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ARTICLE · 08 OCTOBER 2026

Interviews Under Caution: Not A TV Drama, But Not A Formality Either

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A serious incident has occurred, the regulator is investigating, and an invitation to attend an interview under caution arrives. This stage of a health and safety investigation requires calm, strategic handling rather than panic, as the reality is more nuanced than the dramatic scenarios many imagine.

United KingdomEmployment and HR
Charlotte Whitaker
Charlotte Whitaker
Natalie Mackenzie-Spooner
Natalie Mackenzie-Spooner

Welcome back to our series, “Responding to a Safety Incident – and Beyond”. This month, we look at one of the key moments during a regulatory investigation: the interview under caution.

A serious incident has occurred. The regulator is investigating. Then the letter arrives: an invitation to attend an interview under caution.

For many organisations, those words trigger alarm. They bring to mind police stations, dramatic questioning and the assumption that prosecution is inevitable. The reality is more nuanced. An interview under caution is serious, but it is not necessarily a crisis point. It is a stage in the investigation that needs calm, early and strategic handling.

1. The myth: it is not a TV drama

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