Guidance for conducting

investigations
Objectives
• The purpose of an investigation
• The principles of an effective investigation
• The investigation process
• The Investigating Manager
• S upport from your People Partner
• Suspension
• Planning an investigation
• Conducting investigation interviews
• Gathering Evidence
•The Investigation Report
• Layout and what to include
• Making a decision and recommendations
• What happens once an investigation is concluded
• This is based on investigations conducted into disciplinary matters, however
the principles and process are also applicable to grievance cases.
Purpose of an Investigation
• An investigation is a fact-finding process to collect
relevant information to fully consider the matter and
make an informed decision.
•It requires the Investigating Manager to:
• Consider evidence that supports the allegation(s)
• Consider evidence that contradicts the allegation(s)
• Establish facts

• Decide: Is there a case to answer? Any

recommendations
The principles of an effective
investigation
An investigation should be:
• Rigorous
• Fair
• Structure
• Sensitive
• Transparent
• Consistent with people’s rights
• Neutral
• Timely
• Working appropriate ground rules
The impact of getting it wrong
•The Investigation process is integral to the effective
management and resolution of Employee Relations cases.

•A poorly managed investigation can have serious consequences:

• Increased risk of grievance or claim against the university

• Increased compensation risk
• Negative impact on relationships
• Time wasted to reinvestigate
• Not being able to take action
The investigation process
1. Appointment as investigating manager
2. Defining and agreeing the scope of the
investigation
3. Planning the investigation
4. Conducting interviews and gathering evidence
5. Analysing and assessing information
6. Writing the investigation report
7. Next steps
1. Appointment as investigating
manager
The behaviours of an investigation manager should
be:
• Impartial and neutral
• An active listener
• Able to demonstrate empathy
• Use appropriate questioning skills
• Embodies our values
• Maintains confidentiality
Impartiality and Neutrality
• Impartiality
• No bias for or against
• Acting fairly and consistently
• Listening equally to all
• No colluding or attributing blame
• Complying with policy and procedure and applying them
consistently
• Neutrality
• Not making snap judgements
• Avoiding assumptions
• Managing your own feelings
• Putting your own values aside
Confidentiality
• The investigation should be conducted with the appropriate level of
confidentiality

• The investigation could involve sensitive matters and only those who
should know for support/safeguarding purposes should be informed

• The Investigating Manager should only involve people in the process if they
are key to establishing the facts of the matter. Those involved are required
to keep the matter confidential

• Line Managers and Faculty/Directorate Leaders may be informed of the

investigation in order to support the individual and the process
HR Support
•HR will provide support with:

• Agreeing the scope of the investigation

• Ensuring you are aware of and use the relevant policies/procedures for the
case
• Assisting with planning the Investigation
• Providing you with templates (Invitation/Outcome letters & Report)
• Advise on best practice

•HR will not:

• Make decisions for you or try to influence your decision

• Write your report/outcomes

Suspension
In certain situations it may be decided that suspension with pay is
necessary while the investigation is carried out, for example when:

• Working relationships have broken down

• The employee could interfere with evidence
• There is a risk to an employee’s Health & Safety
• There is a risk of damage to property or the business of an
employee or the organisation

Suspension with pay should only be used after careful consideration as

a last resort and should be regularly reviewed to ensure it is not
unnecessarily drawn out.
Defining the scope of the
investigation
• What is the issue/ matter to be investigated
• What policies/procedures should be referred to?
• What decisions/ recommendations will you be
making?

The above points will feed into the focus of the

investigations.
Terms of reference to be agreed
• Who has commissioned the investigation?
• What is the nature of the allegation?
• Who has made the allegation and against whom?
• How many potential witnesses?
• What procedure applies?
• What level of disclosure will be given to those
involved in the Investigation?
• Remit: facts, findings and recommendations?
• To whom will the report be presented?
• Any other part to play in subsequent proceedings?
Terms of reference – why does it
need to be agreed?
• Clarifies the remit of the Investigating Manager
• Clarifies how to present findings
• Ensures that all key facts are responsibly
investigated
• Ensures that the Investigating Manager only collects
information and facts relevant to the matter
• Minimises any negative impact on morale caused by the
investigation
• Minimises disruption to the daily business needs of
the organisation
• Aids the timely completion of the investigation
Consideration for planning the
investigation
• Who do you need to speak to?
• What evidence do you need to gather?
• What policies/procedures should be followed/
• Where will the investigation interviews take place?
• Do you have a note taker?
• Do you require HR attendance at the investigation?
• Block time for the interviews/ gathering
information and writing the report.
Holding a timely investigation
•An Investigating Manager should be committed to dedicating time to carry out the Investigation.
•It is important that the Investigation is carried out in a timely fashion to:

