Why Might an Investigation at Work Be Needed?

An employer may need to carry out an investigation where there is a workplace issue that requires the facts to be established before any decision is made.

This commonly happens where your employer is considering possible Disciplinary Proceedings against you.

An investigation may also be necessary where you have raised a Grievance at Work and your employer needs to establish what happened before deciding how to deal with your complaint.

The purpose of an investigation is to:

• Gather evidence from all sides
• Establish the relevant facts
• Identify areas of disagreement
• Decide whether there is a case to answer
• Help determine what should happen next

An investigation is a fact-finding stage and is distinct from a formal disciplinary hearing. However, it forms an important part of a fair disciplinary or grievance procedure.

An employer should not approach an investigation with the aim of proving that you are guilty. It should consider evidence both for and against the allegation.

Who Can Carry Out the Investigation?

In a disciplinary case, your employer should, where reasonably possible, appoint someone who is not directly involved in the matter and does not have a conflict of interest.

This might be:

• Another manager
• A senior employee
• A member of Human Resources
• An internal investigator
• An external investigator

Ideally, the investigator should understand the employer's procedures and have appropriate experience or training.

Where possible, different people should deal with:

• The investigation
• The disciplinary hearing
• Any subsequent appeal

The person conducting the disciplinary hearing should have sufficient authority to make the relevant decision.

In a small organisation, it may not always be possible to separate every stage completely. In those circumstances, the employer should make the procedure as impartial as reasonably possible.

In grievance cases, it may be appropriate for the person hearing the grievance to also investigate the issues raised.

Can an External Investigator Be Appointed?

Yes.

In some circumstances, an employer may decide to appoint an independent external investigator.

This may be appropriate where:

• Senior management is involved
• There is no suitable independent person internally
• The allegations are particularly serious
• Specialist expertise is required
• There is a significant risk of perceived bias

However, an employee does not generally have an automatic right to insist that an external person conducts the investigation.

The important issue is whether the investigation is fair, objective and sufficiently impartial.

Will You Automatically Be Suspended During an Investigation?

No.

Suspension should not be treated as an automatic response to a serious allegation.

An employer should consider whether suspension is genuinely necessary and whether the risks can be managed in another way.

Suspension might be considered where there is a serious risk that you could:

• Interfere with evidence
• Influence witnesses
• Create a risk to colleagues
• Create a risk to customers or clients
• Damage the employer's property or systems
• Seriously disrupt the investigation

Before suspending you, the employer should consider possible alternatives.

These could include:

• Temporary home working
• Moving you to another workplace
• Changing your duties temporarily
• Changing your working hours
• Restricting access to particular systems
• Changing reporting arrangements

The employer should also consider the effect suspension may have on your wellbeing.

Suspension pending investigation should not be used as a disciplinary punishment and does not mean that the employer has already decided you are guilty.

For further guidance, see Suspension at Work.

Can Your Employer Restrict Contact During Suspension?

Potentially.

Where necessary to protect an investigation, your employer may place reasonable conditions on your suspension.

For example, you may be asked not to:

• Attend the workplace
• Access certain company systems
• Contact particular witnesses
• Discuss confidential aspects of the investigation

However, restrictions should be proportionate to the risks involved.

You should generally still be able to obtain appropriate support, including from a trade union or workplace representative.

Are You Entitled to Know That You Are Being Investigated?

Normally, yes.

Your employer should generally inform you as soon as it decides to begin an investigation involving you.

However, there can be limited circumstances where telling you immediately could create a genuine risk that:

• Evidence may be destroyed
• Records may be altered
• Witnesses may be influenced
• The investigation may otherwise be compromised

In those circumstances, the employer may delay informing you until that risk has reduced.

Should Your Employer Explain Why You Are Being Investigated?

Yes, unless there is a good reason why certain information cannot yet be disclosed.

Your employer should normally explain:

• Why the investigation is taking place
• Who will conduct it
• What the investigation will involve
• Whether witnesses may be interviewed
• Approximately how long it may take
• Whether an investigation meeting will be held
• What may happen after the investigation
• The need to keep the process appropriately confidential

If you are invited to an investigation meeting, the employer should also make clear that the meeting is intended to establish facts and is not itself a formal disciplinary hearing.

How Long Should an Investigation Take?

There is no fixed statutory time limit applying to every workplace investigation.

