A little bit about investigations

I often come across confusion when it comes to disciplinary investigations. Who can investigate, should documents be disclosed during the investigation, can the investigator also hold the disciplinary hearing etc.

I always start by advising clients to think of the investigation as purely a fact finding exercise. Try not not go into an investigation with a closed mind looking for evidence to nail the accused! If you do that you will undoubtedly miss something.

Quite often an investigation is the beginning and the end of the disciplinary process simply because it establishes there is insufficient evidence to support the disciplinary allegation, so no further action is required. But on occasions, when there is enough evidence to move forward with the process, it is good to get it right to avoid problems further down the line.