Over the past few years we have increasingly been asked to conduct investigations for employers dealing with misconduct issues. There are a number of reasons why we have seen this trend but we do always remind our clients that the ACAS code does allow for employers to conduct the meetings themselves and we guide them on how best to do this.

If the employer is conducting the investigation they need to decide who  should carry out an investigatory meeting, bearing in mind the need for the procedure to be conducted fairly. The person chosen to carry out the meeting should also be responsible for the rest of the investigatory procedure, for example interviewing witnesses and checking the employee’s disciplinary record.

So the question is who should be the investigator? This will generally be a manager or someone from the HR team and, ideally, will be someone trained in how to carry out an effective investigation. A manager outside the employee’s line management chain is often a good person to choose  as they are less likely to be involved in the case, and are likely to be, and also to appear, more impartial.

The ACAS code states that “in misconduct cases, where practicable, different people should carry out the investigation and disciplinary hearing”. This may not be possible in very small organisations.

If you are faced with carrying out an investigation and would like some help and guidance please call us on 01920 463777 or email answers@qandalaw.co.uk.