Grievance - appointing an investigating officer

The manager hearing the Grievance will commission an Investigating Officer (IO) to investigate the complaint(s), if appropriate.

The IO should be of a supervisory level, able to understand the nature of the complaint e.g. discrimination cases.

The IO should not be directly or indirectly involved in the case.

Where complaints relate to discrimination or harassment, every effort should be made for the investigating officer to be of the same social identity group which relates to the basis of the complaint e.g. a female investigating officer in a sex discrimination complaint.

The Investigating Officer should gather all relevant information in relation to the complaint raised.  The Investigating Officer should establish whether there are any identifiable witnesses and interview these individuals.  Information gathering should include information compiled from interviews, review of documentation e.g. written response to the complaint from the employee complained about, emails, timesheets, performance appraisal, internet activity and any other relevant source.

If during the course of the investigation, other concerns come to light, these should be referred to the commissioning Manager who will decide if these should also be investigated.  If the commissioning Manager makes the decision that these should also be investigated, the commissioning Manager will write to the employee informing them of this.

3.1. The Investigation

Evidence should be gathered and witness statements taken promptly, before memories fade.  The IO should identify the parties involved, including customers/clients/members of the public.

Employees must make all reasonable attempts to attend meetings during the investigation.

The information gathered should include relevant documentation, etc.

If other concerns come to light, during the course of the investigation, the IO should seek clarification from the commissioning manager on whether these should also be investigated.  If agreed, the commissioning manager writes to the employee informing them of this.

Ideally, an investigation should be carried out within 15 days from the date of the Formal Meeting. 

However, where there are complex issues to investigate, large numbers of interviews to conduct, annual leave commitments or the sickness absence of someone involved in the complaint, it may not be possible to comply with the timescales set and they may need to be extended. 

Where an extension to timescales is required, there will be reasonable agreement, by all parties, to extend the timescales.  The manager involved must write to the employee before the deadline, stating the reasons for the delay and informing the employee of the expected new timescales.

3.2. Interviewing

The IO will write to relevant individuals advising them that they are required to attend an interview as part of a formal complaint being raised and asking if they have any special requirements eg access needs.  Individuals should be given a minimum of 3 days notice of the interview date/time and given the opportunity of being accompanied by their trade union representative or a work colleague (work colleague should not be one cited as a witness).

During interviews, individuals should be:

• put at ease;
• provided with sufficient details of any complaints made against them/nature of their attendance e.g. a witness;
• given the opportunity of telling their version of events;
• dealt with fairly, reasonably and impartially at all times;
• advised of any support mechanisms available to them ;
• advised that they should not discuss the matter with other employees
• advised of the next stage;
• advised that their interview notes may be seen by other employees e.g. the employee who raised the complaint.

The IO should check with unaccompanied interviewees that they are happy to continue without a trade union representative or a work colleague and note this fact. 

Consideration should be given to re-arranging interviews where the interviewee has been unable to arrange trade union representation, or a work colleague.

At the interview, the IO should seek to establish:

• The date and time of any incident(s);
• The person who caused the offence, if applicable;
• If any witnesses were present and who they were;
• If there is any related paperwork i.e. emails or information i.e. absence sheets;
• What happened, if applicable;
• Why the action/behaviour(s) are considered to be offensive;
• How the action/behaviour(s) made the employee feel;
• Whether the action/behaviour(s) have happened before;
• What action the employee took at the time of the incident(s);
• Whether informal resolution was sought and what the outcome was.

3.3. Note taking at Interviews

The IO should consider whether they require a note taker.

Interview notes do not need to be verbatim however they should cover the key points of each interview.

All interviewees should receive a copy of the notes of their interview and asked to sign, date and return them to the IO by a specified date. 

The interviewee may amend the notes and sign the amended copy before returning them to the Investigating Officer, to be kept with the original version produced by the IO.

Employees who refuse or fail to return their signed notes should be advised that the unsigned notes will be used as part of the investigation if they do not to return them, signed, by a specified date.  A reference to the unsigned statement(s) must be made in the report.

 
3.4. Concluding the Investigation

The IO should consider the following:

• Given the circumstances, has the investigation been reasonably thorough so as to enable a balanced view of all the facts to be formed?
• Separate hearsay evidence from direct evidence.  This will help to determine the strength and quality of the evidence collected.
• In situations where it is one person’s word against another, explore the reliability of both parties.  Consider issues such as motive, how either party has conducted themselves in the past etc.
• The presence of only one witness or no witness must not be taken as a lack of evidence in the investigation. 
• In investigations considering harassment, to conclude that harassment has taken place, the Investigating Officer should be satisfied that on the balance of probabilities the employee has been subjected to harassment.

 
The report (see suggested format) should outline the findings and conclusion of the investigation, and forwarded to the commissioning manager.

The following is a recommended layout for the report:

Grievance Investigation Report : [Employee Name / Department]

Date:

Introduction

Why the investigation is taking place:

Name of Commissioning Manager:

The complaint

Describe the complaint

Summary of complaint

Key details of what/when/where/how

Findings

Drawing out the main points

Conclusion

Key facts and summary of the investigation

Signed and Dated

By the Investigating Officer