HR - Investigations
With our expertise in HR investigations, we help businesses ensure compliance with employment laws and regulations while promoting a fair and respectful workplace environment. Whether you are facing a specific workplace issue or seeking to improve your HR practices, we are here to provide you with the support and guidance you need.
Disciplinaries
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We know that any form of investigation can be quite harrowing for those concerned when working relationships have once been productive and amicable. Having an external and totally independent investigating officer is vital to any business, and from which can be learnt the best way to achieve an outcome for the benefit of both parties.
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There are always two sides to every story, and not having an independent resource who is completely detached from the internal dynamics, can lead to a biased view, open to challenge through the Employment Tribunal process. Whilst we are in the business of specialising in dispute resolution, we also work with businesses to assist in avoiding, often unnecessary litigation. There have been so many of cases we have represented where, if there had been an independent assessment of actions taken by the employee and employer that lead to disciplinary action, the outcome could have been very different, and less costly, in terms of expense, time and emotional turmoil. Employment Tribunal proceedings, do not only affect the person being disciplined, it involves and affects the entire organisation both internally and reputationally, externally.
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We undertake internal investigations and can provide an independent comprehensive report which will include an assessment of witness credibility for you to conduct a fair and unbiased disciplinary resulting in avoiding Employment Tribunal proceedings.​
Grievances
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On the other side of the coin, an employee raises a grievance, 9 times out of 10, because they feel so strongly that they have been wronged, or they need to grab the employers attention to listen to their side of what is happening within the workplace. Putting an employer into the shoes of an employee is not an easy solution to dealing with an employee grievance. However, we have all, at one stage or another been in a Master/Subordinate role i.e. employer/employee, and been that subordinate or employee. Without we as human beings have a vent for our frustrations or feelings of being wronged, no changes would ever take place for the better.
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As with any disciplinary action, the benefits of an independent investigating officer appointed to review grievances, means that you have a fully documented unbiased view of the subject matter of a grievance. This allows you to fix any internal issues, be it another employee's conduct which needs to be addressed or reviewing your internal policies for fairness. Either way, the results are far healthier than that long term employee, upping sticks and suing you in an Employment Tribunal because you would not acknowledge their side or accept that perhaps there may be something wrong with your systems, procedures or handling of the workforce.
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We can be contacted without any obligation if you need to discuss an internal issue that needs to be handled delicately and resolved quickly to avoid an escalation of bad faith within your business. We will undertake an initial review and provide you with the best and worst case scenario which will include a likely estimate of the cost to you if the matter is left to run to a full blown Employment Tribunal. In our experience, a standard Unfair Dismissal claim could cost in the region of £25 - £40k taking into account, time, resources, potential legal representation and loss of staff hours in preparation and attendance time.
The costs of Employment Tribunal proceedings weighed against the costs of proactively addressing internal issues are of significant disparity, when an external investigating resource could save you thousands of pounds.