Procedural Rules
As the team of the internal reporting office, you should urgently create a procedural rules document, that is publically available within your company. In it, you should transparently define your principles and procedures. A procedural rules document helps you carry out your work.
Important Aspects of a Procedure
At the beginning of a procedure, you usually only have a report from the perspective of a victim or witnesses. By establishing clear rules for your procedure and adhering to them, you protect:
- genuine affected individuals,
- those unjustly accused from false allegations,
- the integrity of the reporting office.
You should not automatically believe whistleblowers. However, whistleblowers must feel safe and be taken seriously.
Sample Procedural Rules
This sample is inspired by the principles of the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO) in Germany, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the UN Human Rights Convention.
These procedural rules are an example. No warranty or liability is assumed for their content. Consult a lawyer for legally safe procedural rules.
PROCEDURAL RULES FOR THE INTERNAL REPORTING OFFICE
INITIATION OF A PROCEDURE
A procedure is initiated upon receipt of a report through our reporting portal.
We confirm the receipt of a report through the reporting portal within seven days in the portal itself.
If significantly more reports than usual are received in a short period, the internal reporting office team examines a) the possible connection between these reports and b) the purpose whistleblowers might be pursuing with simultaneous reporting before conducting detailed investigations.
INVESTIGATION PROCEDURE
The presumption of innocence applies. Accused individuals are considered innocent until their guilt can be unequivocally established. This guilt may only be determined by a court in case of doubt.
The internal reporting office acts independently and impartially.
All parties involved have the right to a fair procedure.
The internal reporting office may request a sworn statement to support accusations in some cases. Only statements notarized by a notary will be accepted. The internal reporting office covers the cost of this notarization. A receipt must be presented for reimbursement.
We conduct searches of the internal workplace and company-owned infrastructure within the framework of legal regulations. Affected individuals will be informed afterwards.
The internal reporting office informs the whistleblower within three months about the actions taken and further planned follow-up actions. We cannot discuss personal consequences for accused individuals due to data protection reasons.
The internal reporting office informs management and the HR department about confirmed reports in the internal investigation so that they can take possible follow-up actions.
The internal reporting office retains documentation of the case for at least three years.
WHISTLEBLOWER RIGHTS
The identity of any whistleblower must remain confidential.
If there is a risk during investigations (e.g., during interviews), that the identity may inevitably be disclosed, consent must be obtained in advance.
If it is necessary to disclose the whistleblower's identity to the public prosecutor, they will be informed in advance.
RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED
If accused individuals are questioned during investigations, they have the right to be informed of the allegations against them. This is done while maintaining confidentiality about the whistleblower's identity.
Accused individuals have the right to (legal) assistance.
Accused individuals have the right to remain silent.
Accused individuals have the right to be heard before the internal investigation is concluded.
TRANSPARENCY
The internal reporting office publishes an annual report on the number of reports received. The report is published annually in January for the preceding year.