- Ensure accurate recollection of those involved

- Minimise any negative impact of the wellbeing of those involved
- Minimise disruption to the organisation’s daily business needs

•Investigations may take more time where:

- It is difficult to schedule interviews due to workload and schedules

- The case is of a more complex nature
- There are a number of witnesses to interview in order to fully establish the facts of the
case

•Whilst an investigation should be completed as quickly as practicable, it also needs to be

sufficiently thorough and fair. Any delays (and the reasons for these) should be communicated to
those involved and included in the report.
Preparing for interviews
• Have you organised HR support (if required)?

• Have you sent an invitation to the relevant parties covering: right to be accompanied (if
appropriate), policy on recording devices, details of those in attendance and their role in
the meeting, reason for the interview and the university procedure to be followed?

• Have you reminded those involved of the need for confidentiality?

• Do you have an appropriate room booked for sufficient time?

• Do you have a note taker?

• Have you prepared questions so that you cover all aspects of the matter to be
investigated?
Conducting interviews and
gathering evidence
• Roles and responsibilities
• The investigating manager: Asks questions, listens and
establishes facts
• The interviewee: Contributes information, complies with
the process
• The representative: Supports colleague, able to sum up
on their behalf and confer. Not able to answer on behalf
of colleague.
• The note taker: Captures what is being discussed, asks
for pauses in the meeting if required.
• HR: Provides HR procedural or policy advice.
At the start of the meeting
Explain:
• Who is present and why
• The role of the Investigating Manager
• The right to be accompanied (if appropriate)
• The process and procedures to be followed and considered
• The purpose of the meeting
• The need for confidentiality
• The policy on recording devices
• The notes of the meeting will be used in the Investigation
Report
• Who will see the report
Listening during the meeting
• Treat every situation as though you know nothing
• Hear each persons account as it is for them, accept
it will be different
• Encourage maximum disclosure from the speaker
• Avoid making assumptions
• Centre yourself and be present
During the meeting
• Ask questions to gather the facts

• Probe politely

• Record responses and refusals to respond

• Seek to clarify

• Look for corroboration

Take notes
A record of the Interview should capture:

• Date, time and place of interview

• Names and roles of those present

• An accurate record of the interview- NOT Verbatim but capturing key

points

• Any refusal to answer a question

• Start, finish and adjournment times

Active listening
•Research shows that we only remember 25-50%
of what we hear.

•Active listening is consciously making the effort

to hear not only the words but also allows you to
absorb the complete message being
communicated.
Appropriate Questioning skills
Questions should be:
• Clear, concise, relevant and understandable to the interviewee
• Asked with delicacy and empathy when the subject is of a sensitive nature

Try to:
• Start with open questions to allow the person to express themselves
• Use prompt questions to encourage person to continue in their own words
• Focused questions establish examples and detail
• Closed questions provide specific details and establish meaning
• Use probing questions, not prying- why do you need to ask this?
• Be responsive to reactions- if the questions are affecting rapport, ease pacing
and refocus
• Do not stray into irrelevancies such as character analysis
• Avoid blaming questions – this is not a court of law
Questioning skills
• Open
• So talk me though what happened
• In your own words describe everything you can remember about
• How did that affect you?
• Tell me about

• Probing
• Tell me more
• What happened next?
• Could you give me an example
• And then?

• Focused
• When you say…what do you mean?
• Could you describe your reaction. Other people’s reaction?
• What’s been your relationship with this person?
• How have things changed?
Empathy and influence
Using empathy and influencing skills as an Investigator will enable you to effectively
gather relevant information to help you to establish the facts of the case.

Demonstrating empathy in an investigation:

• Open non-verbal attention
• Establish rapport and trust
• You reflect information accurately
• Acknowledge what is important for them
• Reflect back feelings as they are for them
Demonstrating influence in an investigation
• Acknowledge opinions and points of view
• Show willingness to understand
• Focus on the matter to be explored
• Be assertive, not aggressive
• Cultivate reliability through consistency
Reluctant or Anonymous
witnesses
There may be occasions where a key witness is reluctant to participate or would wish to remain
anonymous

As the Investigating Manager, you should:

• Explore why, attempt to resolve concerns and provide reassurance
• Avoid anonymising statements (except in exceptional circumstances)
• Consider whether the witness’ fear is genuine and sufficient enough to not require them to be involved
in the process further?

