we don't have a works council but we do have staff representation, does approval still apply

Staff representation has no approval right for the reporting scheme

No, the statutory approval right when establishing the reporting procedure applies specifically to the works council, not to staff representation (SR). Staff representation is a different body with its own, more limited statutory authority, and the legislation governing the approval right for a reporting scheme ties that right to the works council as such. For an organization with staff representation instead of a works council, this means there is no statutory obligation to request the staff representation's approval when introducing or amending the whistleblower scheme.

However, that is not the whole story. An organization without a works council remains obliged to have an internal reporting procedure once the statutory threshold is reached, and the substantive requirements for that procedure do not change because no approval right applies. Moreover, many employers with staff representation choose to involve the staff representation in drawing up the scheme anyway, even though there is no statutory obligation to do so — that is then their own choice, not a statutory obligation. What must substantively be included in the procedure is set out in the knowledge base under what must a whistleblower regime contain?, and who is statutorily entitled to request approval is further explained under does the works council have approval rights for the reporting scheme?

Where this difference comes from

The approval right for schemes in the area of, among others, the handling of complaints is regulated in Article 27 of the Works Councils Act, and that article refers to the works council — staff representation is not mentioned there. The obligation to have an internal reporting procedure is separate from this and is laid down in Article 2 of the Whistleblower Protection Act and applies to the employer, regardless of which employee representative body is or is not present. The House for Whistleblowers provides further background on its information page for employers regarding these obligations.