Did you know we can help with investigations, hearings and appeals?

We have had an increase in new enquiries about our Investigations, Hearings and Appeals services recently, but we know that not all of our existing clients and contacts are aware that we offer these services, or what sort of matters we can help with, so we thought we would tell you about what we do!

Investigations

A member of our team can either act as an independent investigator into an issue that has been raised in your organisation (such as a grievance, a harassment complaint or whistleblowing). Alternatively, we can work alongside an investigator that you appoint internally, to offer them support as they conduct the investigation (this can be a particularly good idea if they have not dealt with an investigation before).

We have many years of experience in dealing with investigations and know that the best approach is to conduct them professionally and in a timely way. Investigations are all about fact-finding, and a good investigation is absolutely key to ensuring a fair process in relation to any issues such as disciplinaries.

We have recently conducted an investigation on behalf of a public sector organisation that involved interviewing over 20 witnesses, as well as reviewing relevant email correspondence and viewing recorded meetings. The issues involved sensitive matters including potential harassment, so it was important to look carefully both at the accounts of those making the allegations as well as the accused person’s version of events.

When we have finished our investigation we always produce a clear investigation report for you, setting out what we have found and our conclusions, so that you can decide what to do next.

Some of the investigations we have carried out recently have been conducted entirely online, which has worked well and helps minimise costs. However, we are also able to attend meetings at your premises or at our offices, if you prefer.

One of the reasons our clients find our investigation service so helpful is because of the requirement under the ACAS Code for the person conducting an investigation to be separate from whoever deals with a disciplinary hearing. It can be easy to ‘run out of people’ internally, particularly if the person who is facing the allegations is senior, or if other managers are potential witnesses and therefore are precluded from dealing with the process.

Hearings and Appeals

Advising on tricky issues involving disciplinaries, grievances and any other workplace problems is what we do best, and our clients find it is hugely valuable to have an objective view on situations that may have become emotive. We can help in the background by supporting managers and/or HR with advice as much or as little as you wish.

In addition, we can also attend hearings and appeal meetings if necessary, in order to advise on procedure and ensure things stay on track. If you need a note-taker then we can assist with that too.

Where we have been involved in investigating the matter, it will always be a different member of our team who attends a hearing, and likewise if a member of our team is involved at the initial stage of a process, it would then be a different person from our team who attends an appeal meeting.

Our team has many years’ experience in dealing with these types of issues, including representing employers in the Employment Tribunal, and we bring that experience to bear in tailoring our service to suit your needs. If you have a situation where you would like assistance, please do get in touch so that we can discuss your requirements.

More information about our Investigations, Hearings and Appeals service is available here and we also have a case study from one of our previous investigations here.