THAILAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Nam-Ake Lekfuangfu, Theeranit Pongpanarat, Praween Chantanakomes and Panitan Pruksakasemsuk, Baker McKenzie
2. Initial Steps 2.1 Communication to the Reporter and the Respondent There are no specific requirements for the reporter or respondent to be informed. However, the company’s policy may provide that the reporter or respondent may be informed. 2.2 Communication to Authorities There are no requirements for the opening of HR inter - nal investigations to be communicated to the author - ities; this should be considered on a case-by-case basis, taking various factors into account. 2.3 Confidentiality Agreements and NDAs It may be possible to ask parties to sign confidential - ity agreements or NDAs. However, employees may already be subject to policies or orders of the employ - er that would require them to keep internal investiga - tions confidential. Failure to comply with such lawful orders of the employer could lead to the employee being sanc - tioned with appropriate disciplinary actions. 2.4 Preliminary Investigation and Scope- Setting It is possible to conduct a preliminary investigation to determine whether a full HR internal investiga - tion is warranted. Generally, companies may under - take a preliminary assessment of the facts obtained in order to determine if the case has any merit and, if so, whether a further full investigation should be undertaken.
3.2 Participation If an employee refuses to comply with the order of the employer to participate in the investigation with - out reasonable grounds, the employer may impose necessary employment sanctions on the employee. 3.3 Format Interviews as part of an HR internal investigation can be carried out remotely. However, it is preferable to conduct the interview in person for transparency. 3.4 Interviewers There are no specific rules governing the number of interviewers that must conduct the interviews as part of an HR internal investigation. There are also no rules relating to the qualifications of such interview - ers, which may depend on the specific investigation. Generally, too many interviewers (eg, more than two persons) should be avoided to prevent the accused person/employee from alleging that this creates a threatening environment. 3.5 Neutral Party Generally, there are no requirements for neutral third parties to be present during interviews to act as wit - nesses as part of an HR internal investigation, nor are there any rules that give the interviewees the right to request the presence of a neutral third party. 3.6 Support Person and/or Lawyer Generally, there are no requirements for interviewees to be accompanied by any support person, lawyer or legal adviser as part of an HR internal investigation, nor are there any rules that give the interviewees the right to request a support person. 3.7 Information There is no specific information that interviewers need to provide to interviewees at the start and/or end of the interview as part of an HR internal investigation. However, in practice, it is recommended that a gen - eral statement about the interview’s objectives be provided. This may depend on the subject matter of the interview. 3.8 Stopping the Interview There is no specific rule to govern how the inter - viewer should respond to the interviewee’s request
3. Interviews and Fact-Finding 3.1 Interviewees
There are no specific rules governing who will need to be interviewed in the course of an HR internal investigation or the number of witnesses who may be interviewed. This may depend on the specific inves - tigation.
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