Can an employee access an investigation report concerning them?

Employees generally have the right to see personal data their employers process about them, but that right can narrow when other interests carry greater weight. This creates a difficult balance in internal workplace investigations, where the person concerned may seek access while participants expect their identities to remain protected.

Switzerland’s Federal Act on Data Protection also applies to employment relationships. It gives workers access to data concerning them, although an employer may refuse or limit disclosure when overriding interests of third parties, or the employer’s own interests, require it.

The Federal Supreme Court recently considered the question in a case involving a professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. The professor sought access to data concerning him in an internal investigation report commissioned by the employer about the workplace climate in the department where he had worked for many years.

The case, referenced as Federal Supreme Court ruling 4A_504/2025 of June 16, 2026, illustrates the delicate line between transparency for the employee under investigation and protection for those who contributed to the inquiry. The issue is examined by Jean-Philippe Dunand, a lawyer and professor of labor law at the University of Neuchâtel.