Receiving, recording and acknowledging a report

1. Regulatory Concept & Core Standards

In this video we will work through a concrete decision: organise the intake of a report and the initial communication. The aim is to explain the criterion used and apply it to a workplace situation. We will start with the concept, move to the procedure and finish with a case to solve. Handling a report requires continuity: each stage must leave enough information for the next. This course follows the team's work, distinguishing case administration, factual analysis and communications with the reporting person. The examples concern internal channels.

Receipt triggers tasks and deadlines. Preserve the report, assign a reference and restrict access. Acknowledgement confirms receipt, not the truth of the allegations. The team must explain the procedure to the extent required by national law and check whether justified exceptions to sending the message apply.

Apply the following rule: Internally, acknowledge receipt within seven days and give information on measures within three months from sending the acknowledgement; if none was sent, calculate three months from expiry of the seven-day period. Section 17 exempts anonymous internal reports from acknowledgement and feedback under section 16(2). Externally, the Chancellor of Justice’s Office normally acknowledges within seven days, subject to the statutory exceptions for the person’s request and identity protection. The competent authority gives feedback within three months, or at most six months for a justified reason, from its own receipt of the report, and communicates the final outcome. Feedback is not necessarily the end of an investigation.

2. Practical Implementation & Procedure

Record the date and attachments. Identify a secure contact method and an initial responsible officer. Prepare a neutral message confirming the reference and explaining next steps. Apply national anonymity and identity requirements. For an oral report, observe applicable rules on recording, consent and verification of transcripts. Before moving on, turn this procedure into a sequence you could explain to a colleague. Identify the first check, the action that depends on its outcome and the record that allows the decision to be reconstructed. Follow the sequence on screen and identify the point where an error would change the result.

3. Case Study & Compliance Action

A report arrives with two attachments, but one will not open. The team records both, preserves what was received and requests a replacement through secure means. Acknowledgement is not suspended while the attachment issue is resolved. The case record identifies the missing information. Now read the case carefully. Separate established facts from information you would still need to confirm. Do not add motives or events that have not been described. This distinction matters when choosing a response proportionate to the information available.

The exercise is as follows: Should the team wait until every attachment is readable before acknowledging receipt? Choose an answer and write one sentence explaining it. During the pause, compare your choice with the criteria we have just considered. Also think about the material you would retain to explain the decision later.

Do not confuse the two tasks. Meet the acknowledgement requirement while separately requesting the missing item and recording the technical problem and follow-up. The initial message need not anticipate findings.

One mistake to avoid is: using the acknowledgement to state that the report has already been substantiated.

Now apply the national rule to a second decision. The platform uses a fixed 90-day period for every country, starting when someone opens the message. Can this setting be retained?

Not without validating the local rule. Use the correct starting event and unit, distinguish acknowledgement from follow-up and allow only permitted extensions. Test receipt outside working hours, month-end dates and the responsible person's absence. Opening a message does not automatically change the legal date of receipt.