Equal Opportunity Officer
AGG complaints office per § 13 AGG: confidential intake, documentation, case handling. BGleiG workflows for federal bodies included.
§ 13 AGG · BGleiG
Talk to us about Equal Opportunity Officer
Three lines and you are in our inbox. We reply within one business day.
What is the AGG Complaints Office?
The whistleblower hotline germany infrastructure combines two distinct legal duties. Section 13 of the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) requires every employer in Germany, regardless of headcount, to designate a complaints office for discrimination matters. The complaints office accepts reports under the protected characteristics of Section 1 AGG: race or ethnic origin, gender, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual identity. The duty stems from Section 12 AGG and is enforced through Section 15 AGG, which entitles affected employees to compensation up to three monthly salaries for non-pecuniary damage. The Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG), in force since 2 July 2023, requires every employer with 50 or more employees to operate an internal reporting channel. Combined operation is permissible. Sanctions under HinSchG reach 50,000 EUR.
Core duties
- Operate the AGG complaints office under Section 13 with a designated contact and substitute.
- Investigate discrimination reports under Section 1 AGG protected characteristics.
- Operate the HinSchG internal channel for reports listed in Section 2 HinSchG.
- Acknowledge HinSchG reports within seven days and feedback within three months.
- Maintain confidentiality of reporter identity under Section 8 HinSchG.
- Document case files for at least three years under Section 11 HinSchG.
- Deliver mandatory AGG training under Section 12 paragraph 2 AGG.
- Coordinate disciplinary measures and remediation with HR and legal.
- Report aggregated KPIs to the management board annually.
- Liaise with the Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes when escalations occur.
When the AGG complaints office is mandatory
Section 13 paragraph 1 AGG requires every employer to designate a competent body to which employees can submit discrimination complaints. There is no headcount threshold. The HinSchG threshold of 50 employees applies separately. Both channels must allow anonymous reporting in practice.
- Any employer is covered under Section 13 AGG regardless of size
- Threshold of 50 employees triggers HinSchG internal reporting channel
- Group companies count individual entities; aggregation under Section 14 HinSchG possible
- Public sector employers always in scope under HinSchG
- Financial services entities are in scope under HinSchG from the first employee
- Antidiskriminierungsstelle escalation under Section 27 AGG
Typical sectors
- All employers regardless of sector for AGG complaints office
- Financial services and insurance under HinSchG and BaFin AT 4.1.3
- Healthcare and care providers with high workforce diversity
- Public sector entities and universities
- Manufacturing and industrial companies above 50 employees
- Retail, hospitality and food service
- Professional services, law firms and consulting
- Technology, software and platform providers
- Logistics and transportation
- Construction and craft trades above 50 employees
How CIVAC supports AGG and HinSchG compliance
CIVAC operates a combined complaints platform that meets both Section 13 AGG and Section 2 HinSchG. Reporters select the relevant channel through an intake wizard and the system routes the case to the AGG complaints office or the HinSchG case team accordingly. Anonymous intake is supported with end-to-end encryption and two-way anonymous dialogue. Case handling enforces the seven-day acknowledgement and three-month feedback under Section 17 HinSchG.
Frequently asked questions
Need this officer role for your organisation?
Appoint our experts as your external officer or license CIVAC for your in-house team. Get in touch and we walk you through the right setup.