act is to ensure the protection of persons who wish to draw attention to irregularities in companies or authorities within the material scope of the Whistleblower Protection Act and to ensure that whistleblowers do not have to fear reprisals from employers for legitimate reports of such violations.

The internal reporting office accepts information from employees of the university. They benefit from the protection of the Whistleblower Protection Act. The definition of the term "employee" is derived from Section 2 of the Whistleblower Protection Act.

If information is received from other persons (e.g. employees of business partners, etc.), it is checked and, if necessary, forwarded to the responsible departments within the organisation after consultation with the person making the report.

The full protection of the Whistleblower Protection Act applies if the report relates to offences against criminal law or certain provisions on fines or other provisions specified in Section 2 of the Whistleblower Protection Act. This is not easy to judge, if you are not sure, please contact us and we will try to assess the facts together.

The scope of application of the Whistleblower Protection Act includes, for example, but is not limited to

• criminal offences (e.g. corruption, theft, fraud, etc.)
• violations of environmental regulations, etc.
• offences against regulations for the protection of personal data and the confidentiality of (electronic) communication. Alternatively, you can also contact the Data Protection Officer directly.

We would like to encourage you to make use of the internal reporting office. If effective action can be taken internally against the breach you have observed and you have no justified fear of disadvantages, you should prioritise contacting the internal reporting office.

However, you also have other options:

• You can always contact your superior with information about breaches of the rules (official channels).
• In addition, an external reporting centre has been set up at the Federal Ministry of Justice, which you can also contact.
• You can also contact the criminal prosecution authorities.

Your report will be treated confidentially by the internal reporting office, the requirements for this can be found in §§ 8 and 9 of the HinSchG.

Firstly, the employees of the reporting office will become aware of your report. The employees check the information in the report for plausibility and then initiate follow-up measures if necessary. Depending on the content of the report, other departments (e.g. Internal Audit, Legal Services and other persons) may also be involved in these follow-up measures. The internal reporting office always checks whether the identity of the whistleblower must be disclosed.

Complete anonymity cannot be guaranteed.

On the one hand, this is due to the fact that the report may contain information that is only accessible to a small group of people or otherwise allows conclusions to be drawn about the identity of the whistleblower. On the other hand, depending on the transmission method chosen, it cannot always be technically ruled out (e.g. in the case of e-mail) that it is possible to trace the information. In addition, the employees of the internal reporting office and other persons involved do not have the right to refuse to give evidence to the law enforcement authorities.

Nevertheless, we will process reports that we receive without the sender's details and will not actively attempt to establish their identity.

• Whistleblowers must ensure that both the personal and factual scope of application of the HinSchG are fulfilled (see Sections 1 and 2 HinSchG).
• If the whistleblower intentionally or through severe negligence reports incorrect information on offences, the protection of the HinSchG does not apply to them; the reporting office is then also not obliged to maintain the confidentiality of the identity of the whistleblower (see Sections 9 and 33 HinSchG).
• In the event of an intentional or severely negligent false report, the whistleblower is obliged to reimburse the resulting damage (see Section 38 HinSchG).

Reports that fall within the scope of the HinSchG may not be obstructed (see Section 7 HinSchG). Furthermore, reprisals against whistleblowers are prohibited in these cases and are subject to compensation (see Sections 36 and 37 HinSchG). However, the protection for whistleblowers does not apply in the event of a deliberate or severely negligent false report based on incorrect information (see Section 33 HinSchG). In the event of a false report, the whistleblower is liable for damages in accordance with Section 38 HinSchG.

We will send you a confirmation of receipt within 7 days of receiving your notification.

In addition, you have the option of contacting us with new information even after your notification.

Within three months of confirmation of receiving the report, you will receive reasoned feedback from us regarding any follow-up measures already taken or planned. However, this can only take place to the extent that the rights of other persons (in particular those named in the notice) are not affected.

This does not apply in the case of mail received without a sender or anonymous calls.