Managng Investgatons Gudance Notes for Managers
Managng Investgatons Gudance Notes for Managers Contents Page 1.0 Introducton. 3 2.0 Scope. 3 3.0 Benefts. 3 4.0 The Use of Internal Investgatons wthn the Unversty. 3 4.1 When should nternal nvestgatons be used?... 3 4.2 Why are nternal nvestgatons mportant?. 4 5.0 The Investgaton Process... 5 5.1 Who should nvestgate? 5 5.2 Conductng nvestgaton ntervews. 5 5.3 Notes / wtness statements.. 6 6.0 Preparng an Investgaton Report... 6 6.1 Evaluatng the evdence. 6 6.2 Investgaton Report structure... 7 7.0 Dealng wth dffcult ssues 7 8.0 Assocated Documents. 8 2
1.0 Introducton 1.1 The Unversty s Managng Investgatons Gudance Notes am to provde a framework whch wll assst managers to carry out any nternal formal nvestgaton process relatng to staff farly and consstently. 1.2 The Unversty s commtted to ensurng that all nternal nvestgatons are carred out n accordance wth the relevant Unversty Polcy or Procedure as lsted n Secton 8.0 of ths document. 2.0 Scope 2.1 Ths document provdes gudance for all relevant managers apponted to carry out nternal nvestgatons nto matters relatng to any member of staff wthn the Unversty. 2.2 The gudance contaned wthn ths document must be used n accordance wth the relevant Unversty Polcy or Procedure, as determned by the nature of the nvestgaton. 3.0 Benefts 3.1 The exstence of gudance notes n managng nternal nvestgatons wll help to ensure that the Unversty carres out all nvestgatons farly, consstently and thoroughly. 3.2 A far, consstent and thorough nvestgaton wll ensure that managers can establsh the facts and make approprate nformed decsons about the next steps. 3.3 A far, consstent and thorough nternal nvestgaton wll help to help fulfl the Unversty s legal oblgatons and should help avod unnecessary Employment Trbunal clams or else mprove ther success when cases cannot be avoded, reducng any consequental costs and bad publcty. 4.0 The Use of Internal Investgatons wthn the Unversty 4.1 When should nternal nvestgatons be used? 4.1.1 Internal nvestgatons may be requred to be carred out n the followng crcumstances: v allegatons of msconduct; allegatons of bullyng / harassment; dealng wth employee grevances; dealng wth employee capablty ssues. 4.1.2 Internal nvestgatons must always be carred out n accordance wth the relevant Unversty procedure (e.g. Dscplnary Procedure) as determned by the nature of the ssue n queston. 3
4.2 Why are nvestgatons mportant? 4.2.1 In accordance wth many Unversty HR polces and procedures, managers are requred to gather nformaton n relaton to a partcular allegaton or ssue. In the case of dscplnary nvestgatons, managers wll make a recommendaton about the most approprate course of acton(s), whch n some cases can nclude proceedng to a formal hearng where the ssues wll be consdered and approprate sanctons or remedal acton may be appled. 4.2.2 In such cases employers are frequently requred by Employment Trbunals to demonstrate how and why they reached a partcular decson or recommended a course of acton, and whether or not they acted reasonably n accordance wth the relevant nternal polcy or procedure. 4.2.3 A thorough and ndependent nvestgaton carred out farly and consstently wll provde managers wth the necessary facts and evdence on whch approprate decsons can be made and demonstrated as far and reasonable n lne wth the relevant Unversty polcy or procedure. 5.0 Investgaton Process 5.1 Who should nvestgate? 5.1.1 Dependent upon the Unversty polcy or procedure beng used, a relevant manager wll be apponted as approprate. The relevant manager must have receved approprate tranng and would normally be supported by a representatve from Human Resources. Those undertakng the nvestgaton are referred to as the Investgatng Offcers or the Investgaton Panel. 5.1.2 The relevant manager should normally be of a level of senorty at least equal to the person or persons who are the subject of the nvestgaton. In order to demonstrate mpartalty the relevant manager should have had no materal pror nvolvement n the events or allegatons under nvestgaton, and should declare any potental conflct of nterest that may dsqualfy hm or her from conductng the nvestgaton. 5.1.3 Before commencng the nvestgaton t s necessary to dentfy: v detals of the precse ssue to be nvestgated, e.g. detals of allegatons made etc.; suggested methodology for conductng nvestgatons, e.g. dentfcaton of ntal wtnesses, copes of polcy beng breached etc.; under whch Unversty polcy or procedure the nvestgaton s beng conducted; for what purpose and by whom any Investgaton Report wll be used. 5.2 Conductng nvestgaton ntervews 5.2.1 The Investgatng Offcer or panel must plan to ntervew any person dentfed who may be able to provde nformaton relevant to the nvestgaton. Ths could nclude: v other members of staff who wtnessed / took part n the alleged ncdent; other members of staff wthn a department; relevant lne managers; any other person who s dentfed to have nformaton relevant to the nvestgaton. 4
