Anonymous Report (HinSchG)
Anonymous tips: handling as a 'should' rule under § 16(1) HinSchG, no statutory obligation
TL;DR
Under § 16(1) of the German Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG), an anonymous report is a tip without identification of the sender. Under § 16(1) sentence 4 HinSchG, the reporting office should process it (a 'should' rule); sentence 5 imposes no obligation to maintain anonymous reporting channels. There is no statutory cut-off date of 1 January 2025 for this.
What is an anonymous report (HinSchG)?
An anonymous report is a tip in which the reporting person does not disclose their identity. Under § 16(1) sentence 4 HinSchG, the internal reporting office should also process reports received anonymously — this is a 'should' rule, not a hard obligation. Sentence 5 makes it expressly clear: 'However, there is no obligation to design the reporting channels in such a way that they allow anonymous reports to be submitted.' The HinSchG as it stands sets no statutory cut-off date (such as 1 January 2025) for a mandatory processing of anonymous tips; the transitional provision in § 42 names only 17 December 2023 and 1 December 2023.
Anyone offering anonymous channels usually needs the following in technical terms:
- an anonymous intake system (software with an anonymisation option)
- an anonymous return channel — the whistleblower can follow up
- processing on an equal footing with identified reports
Tools with an anonymous return channel:
- EQS Integrity Line
- Whistlelink
- Whispli
- NAVEX EthicsPoint
The legal position: Germany and Austria
Germany (HinSchG)
§ 16(1) sentence 4 HinSchG is a 'should' rule: the internal reporting office should also process reports received anonymously. Under sentence 5, however, there is no obligation to design the reporting channels in such a way that they allow anonymous reports to be submitted. The same applies to external reporting offices under § 27(1) HinSchG. § 40 HinSchG provides no administrative offence for failing to process anonymous tips.
Austria (HSchG)
The Austrian Whistleblower Protection Act (HSchG) likewise does not oblige internal and external offices to accept anonymous tips; the option of anonymous tips is left to arrangements that are 'more favourable for whistleblowers' (§ 4(2) no. 1 HSchG). Under § 6(3) HSchG, anonymous whistleblowers are entitled to protection under Chapter 4 (protection against reprisals) where their identity becomes known as a consequence of the anonymous tip without any action on their part and the tip meets the requirements of § 6(1). The competent external office is the Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption (Bundesamt zur Korruptionsprävention und Korruptionsbekämpfung, BAK, § 15(1) HSchG); penalties are imposed by the district administrative authority (Bezirksverwaltungsbehörde) and can reach EUR 20,000, or EUR 40,000 for repeat offences (§ 24 HSchG).
Practical example
An employee anonymously reports a suspicion of corruption. The software generates a token. The whistleblower can use that token later to ask about the status — without revealing their identity.