Are you seeking a trustworthy and reliable workplace investigations service in Australia? E.L Blue has over two decades of experience in resolving workplace issues professionally and efficiently. We are well-versed in conducting workplace investigations regarding unfair dismissal, harassment, discrimination, and health or safety issues, providing the organisations’ relevant parties guidance and actionable solutions.
What is Workplace Investigation?
Workplace investigations are the formal inquiries into alleged workplace disputes such as misconduct, conflicts, or harassment that have taken place within a workplace. The workplace investigation process takes an impartial approach to assess the situation through conducting interviews, gathering evidence and reviewing company policies and procedures. Once a systematic inquiry has been conducted, a formal decision will be made based on the evidence at hand.
Why Does Your Business Need Workplace Investigators?
The benefits of having workplace investigators outside of your organisation are multifold. Here are the top reasons why you should hire workplace investigators:
Expertise
The workplace investigation process is a lengthy and complicated formal investigation that requires experience to ensure procedural and investigation processes are followed correctly.
Impartiality and Objectivity
Hiring a third party who will not have biases towards an individual or organisation ensures impartiality and objectivity are upheld. This allows for the conducted investigation to be fairly assessed and evaluated, ensuring inappropriate behaviour is reprimanded and dealt with successfully.
Risk Mitigation
Having experienced workplace investigators evaluate investigations helps to mitigate legal risks by ensuring investigation processes are properly followed in line with relevant laws and regulations.
Maintaining Trust and Transparency
A transparent and fair investigation from an outside party communicates to your employees your commitment to building trust and fairness when addressing inappropriate behaviour within the workplace.
Popular Types of Workplace Investigations
Several types of workplace investigations may arise within an organisation, they are as follows:
Harassment and Discrimination
Harassment, either in the form of bullying or sexual harassment has severe consequences and may further involve law enforcement. In instances of discrimination cases based on factors such as someone’s race, gender, age or disability, workplace investigations are often assessing unfair dismissal.
Safety and Compliance
Safety and compliance investigations focus on evaluating and enforcing health and safety regulations to ensure safe working environments are upheld. It also encompasses investigating accidents or incidents that led to workplace safety being compromised.
Employee Relations
Workplace investigations into employee relations include resolving conflicts between either employees or the workforce and management which has begun to impact the work environment.
Misconduct
Inquires into employee misconduct include but are not limited to conflicts of interest, violation of company policies or procedures, theft and fraud.
Our Workplace Investigation Process
Here at E.L Blue, we provide organisations with a thorough and structured investigation into the workplace dispute at hand. Here is how we execute the workplace investigation process to ensure fairness, thoroughness and compliance are upheld:
Initial Assessment
Upon initial assessment, we take an in-depth approach to identifying the relevant parties and evidence at hand as well as the scope of the investigation and pertinent timelines. Further, we ensure the relevant documentation and records are preserved to prevent crucial information from being tampered with or lost.
Analysis and Evaluation
Upon completion of data collection and interviews, our team meticulously analyses and evaluates any discrepancies or patterns relevant to the investigation. Once our findings have been evaluated, we cross-reference our data against relevant laws, company policies or industry standards to ensure proper compliance is upheld.
Evidence Collection
We take a non-biased approach to collecting evidence by conducting interviews with relevant parties, collecting witness statements and ensuring those involved in the investigation information are conducted in a safe and confidential environment. Further, we conduct documentation review by extracting relevant information from emails, reports or documents supportive of the case.
Reporting and Recommendations
Once we have conducted our analysis, we will provide your organisation with a detailed report on the investigation’s findings and recommendations based on the investigation’s outcomes. At E.L Blue, we pride ourselves in giving your management team or relevant parties guidance on the appropriate courses of action, such as disciplinary action, preventative measures that can be put in place or suggestions to reviewing company policies to further safeguard your organisation from future workplace disputes.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Workforce Investigations
Are workplace investigations confidential?
Upholding confidence is at the core of our investigation process as we ensure transparency and that the privacy of the relevant parties is protected.
Who should conduct workplace investigations?
External workplace investigators or trained professionals are best equipped to handle workplace disputes as often these cases are sensitive and require legal compliance to be upheld.
What happens after a workplace investigation?
Once an investigation is concluded, a detailed report is given to the management of an organisation. Based on the results, and recommendations, disciplinary actions may be taken or policies may be reviewed to establish preventative measures from the workplace dispute happening again.