5.2.2 Where an ndvdual or ndvduals are the subject of the nvestgaton they should be notfed at the earlest possble stage that an nvestgaton has commenced, and the nature of the allegatons. 5.2.3 Where possble the wtnesses should be ntervewed n a logcal manner, n whch deally the person rasng the ssue / allegaton should be ntervewed frst and the person whom the allegaton s aganst should be last. Wtnesses should normally be ntervewed one at a tme. There may be a need to re-ntervew wtnesses durng the nvestgaton process. Addtonal wtnesses are lkely to be dentfed durng the nvestgaton and must also be ntervewed. 5.2.4 All wtnesses must be advsed of a sutable meetng date, be gven reasonable notce and be gven the opportunty to be accompaned by a work colleague or Trade Unon representatve. The wtness should be advsed that the purpose of the meetng wll be to dscuss n detal ther account of a partcular ncdent / allegaton whch forms part of the relevant Unversty polcy or procedure. 5.2.5 In preparaton for the nvestgaton ntervews the Investgaton Panel should: ensure that a sutable prvate room s avalable to hold the ntervew meetng confdentally and wthout nterruptons; ensure that all necessary nformaton s avalable durng the course of the meetng. e.g. copes of polces / procedures etc.; prepare a lst or structure of questons n relaton to the alleged ncdent / allegaton; v ensure that a nomnated person s avalable to take detaled notes of the meetng, for use wthn the nvestgaton process / report where approprate. 5.2.6 The structure of the nvestgaton ntervew should normally be as follows: Introducton Explan the context of the ntervew, for what purpose the meetng notes and subsequent statement wll be used, how and when the ntervewee wll be able to check the notes / statements and the mportance of confdentalty. Questonng v v Use a technque of usng open questons (who, what, why, when, how etc.) wth closed questons beng used to clarfy ponts. Leadng questons should always be avoded. Dscuss and enqure nto any addtonal nformaton / evdence presented whlst always returnng to the prepared lst / structure of questons. Ensure that specfc examples are provded when unsubstantated descrptons are gven,.e. bullyng or napproprate behavour etc. Once questonng s complete, re-cap and clarfy man ponts of dscusson, ensurng that the notes taken are accurate and answer any approprate questons or concerns rased. Closng Statement v Explan the next steps, confrmng how / when the wtness statement s to be prepared and verfed and when the nvestgaton s expected to be completed. v Ensure that contact detals of Investgatng Offcer(s) are provded, and ensure confdentalty understood. 5
At the end of the nvestgaton ntervew the Investgatng Offcer should have obtaned from each wtness: v v v the names of those present or nvolved; date / tme / place of the alleged ncdent / allegaton; detals of what took place, and the order n whch they happened; how the ndvdual reacts to any other documents or wtness evdence whch s nconsstent wth ther account; the steps taken snce the alleged ncdent / allegaton, ncludng any steps taken to resolve; ther preferred outcome (where approprate). 5.3 Notes / Wtness Statements 5.3.1 Any notes taken durng the nvestgaton ntervews should be typed and deally checked and sgned by the wtness. Ths s essental f a wrtten wtness statement s not requred / prepared. 5.3.2 Where possble an Investgatng Offcer should prepare a draft wtness statement for the wtness usng the notes from the nvestgaton ntervew. The statement should record the facts, wrtten (wthn reason) n the language used by the wtness followng the tran of events. If there s any ambguty or gap n the account these should be clarfed wth the wtness. The wtness must be gven the opportunty to revew the statement and must only sgn to confrm t as a true and accurate verson of events. 5.3.3 Where wtness statements cannot be prepared by the Investgaton Panel, the wtness can be asked to provde a wrtten statement whch can be prepared wth ther Trade Unon representatve. In these cases the statement should be checked by the Investgaton panel, and ncluded n the Investgaton Report alongsde the notes from the nvestgaton meetng for ponts of clarty. 6.0 Preparng an Investgaton Report 6.1 Evaluatng the evdence 6.1.1 All of the relevant evdence gathered durng the nvestgaton should be revewed and collated for use wthn the Investgaton Report. Ths may nclude wtness statements, notes from nvestgaton ntervews, relevant polces & procedures, evdence of custom and practce etc. Ths evdence should be evaluated, partcularly where there are contradctons or conflcts whch the Investgatng Offcer or panel must consder. 6.1.2 In evaluatng evdence, each case should be judged on ts merts; however, the followng ponts should be consdered: v v v drect wtness evdence wll usually be stronger than ndrect nformaton relatng to the ncdent / allegaton; evdence whch s nconsstent wth documents produced at the tme s questonable; evdence whch s vague, s unsubstantated opnon or hearsay, omts sgnfcant detals or contans nherent contradctons s questonable; anonymous evdence should be revewed wth cauton as t s often dffcult to substantate; consderaton should be gven to any bas, motvaton or nfluence ndvdual wtnesses may have; where possble the factual accuracy of ponts rased n wtness statements should be verfed by the panel f they are materal to the allegatons. 6
