Workplace Investigations

• The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)
• The Criminal Code Act
• Penal Code Law
• Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended)
• Freedom of Information Act 2011
• Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2013
• Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Act 2000
• Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act
• Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020
• Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance 2018
• Economic Financial Crime Commission (Establishment) Act 2004
• Investment Securities Act 2007
• Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007
• Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020
• Whistleblowing Programme under the Ministry of Finance

There is no specific legal regulation for internal investigations in Switzerland. The legal framework is derived from general rules such as the employer's duty of care, the employee's duty of loyalty and the employee's data protection rights. Depending on the context of the investigation, additional legal provisions may apply; for instance, additional provisions of the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection or the Swiss Criminal Code.

The law does not provide for the time the outcome of the investigation may remain on the employee’s record. However, this will depend on the employer’s record-retention policies, which must comply with applicable data protection laws.

From an employment law point of view, there is no statute of limitations on the employee's violations. Based on the specific circumstances (eg, damage incurred, type of violation, basis of trust or the position of the employee), a decision must be made as to the extent to which the outcome should remain on the record.

From a data protection point of view, only data that is in the interest of the employee (eg, to issue a reference letter) may be retained during the employment relationship. In principle, stored data must be deleted after the termination of the employment relationship. Longer retention may be justified if rights are still to be safeguarded or obligations are to be fulfilled in the future (eg, data needed regarding foreseeable legal proceedings, data required to issue a reference letter or data in relation to a non-competition clause).[1]