Managing complaints about workplace misconduct is never an easy task. The process is usually accompanied by high emotions, personal and professional impacts and risks, and of course, a very real need to prioritise an organisational response. However, it doesn’t have to be an ‘all or nothing’ approach when it comes to decisions about workplace investigations. […]
So, you’ve received a complaint, and it seems complicated, messy and unclear. What do you do? We all understand that complaints must be handled in a timely, confidential and procedurally fair way, but it is not always clear what those concepts mean in practice. If you follow these six steps, you can be confident that […]
The ideal workplace investigation is conducted confidentially. Complainants, respondents and witnesses are asked to not discuss their involvement in the investigation process or anything that is discussed with others at the workplace, with the exception of human resources representatives or a support person. Participants are asked to observe confidentiality so that each person provides their […]
Commonly employees present complaint documents which describe the alleged behaviour in broad terms (“I have been subject to constant bullying behaviour”), employing emotive language to describe the behaviour and the impact that it has had on them. Whilst this is to be anticipated and is perfectly reasonable way to raise a workplace complaint, that document […]
A robust, well-written workplace investigation report is your best defense in an unfair dismissal claim. Worklogic director Jodie Fox examines the benefits of writing comprehensive investigative reports after a recent decision by the Fair Work Commission found Worklogic’s report to be consistent and detailed. Worklogic Report Withstands FWC Scrutiny Recently one of Worklogic’s reports was examined […]
As this is my first blog for the year, I wanted to say welcome to 2021 and I hope this year is a little safer and smoother for you than perhaps last year was. As we move into the working year and get back to the ‘new’ business as usual (definitely a subject of another […]
A reportable conduct investigation is necessarily different, and can sometimes be more complex to navigate, than other types of workplace investigations. In a reportable conduct context, it is obviously imperative that the investigator ensures all children are provided the opportunity to be involved (unless there is a very good reason that they are not) and […]
Regular readers (and investigators) will know that, in a workplace investigation, findings of fact are made on the available evidence and on the balance of probabilities (‘more probable than not’). In doing so, the ideal scenario in making findings is to have ‘direct’ (eye witness) evidence that is corroborated by other evidence. Still more ideal […]
Undoubtedly one of the most frequent questions I am asked when I tell people what I do for a living, is “How do you work out who to believe?” As investigators we are asked to make findings of fact on the balance of probabilities. In considering all of the available evidence and arriving at those […]
The decision to either mediate or investigate is a choice that human resources professionals face regularly, and it is usually a matter of choosing from several pretty unpalatable options. At Worklogic, we often provide assistance to our clients in determining the best course of action for resolving conflict and complaints. What we know for certain […]