Data and legal basis

1. Regulatory Concept & Core Standards

In this video we will work through a concrete decision: identify data and responsibilities. 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. Files contain reporters’, persons concerned’ and witnesses’ data. Confidentiality does not replace GDPR duties. Connect collection, access, retention and rights responses to a specific purpose and legal basis.

Personal data include indirect identifiers. Health or criminal-offence information may need additional legal conditions. Voluntary submission is not consent to every subsequent use.

Apply the following rule: Protection concerns information obtained in a work context about breaches threatening or harming the public interest. Defending purely personal interests does not constitute a report under this Act. Article 3 covers various fields, including international sanctions and restrictive measures since May 2025. Limits on disclosing particular information also apply.

2. Practical Implementation & Procedure

Identify purpose, controller and provider functions. Select the GDPR article 6 basis and, where needed, article 9 or 10 conditions. Record assessment. 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.

At each step, compare the information available with what is still needed for the decision. Arrange continuity when the designated worker is absent. A substitute receives only the information needed for the task, and their actions must remain verifiable.

Mark an unanswered question as a fact to verify. Identify who could confirm it and what access they actually need. A correct exercise choice alone does not show that the reasoning is understood. If the answer depends on an additional fact, state that condition explicitly.

For the workplace task, name the person who can approve the change and the person who will check that it works. Produce a concrete verifiable action, rather than only a promise to follow rules. Check effects on access rights and user information. Record questions that your organisation still needs to resolve.

3. Case Study & Compliance Action

A file contains an allegation, workplace and medical certificate. Assess separately whether the certificate is needed for the issue. 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: Does a submit button justify every later use? 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. Each purpose and data category needs an appropriate basis. Contracts and real functions must match the provider’s role.

One mistake to avoid is: basing all processing on vague consent.

Now apply the national rule to a second decision. A report is considered protected solely because it mentions corruption. Which assessment is needed?

Assess the work connection, public interest, reasonable belief in the information’s truth and conditions of the chosen route. A category alone is insufficient. A purely personal dispute differs from a breach threatening the public interest, although one report may contain both. Record the assessment grounds and specific missing fact. Referring an ordinary complaint does not remove confidentiality duties.