In most cases, it is employees who report abuses or criminal offences that have come to their attention in connection with their employment. In the absence of explicit legal provisions, however, employees are very uncertain as to the conditions under which they may give information to the authorities, without running the risk of being effectively dismissed by the employer. In the same way, it is difficult for the employer to assess when it is entitled to terminate the employment relationship. The German Whistleblower Protection Act which is to implement the EU Whistleblower Directive in the course of this year, is intended to remedy this situation. A recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights is causing a stir because it imposes obligations on the whistleblowing employee to carry out checks, which the draft national act and the Whistleblower Directive do not provide for.
