Internal Whistleblower Reporting Office of TH Köln

Your report is important to us. We are committed to protecting your identity.

Do you have knowledge of legal violations or misconduct occurring within TH Köln? If you wish to report such matters while preserving your anonymity, you are encouraged to contact the Internal Whistleblower Reporting Office of TH Köln. This reporting channel enables you to submit information in a secure, confidential, and anonymous manner.

By establishing an internal reporting office for whistleblowers, TH Köln complies with the requirements of the German Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG). This legislation implements the EU Directive on the protection of whistleblowers within Germany.

All data is transmitted in encrypted form to ensure that your identity remains protected.
Every report is examined thoroughly and with due diligence.
We initiate all necessary steps to investigate and prevent the reported violation.
The Whistleblower Protection Act safeguards your rights.

Questions and Answers

+ Who can submit a report?

All employees, suppliers, service providers, and other individuals who are professionally associated with TH Köln may contact the Whistleblower Reporting Office if they become aware of violations or breaches of duty.

Reports should be related to activities or circumstances encountered in the context of their professional relationship with TH Köln.

+ Why should I submit a report?

Your reports can help us to identify misconduct and violations at an early stage, thereby preventing harm to our university, our employees, and our cooperation partners. Together, we strengthen the integrity of our institution.

+ Which reports are processed and which are not?

At the Whistleblower Reporting Office, you may report legal violations such as corruption, competition offenses, theft, forgery, data protection breaches, procurement violations, violations of federal or state laws, as well as directly applicable legal acts of the European Union, among others. Further details can be found in Section 2 of the Whistleblower Protection Act.

For other types of concerns, please contact TH Köln’s Feedback Management. Your matter will be treated confidentially and forwarded to the responsible department – anonymously upon request. The Feedback Management ensures an individual and timely resolution.

+ What should be considered when submitting a report?

It is important that, at the time of submission, you have reasonable grounds to believe that the information you provide is accurate. Please clearly indicate if the reported violations are not verifiable facts but rather based on reasonable suspicion or third-party statements.

Violations of the key provisions of the Whistleblower Protection Act are punishable as administrative offenses. This also applies to the intentional or grossly negligent submission or disclosure of incorrect information by whistleblowers. Section 40 of the Whistleblower Protection Act contains the relevant penalty provisions.

+ What rights does the person affected by the report have?

The identity of the person affected by the report must also be protected. However, the Whistleblower Reporting Office may disclose the identity of the affected person if this is necessary for internal investigations or for taking follow-up measures. The same applies to disclosure to authorities in the context of criminal or administrative penalty proceedings.

If the report was intentionally or grossly negligently false and the affected person suffers damage as a result, they are entitled to claim damages.

+ How do I submit a report?

Reports can be submitted using any internet-enabled device.
Please click here Submit Report

The reporting process consists of four steps:

Read the information on protecting your anonymity and complete a security check.
Specify the focus of your report.
Decide whether to submit your report under your name or anonymously. Describe your concern in your own words and answer questions about the incident using simple multiple-choice options. You have up to 5,000 characters for free text and may upload one file up to 5 MB in size. Please be aware that documents may contain information about the author. After submitting your report, you will receive a reference number as confirmation.
Afterwards, please set up your own secure mailbox. This is how you will receive our feedback and any follow-up questions. Your anonymity is maintained at all times via the mailbox.
In cases where a report is submitted anonymously and no digital mailbox is established, the Whistleblowing Office is not in a position to request additional information, seek clarification, or provide updates on the processing status. Furthermore, without a digital mailbox, the electronic submission of supplementary documents is not possible. Please be advised that additional documentation should not be submitted by filing a new report, as the system is technically incapable of consolidating or correlating separate submissions. Consequently, multiple entries made by the same reporting person cannot be identified as related or considered an extension of a previously submitted report.

If you already have a secure mailbox, you can access it directly via the “Login” button.

As long as you do not enter any information that could reveal your identity, the whistleblower system will technically protect your anonymity.

+ Alternative: External Reporting Offices outside TH Köln

In addition to the Internal Whistleblower Reporting Office at TH Köln, you also have the option to submit reports to the following external reporting offices:

For more information on the responsibilities and jurisdictions of these external reporting offices, please refer to the relevant guidelines.

Anonymity is certified by an independent body.
Your report is kept anonymous through encryption and security protocols.
Do not provide any information that could reveal your identity!
Please do not use your employer’s devices (PC, smartphone) to submit your report!