EMPLOYMENT LAW

Workplace Investigations

Atkins Dellow > HR and Employment > Employees > Workplace Investigations

Expert Employment Law Solicitors

If you’re under investigation at your workplace, it’s imperative that you know your rights and what your employer is allowed to do.

Workplace investigations are always treated as a very serious matter because of the potential outcomes.

When allegations of misconduct are made against an employee, an employer can investigate those allegations. During the investigation the employer may, but they don’t have to, suspend the employee they are investigating while they’re carrying out the investigation.

Workplace Investigations Advice and Legal Services

There may be times when employers need a workplace investigation to be conducted independently or an employee needs legal representation.

Whoever we’re advising, we know how crucial it is to navigate the technicalities of the law as well as the sensitivities of the situation with care and efficiency, ensuring that all parties involved are treated respectfully and confidential.

For Employers

We have a proven track record of working with businesses across the UK to ensure that their interests are protected and that all legal requirements are met within the businesses own employment policies as well as statutory and regulatory obligations.

We can provide impartial fact-finding services to organisations that want to investigate significant Employee wrongdoing, misconduct, or ethical lapses in their workplace.

For Employees and Individuals

If you are facing an allegation of misconduct or dismissal, it’s often beneficial to have legal representation to advise you on your rights, what questions you should ask during the investigation, perhaps what not to say, as well as what evidence you should gather before and after the investigation takes place.

Your solicitor would usually deal with all communication between you and your the employer or representative. We can help keep things on track, make sure everything relevant is covered and your interests protected, as well as managing an often stressful situation.

The Workplace Investigation Procedure

Every employer should have their own procedure for workplace investigations, but, the minimum that they should do in the case of an investigation is follow the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

The main aims of the procedure laid out by ACAS are to:

See if there is a case for the employee to answer
Ensure that all employees are treated fairly
Gather evidence from all parties
Guide the employer on what action to take

If the employer finds that there is evidence that the employee did something wrong, they can move to a disciplinary procedure if they want to. The employer can decide to end the investigation at any stage if they don’t think the employee did anything wrong.

An investigation is an integral part of any disciplinary and dismissal process. So, if an employer conducts a formal investigation and fails to act fairly, they leave themselves open to a claim of unfair dismissal in the employment tribunal.

Why Choose Atkins Dellow as your Employment Law Solicitors?

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Workplace Investigations FAQs

Are Workplace Investigations confidential?

An investigation should be kept confidential by your employer, even if it becomes common knowledge that one is underway. An employer should inform all its employees of the importance of keeping the subject matter of any investigation confidential, and that it will take disciplinary action if confidentiality on the topic is breached. That said, an employee can confer with an employee representative or their union representative, without it being deemed a breach of confidentiality.

Can a former employee be investigated by their employer?

Yes, an employer can investigate the disciplinary process relating to or grievance of a former employee. But, this is unusual and will only normally be undertaken where it’s requested by a current employee ore where it’s required as part of an employment tribunal claim.

Meet our Team of Employment Law Solicitors

Adrian Green

Ella Savage

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