MAINSYSTEMS 
classify communications by their facts and the applicable rules
1. Regulatory Concept & Core Standards
In this video we will work through a concrete decision: classify communications by their facts and the applicable rules. 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. Initial classification selects the appropriate procedure without prematurely deciding the allegation. The course combines scope, urgency, preservation and impartial assignment. Referral requires a proper basis and limits information to what the recipient needs.
A complaint often seeks correction of a service or decision. A whistleblowing report concerns a possible breach. An ethics report may describe a violation of internal rules outside the legal scope of whistleblower protection. These categories can overlap. Initial classification is an organisational tool and should remain open to revision.
Apply the following rule: Article 3 covers specified areas including corruption, public procurement, data protection and the financial interests of the state. Employment law is not a separate general category. Article 3(2) allows certain lawful internal rules and ethical standards within the internal procedure, without applying Chapters 4 and 5. Article 4 includes work-related contexts before and after a relationship. Protection requires Article 6 conditions and the appropriate reporting route.
2. Practical Implementation & Procedure
Read the full account and identify the request and alleged facts. Check whether the matter falls within legislation or internal policy. If referral is needed, assess whether sharing is lawful and send only necessary information. Avoid automatically forwarding the entire message to an ordinary department, especially where it reveals identity or contains sensitive material. 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 customer complains about a faulty product, while an employee describes deliberate concealment of safety results for that product. The common product does not make the legal routes identical. 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 the same product justify identical classification? 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. The nature of the information and how it was obtained matter. Each account requires the appropriate procedure and data protection.
One mistake to avoid is: classifying a communication solely by its opening sentence or the department mentioned.
Now apply the national rule to a second decision. The system automatically marks a report as protected because it contains the word corruption. What was not checked?
Read the facts and apply Articles 3, 4 and 6. A form category establishes neither statutory scope nor the reporting person’s reasonable grounds. If another procedure applies, identify it and limit sharing to necessary information. A broader internal policy does not automatically extend every statutory reporting route.