The upcoming implementation of the EU Whistleblowing Directive
is a good occasion to take a closer look at the cultural
implications of whistleblowing in Austria.
Whistleblowing is the report of grievances or punishable acts in
companies or organisations. In the currently discussed draft law to
implement the EU Whistleblower Directive, whistleblowers are called
'Hinweisgeber' (informant) because many may associate the
word whistleblower with someone who 'tells' on a person and
not an informant who detects serious issues.
Currently organisations are not legally requied to establish a
whistleblowing system except credit institutions. However, larger
companies usually set up such systems voluntarily as part of their
compliance management system since an internal whistleblowing
system mitigates the risk of employees using external channels.
There are also several regulations including the Austrian Banking
Act, the Austrian Stock Exchange Act, the Austrian Trade,
