In mid-December, the draft of the Whistleblower Protection Act ("HSchG") transposing Directive (EU) 2019/1937 was referred to the Committee on Labour and Social Affairs. In its meeting on 25 January 2023, the Committee gave the draft the go-ahead, which means that the bill will be dealt with in the National Council again. The exact date of the law’s entry into force is not yet foreseeable, it is expected to take several months.
In some of the comments on the first draft bill, criticism was voiced, and the same happened repeatedly in the committee meeting. In particular, the draft was criticised for not covering protection in the context of certain areas, such as sexual harassment and violations of working hour legislation, and that the proposed range of penalties is not sufficient to act as a deterrent for large corporations.
The governing parties countered the criticisms raised by the opposition by saying that in terms of scope, the draft would actually go beyond the provisions of the EU Directive. For example, as far as corruption was concerned, it would not only cover violations of EU norms, but also of Austrian law. Despite various points of criticism, the draft was not revised; it was returned to the National Council as it stands – and as already explained in more detail in an earlier blog post on this subject.
As regards the implementation of the act, it should be noted that small and medium-sized enterprises, organisations and institutions with 50 to 249 employees have to implement its provisions by 17 December 2023, regardless of the date on which the act enters into force. Enterprises, organisations and institutions with more than 250 employees have to implement the act no later than six months after it has come into force.
Regardless of the (justified) criticism of the present draft, companies falling within the scope of the Whistleblower Protection Act (HSchG) should look into the implementation of the requirements as soon as possible if they have not already done so.
The KWR Employment Law and Data Protection Teams will be happy to support you.