An explosive case recently became public in Austria. A Carinthian reported possible misuse of funding by a company via the Interior Ministry’s whistleblower platform. Whistleblower centers such as those of the Ministry of the Interior were set up to Corruption to fight. They are intended to give whistleblowers who observe violations during their professional activities the opportunity to report them anonymously without having to fear consequences. At least that’s the idea, because in this case the whistleblower was exposed. That’s what she reported Small newspaper on April 7th. How the identity of the whistleblower was revealed is not yet clear. There were still consequences. Because the company fired the employee, he reported ORF Carinthia recently. A trial is being prepared and investigations are ongoing.
That’s not how it should work
It’s a prime example of how Whistleblowing should not expire. Since 2019, whistleblowers and their identities have been protected according to the EU directive. And the national whistleblower protection law (HSchG) is also intended to protect people who uncover grievances from reprisals. It came into force (including transition periods) on December 17, 2023. Since then, companies with 50 or more employees have been obliged to set up an internal reporting point. The Federal Office for the Prevention and Fight against Corruption (BAK) acts as an external reporting point.
The system should have been established after more than two years. But a new survey shows: Austrians probably make use of their right to complain too rarely. Because almost 60 percent don’t even know that this exists. The ARS Academy, a provider of specialist seminars on law and economics, asked Austrians whether there is legal protection for whistleblowers in Austria. Only 41 percent answered yes. Richard Melbinger, managing director of the ARS Academy, criticizes the employees’ lack of information as a sign of insufficient information on the part of employers. He is convinced that the biggest beneficiary from active use of these reporting points would be the company itself.
“Any kind of malversation damages a company and costs money,” he tells KURIER. “The more opportunities you give for feedback, the higher the chance of transparency and that grievances will be uncovered.” Although there is still a lack of information, companies are very conscientious about reporting points and place them in a clearly visible place, observes Melbinger. The contact points are often found in the legal notice or elsewhere prominently on the company websites. “Many people have them in the quick links, where they cannot be overlooked. So I would say that the majority of them have implemented this properly.”
Serious implementation
The portals usually work with links and QR codes that ensure anonymous information. Sometimes, however, there is simply an email address that whistleblowers can contact. “If a job is only listed with an email address, I would look for another job. Because that is the first way to trace your identity.” However, authorities should never have the right to identify whistleblowers, says Melbinger. “Nobody should bother thinking, who is that?”
However, the internal processing of reports is often carried out by the in-house compliance or data protection office, which of course could also be biased or have a certain proximity to the management team. Melbinger therefore considers external reporting centers to be more suitable and safer. “If an external person receives the message, it is their responsibility to look: What do I do with it, where do I turn and who is the right contact person? The managing director or perhaps better the owner?”
In the Carinthian case, the external body was obviously not enough to protect the whistleblower’s anonymity. Let’s hope that this was an exception and not the rule.
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