6.1.3 It s mportant to remember that n revewng the evdence and recommendng approprate courses of acton, the Investgatng Offcer only has to show they have a reasonable belef of what happened based on ther assessment of the evdence. Unlke a legal case there s no requrement to prove a case beyond reasonable doubt. 6.2 Investgaton Report Structure 6.2.1 An Investgaton Report should be wrtten by the Investgatng Offcer or panel, and should normally be structured as follows: Introducton A bref ntroducton to the report clarfyng the allegatons / ncdents whch have been nvestgated, detals of the person aganst whom the allegaton has been made, ncludng whether they are currently suspended from duty and the names of the Investgaton Panel. Methodology Ths secton should detal the process of the nvestgaton ncludng a lst of the people ntervewed specfyng whether wtness statements / notes from meetngs have been taken, detals of Unversty Polces and Procedures revewed, and detals of any other actvtes undertaken as part of the nvestgaton (watchng vdeo s etc). Fndngs / Analyss v Ths wll be the largest secton of the report and wll detal the fndngs from the nvestgaton, ncludng the facts and evdence presented, any nconsstences found wth explanatons where applcable, any mtgatng crcumstances and any rsks dentfed. Where nformaton from partcular wtnesses s cted, note must be made of the relevant appendces where the notes / wtness statements can be found. Concluson / Recommendatons (where approprate) v v Where approprate, a fnal secton could nclude the conclusons drawn by the Investgaton panel followng the evaluaton of the evdence. Recommendatons are not mandatory, but n the case of dscplnary nvestgatons should ndcate the recommended next steps or the ntaton of any other procedure, followng ssues hghlghted durng the nvestgaton. Appendces v All wtness statements / notes from meetngs, copes of correspondence, or polces cted durng the report should be ncluded. 7.0 Dealng wth Dffcult Issues 7.1 Inevtably durng the nvestgaton process unexpected events occur, whch fall outsde of the terms of the nvestgaton. These may be dealt wth as follows: 7.1.1 Further or counter allegatons: If the allegatons relate drectly to the current nvestgaton or substantate other nformaton the Investgaton Panel must make the 7
decson about whether to nclude these n the current nvestgaton. If the allegatons do not relate, or are made aganst other partes, these should be dealt wth separately from the nvestgaton. 7.1.2 Confdentalty: The Investgaton Panel must ensure that all wtnesses and those ntervewed understand how the nformaton they provde wll be used. If a wtness asks f what they dsclose can reman confdental, the Investgatng Offcer should explan that f t s mportant and relevant to the nvestgaton, t wll be ncluded n the report; however, confdentalty wll be mantaned where possble. It s mportant also that wtnesses understand that there may be a need for them to attend a formal hearng. 7.1.3 Refusal to Partcpate: If the employee aganst whom an allegaton has been made refuses to partcpate they should be nformed that, unless they provde nformaton, ether n person durng an nvestgaton meetng, or n wrtng n relaton to the allegatons, a decson may be made based on the nformaton provded to the Investgaton Panel. It s essental that ths be communcated verbally and n wrtng, gvng the employee tme to reflect and respond approprately. It s mportant to offer support to all partes nvolved, and keep them nformed, throughout the process. 7.1.4 Refusal to Partcpate (wtness): If a wtness refuses to partcpate t s mportant that the Investgatng Offcer meets wth the wtness to fnd out the reasons behnd why they do not wsh to partcpate, to dscuss the process whch wll be followed and provde reassurances of the support whch wll be avalable to them. Dependant on the case n queston, t may be possble to contnue the nvestgaton even f the wtness refuses to make a formal statement. 8.0 Assocated Documents 8.1 Other Assocated documents nclude: Dscplnary Procedure Grevance Procedure Dgnty at Work Polcy Capablty Procedure 8
Managng Investgatons Gudance Notes for Managers Next revew date: July 2010 Approved by (e.g. Commttee, Drector, etc): Jont Consultatve Commttee Date of last approval: July 2008 Author/Owner: Job Ttle: Department: Ian Clark Head of Employee Relatons Human Resources Ths Gudance Note can be obtaned from the Human Resources webste www.sunderland.ac.uk/hr, Docushare or by contactng Human Resources. Ths Gudance Note s avalable n larger prnt. Should you requre ths, please contact Human Resources. 9