Selecting relevant information and documents

1. Regulatory Concept & Core Standards

This video's topic is selecting relevant information and documents. By the end, you should be able to choose useful attachments without disclosing excessive information. We will connect the information available, the criterion guiding the decision and the action that must be recorded. Follow the case and compare your answer with the proposed response. This course takes the perspective of someone who wants to report a concern. The demonstration uses a fictional channel. You do not need legal terminology to describe facts. You need to distinguish what you know, what you suspect and what you cannot confirm.

An attachment should help explain or verify the account. An indiscriminate collection of documents can expose third parties and hinder assessment. Whistleblower protection does not authorise obtaining information by means that constitute a criminal offence. You do not need to break into accounts, take documents without authority or investigate colleagues to submit a report.

Apply the following rule: Section 11(1) requires the reporting register to be kept for three years from receipt. It records receipt date, subject, result and completion date, plus the prescribed identifying details for non-anonymous reports. Do not equate the register with every document from other proceedings. Those documents need their own lawful basis, purpose and restricted access. GDPR requires proportionality and minimisation.

2. Practical Implementation & Procedure

Select documents you accessed lawfully and explain how each relates to the facts. Preserve the original and do not change its contents to strengthen the account. If unrelated data must be redacted from a copy, clearly mark the redactions without destroying the original. Remember that filenames and metadata can reveal identity. 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 spreadsheet contains the relevant transaction and personal data about dozens of unrelated customers. The person describes the document and seeks a secure way to provide only what is needed, identifying any redactions. They do not publish the entire sheet in a messaging group to ask for opinions. 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 it better to send every available file or select those that help verify the facts? 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.

Select relevant files and explain their connection to the account. If unsure how to handle sensitive information, describe it and ask for guidance through the channel. A missing attachment does not automatically prevent reporting well-founded facts.

One mistake to avoid is: altering an original document or disclosing third-party data unnecessarily.

Now apply the national rule to a second decision. The system deletes all data five years after closure. Is that suitable?

No. The section 11 register is kept for three years from receipt of the report. Other documents and related proceedings require their own purpose and legal basis. One universal date may cause premature destruction or unnecessary retention. Record the rule, trigger and deletion owner.