Whistleblowing, Compliance and Internal Investigations
The EU Whistleblower Directive (2019/1937) (“EU Directive on the Protection of Persons Reporting Breaches of Union Law”) sets out minimum requirements for the protection of whistleblowers (also: whistleblowers). In particular, this is intended to create incentives for reporting legal violations. For this purpose, public and private organizations as well as public authorities are required to implement secure reporting channels for whistleblowers. In Germany, the Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG) will transpose the requirements into national law.
In the future, companies with 50 or more employees will have to set up an internal reporting channel that meets the requirements of the legislator. Due to the large number of requirements and the associated high manual effort, companies are increasingly using digital whistleblowing systems.
Regarding the implementation and operation of the whistleblower system, we can support you as follows:
Implementation of the whistleblower system
The establishment and operation of a whistleblower system raises numerous legal issues in the areas of compliance as well as labor and data protection law. We are happy to support you in analyzing existing structures or implementing the necessary measures, including internal guidelines and notices.
Digital tool
By licensing Whistleblower Software ApS, NOTOS Xperts GmbH offers you one of the market’s leading, fully digitalized whistleblower tools, with which you can receive and (have) processed tips on compliance violations (e.g. in connection with corruption, antitrust law, supply chain law, product safety deficiencies, data protection violations or discrimination) in a legally secure manner, confidentially or anonymously, in the look and feel of your corporate website.
Trainings and trainings
During the implementation or operating phase, our experienced consultants are at your side and support you in the design and implementation of regular training courses and training to sensitize your employees to the (legally) safe handling of notices.
Operation of the whistleblower system
After implementation, the digital whistleblowing system must be supported and monitored. NOTOS Xperts GmbH will be happy to provide you with an experienced Xperts team for this purpose on request and will take over the permanent operation of the whistleblowing system for you as an outsourced reporting office.
Initial assessments and internal investigations
If our sister company, NOTOS Xperts GmbH, acts as an outsourced reporting office for you, its consultants may already consult our experienced lawyers and/or the colleagues of our cooperation partner in criminal law, Kipper und Durth Rechtsanwälte GbR, during the initial assessment. In addition, you can of course always contact us if a need for internal investigations and inquiries arises in your company:
| Labor law and co-determination | Attorney Amelie Bernardi | NOTOS Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB |
| Criminal Law, Anti-Corruption, Tax Compliance | RA Dr. Hanno Durth | Kipper+Durth Rechtsanwälte GbR |
| Product safety, supply chains, anti-discrimination, antitrust law | RA Prof. Sven Kolja Braune | NOTOS Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB |
| Data protection, data security, license compliance | RA Jens Engelhardt Michael Gilmour, LL.B. |
NOTOS Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB NOTOS Xperts GmbH |
Our services as well as those of our network within the framework of internal investigations include the following in detail:
- Design of internal investigations, either actively controlling or steering in the background
- Involvement of and coordination with, among others, works council and data protection officer
- Involvement and coordination of IT forensic experts
- Criminal law assessments of corruption, antitrust and other criminal law relevant facts as well as exchange and coordination with public prosecutors, courts and authorities as necessary
- Preparation of suspicious dismissals and enforcement of claims for damages in connection with internal investigations
- Draft codes of ethics / codes of conduct
- Introduction and support of Compliance Management Systems (CMS) incl. negotiation with the works council and data protection law protection
- Implementation of a supplier compliance guideline for risk-minimizing design of external personnel assignments and supplier products
- Adaptation and implementation of data protection and data security policies
- Consulting on crisis communication, if necessary in cooperation with specialized agencies
Through our sister company, NOTOS Xperts GmbH, we offer the digital whistleblower system of Whistleblower Software ApS from Denmark.
As a client, you therefore benefit in particular from:
- A GDPR-compliant system that meets all requirements of the EU Whistleblower Directive and the Whistleblower Protection Act
- Maximum IT security (ISO 27001, ISAE 3000 certifications)
- Comprehensive consulting before and during the implementation of the system, including the creation of data protection guidelines, process specifications and authorization concepts
- Discounted license fees