Responsibilities of management, designated officers and employees

1. Regulatory Concept & Core Standards

This video focuses on how to distinguish the responsibilities of those involved in the compliance programme. Follow the sequence of decisions in the example rather than simply memorising a list. Notice who is involved, what information is needed and the expected result. These points help turn the content into a practice that another person can verify. An integrity programme connects risks, behaviour, controls and reporting channels. The obligation to protect whistleblowers must be assessed under national law. The prevention measures used in the examples are good practice unless identified as a specific legal obligation applicable to the organisation.

The employer provides conditions and necessary measures. The confidential person receives reports and acts under Article 22, with an appointed deputy. The employer must not interfere with their statutory handling for protection of the reporting person. Article 14 restricts identity and report information to people responsible for receipt and processing.

Apply the following rule: An employer with at least 50 workers generally must establish an internal reporting system. Article 19(3) requires covered employers under specified parts of the Annex to do so regardless of headcount. Appointment of a confidential person and deputy follows Article 20, including proposals by the works council, the authorised trade-union representative or at least 20 per cent of workers where that representation is absent. If no proposal is made, the Act provides for appointment without it. Appointees must consent in writing.

2. Practical Implementation & Procedure

Identify who performs each action, decides and verifies completion. Prepare cover and conflicts procedures. Give management the information it needs while protecting people. A director’s position does not by itself justify access to every file. 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 director requests access to every report to monitor the programme. One report concerns the director's own department and possible personal involvement. Management oversight can be supported by aggregated information and an independent body, avoiding unrestricted access to the case file. 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: Is membership of the management team sufficient to justify full access to every report? 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.

No. Assess the person's role in handling the case, their need to know and any potential conflicts. Management's oversight duty does not remove the confidentiality or independence required in case management.

One mistake to avoid is: assigning all controls to the compliance officer and removing responsibility from operational teams.

Now apply the national rule to a second decision. A subsidiary copies its foreign head office's policy without assessing its own activities and size. What must it check?

Identify the local legal entity, sector, national counting method and any public-sector or territorial regimes. Then link each obligation to a source and a responsible person. A group model can support operations but does not replace this assessment.