Investigation plan

1. Regulatory Concept & Core Standards

In this video we will work through a concrete decision: define the question and limits. 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. Internal investigations need a defined mandate, authority limits and verifiable actions. Internal investigators gain no police powers. Separate fact collection, evaluation and liability decisions under the applicable procedure.

A plan connects allegations with checks and owners, including potentially exculpatory information. Lack of authority requires appropriate referral.

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

Define questions, powers, conflicts and lawful sources. Prioritise by risk and identify when to review the plan. 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

Supplier favouritism is investigated through criteria, assessments and connections, not the worker’s whole unrelated personal history. 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: May the plan start from predetermined guilt? 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. Frame a testable question and possible explanations. Seek a reasoned finding rather than confirmation at any cost.

One mistake to avoid is: planning only to collect incriminating information.

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.