The investigation should be completed as quickly as reasonably possible while remaining sufficiently thorough and fair.

A simple issue might be investigated within a short period.

A more complex investigation may take several weeks, particularly where there are:

• Multiple witnesses
• Large volumes of documents
• Financial records
• Electronic communications
• CCTV recordings
• Employees in different locations
• Criminal or regulatory issues

Where the investigation takes longer than initially expected, your employer should normally explain the delay and keep you informed.

If you are suspended, the continuing need for suspension should also be kept under review.

How Much Notice Should You Receive Before an Investigation Meeting?

There is no fixed minimum statutory notice period for an investigation meeting.

Your employer should provide reasonable notice.

What is reasonable will depend on the circumstances, including:

• The seriousness of the issue
• The complexity of the allegations
• Whether documents need to be reviewed
• Your personal circumstances
• How much preparation is reasonably required

The invitation should normally be made in writing and explain:

• The reason for the meeting
• The date
• The time
• The location
• Any applicable right to be accompanied

What if You Are Too Unwell to Attend the Investigation Meeting?

Your employer should deal with the situation reasonably.

If you cannot attend the original meeting, it will normally be appropriate to consider rearranging it.

Where your health makes attending difficult, possible alternatives may include:

• Rearranging the date
• Holding the meeting remotely
• Using a different location
• Allowing additional breaks
• Obtaining written information from you
• Considering reasonable adjustments

Where appropriate, your employer may ask for your permission to obtain medical information about whether you are fit to participate.

It may also ask you to attend an occupational health assessment where there is an appropriate contractual or other lawful basis for doing so.

If you remain unable or unwilling to attend, the employer does not necessarily have to postpone the investigation indefinitely.

It may eventually need to consider the available evidence and decide whether the investigation should continue without a meeting with you.

You should normally be informed if this is going to happen.

What if You Have a Disability?

If you are disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010, your employer may have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to participate effectively in the investigation.

Depending on your circumstances, adjustments could include:

• Remote attendance
• A different meeting location
• Additional breaks
• Extra time
• Accessible documents
• Adjusted communication methods
• Allowing an appropriate support person to attend

The appropriate adjustment will depend on your disability and the disadvantage you experience.

For further guidance, see Reasonable Adjustments and Disability Discrimination.

Do You Have the Right to Be Accompanied at an Investigation Meeting?

If the meeting is purely part of a disciplinary investigation, there is generally no statutory right to be accompanied.

However, it is good practice for employers to consider allowing a reasonable request.

The employer's own disciplinary procedure may also give you a contractual or policy right to bring someone with you.

The position is different at a formal disciplinary hearing where the statutory right to be accompanied applies.

A qualifying companion can normally be:

• A work colleague
• A trade union official
• A workplace trade union representative who is appropriately certified or trained

Different rights can also apply to meetings forming part of a formal grievance procedure.

For further information, see Grievance at Work and Gross Misconduct.

What Evidence Might Your Employer Investigate?

The type of evidence will depend on the allegations.

An investigation may involve reviewing:

• Emails
• Messages
• Documents
• Expense records
• Receipts
• Computer records
• System logs
• Telephone records
• CCTV
• Workplace records
• Policies and procedures
• Witness evidence

The investigator should gather as much information as is reasonably necessary rather than collecting material that has no genuine relevance to the issue.

The employer should also comply with applicable data protection and privacy obligations when accessing or using personal information.

Should the Investigator Consider Evidence That Supports You?

Yes.

A fair investigation should not be designed simply to build a case against you.

The investigator should consider:

• Evidence supporting the allegation
• Evidence contradicting the allegation
• Your explanation
• Evidence supporting your explanation
• Relevant inconsistencies
• Reliability of witnesses
• Whether further evidence should be obtained

The investigator should remain objective and should not reach a conclusion before the relevant evidence has been considered.

Can Witness Evidence Be Used?

Yes.

Witness evidence can be an important part of an investigation.

An investigator may obtain evidence by:

• Interviewing a witness
• Taking written notes
• Asking the witness to provide a written statement

A witness should normally have the opportunity to check the accuracy of their statement.

If they make changes, those amendments should be properly recorded.

Does the Investigator Have to Interview Every Witness?

Not necessarily.

If a large number of people witnessed exactly the same event, it may not be necessary to interview every individual.

