The law mandates comprehensive protection of the whistleblower against "reprisals" as long as the whistleblower had reasonable grounds to believe that the information he or she reported or disclosed was true and the (alleged) violation concerns a set of rules covered by the HinSchG. Reprisals are acts or omissions in connection with professional activity which are a reaction to a report or disclosure and as a result of which the whistleblower suffers or may suffer an unjustified disadvantage. This includes everything from a transfer to an omission from a salary increase or training trip to a warning and termination, but also, for example, the failure to continue employment for a fixed term.
Caution: The HinSchG imposes a reversal of the burden of proof, according to which a disadvantage is considered a reprisal in the legal sense if it only occurs after a whistleblowing event. Thus, the employer must prove that the whistleblower was transferred for other reasons, was not promoted, was not given a fixed term, etc.
The whistleblower is also entitled to damages if he is subjected to reprisals.