However, further witnesses may need to be interviewed where:

• Accounts are significantly different
• Important facts remain unclear
• Different witnesses saw different parts of the incident
• Existing evidence is insufficient
• A witness could provide evidence supporting your explanation

The investigator should obtain enough evidence to conduct a reasonable and balanced investigation.

Can Witness Statements Be Anonymous?

Only in appropriate circumstances.

Employers should generally avoid anonymous witness evidence because it can make it more difficult for the person under investigation to challenge the evidence fairly.

Anonymity may sometimes be appropriate where a witness genuinely fears:

• Retaliation
• Harassment
• Intimidation
• Another serious consequence

Where anonymity is allowed, the investigator should consider removing identifying information while preserving enough detail to make the evidence meaningful.

The reliability of anonymous evidence should also be considered carefully.

Are You Entitled to See Witness Evidence?

If the investigation results in formal disciplinary action, your employer should normally provide you with the written evidence on which the disciplinary case is based.

This may include:

• Witness statements
• Investigation documents
• Other relevant evidence

This allows you a reasonable opportunity to understand and respond to the case against you.

However, information may sometimes need to be:

• Redacted
• Anonymised
• Withheld in limited circumstances

for legitimate confidentiality or data protection reasons.

There is not an absolute right to receive every document created during an investigation regardless of its relevance.

What Happens at an Investigation Meeting?

The purpose of an investigation meeting is to gather facts rather than decide disciplinary guilt.

The investigator should normally:

• Explain the purpose of the meeting
• Explain their role
• Ask relevant questions
• Allow you to explain your account
• Ask neutral follow-up questions
• Record your responses
• Record any refusal to answer
• Ask about relevant evidence
• Ask whether there are relevant witnesses
• Consider information supporting both sides

The meeting should not normally be conducted as an adversarial cross-examination.

You should be given a reasonable opportunity to explain your position fully.

Can You Provide Your Own Evidence?

Yes.

You should identify relevant evidence that may help explain what happened.

This could include:

• Emails
• Messages
• Documents
• CCTV that you believe should be preserved
• System records
• Witnesses
• Meeting notes
• Other relevant information

If potentially important electronic or CCTV evidence may be deleted automatically, you should raise this with the investigator promptly.

What Happens After the Investigation?

Once sufficient information has been gathered, the investigator should normally prepare a written investigation report.

The report should set out matters such as:

• The issues investigated
• The investigation process
• Evidence gathered
• Relevant witness evidence
• Findings of fact
• Areas where evidence conflicts
• Conclusions
• Recommendations where these form part of the investigator's role

The investigator's role is not necessarily to decide what disciplinary sanction should be imposed.

Their terms of reference should make clear what conclusions or recommendations they have been asked to provide.

Are You Entitled to See the Investigation Report?

Current Acas guidance states that once the investigation has been completed, the employer should normally share the investigation report with the worker.

However, there may be legitimate reasons to remove or withhold particular sensitive information.

This can arise because of:

• Data protection
• Third-party privacy
• Confidential information
• Other legitimate legal restrictions

Where information can reasonably be protected through redaction rather than withholding the entire report, that should be considered.

What if the Investigation Report Contains Inaccuracies?

If you receive the report or meeting notes and believe they are inaccurate, you should raise your concerns promptly.

You may wish to identify:

• Factual errors
• Missing information
• Incorrect dates
• Statements taken out of context
• Evidence that has not been considered

Where you are provided with your investigation meeting statement or notes, you should check them carefully before confirming that they are accurate.

If agreement cannot be reached about particular wording, you can ask for your comments or alternative version to be kept with the investigation record.

What Recommendations Can Follow an Investigation?

The investigator may recommend one of several outcomes, depending on their terms of reference and what the evidence shows.

Formal Action

There may be a case to answer requiring:

• A disciplinary hearing
• Further formal investigation
• Another formal workplace procedure

Informal Action

The issue may be more appropriately dealt with through measures such as:

• Training
• Coaching
• Counselling
• Mediation
• Management guidance
• An informal warning or discussion

No Further Action

The evidence may show that:

• The allegation is not supported
• There is insufficient evidence
• No disciplinary or other formal action is justified

If further disciplinary action is recommended, the investigation itself should not be treated as the final disciplinary decision.

You should normally receive the allegations and relevant evidence and be given a proper opportunity to respond at the formal disciplinary stage.