For the most part, anonymity should be avoided as it’s likely to put the employee under investigation at a
disadvantage. It is also harder to challenge evidence when it is given anonymously.

If anonymous evidence is used the Investigating Manager should seek to corroborate the evidence with an
identifiable witness.

N.B: If the matter is serious enough to become subject to legal proceedings, an employer may be required
by a court to disclose the names of anonymous witnesses.
Managing ourselves
Investigation interviews could become heated and
emotional, it is important that the Investigating
Manager manages the situation appropriately.
• Calm the situation down
• Stay calm
• Pay attention
• Learn from experience
• Manage the arena
• Use neutral language to acknowledge feelings, how
understanding and check in.
• Restart the conversation with clear request and direction.
At the end of the meeting
• Check if the individual has anything else to add

• Ask if there are other witnesses they think should be

interviewed and why

• Explain that you may need to interview them again

• Inform them that they will receive a copy of their statement to

review

• Remind them of the need for confidentiality

After the meeting
• Once you have reviewed and agreed the record of the interview,
provide the individual with a copy. The individual should check that
the record of the interview is accurate, or suggest any
amendments to be made with agreement of the Investigating
Manager.

• Consider the facts from the meeting and whether evidence already
collected supports or contradicts these

• Consider whether the meeting suggests any further evidence

needs to be collected or interviews arranged
Objectively analyse
• What does the evidence reveal?
• Are there any doubts about
credibility/reliability of the evidence?
• Is the allegation supported or contradicted by
evidence already collected?
• Does it suggest further evidence should be
collected?
• Has any mitigation information been reasonably
investigated?
The Burchell Test
Principles:
• The employer must have a belief that the employee was
guilty of the misconduct
• The employer must have reasonable grounds for that belief
• At the stage at which the employer formed that belief, the employer
must have carried out as much investigation as was reasonable in all
circumstances of the case

To be considered:
• Has a fair investigation been conducted, in line with university
procedure?
• Have you conducted a reasonable investigation?
Assessing the information
• S tandard of proof

• Whether on the balance of probabilities the event is more likely to have occurred
than not

• Requires analysis, judgement and common sense

• Regardless of the seriousness of the allegation
• Regardless of the impact on the individual’s career

•What are the uncontested facts? - report as facts

•What are the contested facts?- determine what ‘on the balance of probability’ took place
•What are the unsubstantiated claims?- state there is insufficient evidence and/or consider
whether further investigation is reasonable
Approach to the report
• The report is an outline of the process followed, evidence gathered and the facts established. It
should decide whether or not there is a case to answer, it should not seek to lead a Panel to a
conclusion

• The length of the report should be proportionate to the complexity of the matter investigated, in
most cases this should not exceed 6 pages

• The tone of the language used in the Investigation Report should be impartial and neutral, emotive
language should be avoided

• Concentrate on facts: differentiate between evidence, interpretation and opinion

• Don’t use conjecture

• Refer to evidence gathered and included with the report

• Be comprehensive but succinct

• Use straight-forward language and explain terms

Disciplinary investigation report
•Introduction
• Introduce yourself, your role and date you were appointed as Investigating
Manager and when you became aware of the incident

•Incident
• Summarise the allegation, key dates, parties involved and their roles
• Detail the scope of the investigation and the relevant policies and
procedures that were followed
• Who commissioned the investigation

•Background
• Any live warnings, communications or processes followed with the individuals
prior to the investigation which is relevant to the case
• Any other relevant information
•Investigation S ummary
• Details of the process
• Timeline, series of events
• Who was interviewed and why?
• Who was not interviewed and why not?
• Information gathered and why?

•Witness Information
• Date of investigation interview, reason for involvement
• Appendix detail of the witnesses’ Interview notes
• Reason for involvement in the process

•Document Information
• Detail of document gathered and included
• Detail of how document was obtained and why
• Appendix detail of the document
•Findings

•This section should be a summary of the witness evidence or documents

gathered, both supporting and contradicting the allegation. Where there are
more than one allegation to explore these should be separated and the
relevant evidence should be summarised under each. Note inconsistencies,
disputed facts and contradictions.

•Issues/Concerns

•This section should reference the alleged breach in relation to the relevant
policies and procedures under which the investigation was conducted.
Investigation conclusion
• This section should outline your conclusion, based on facts, as to whether ‘on the balance
of probabilities’ the allegation is accurate and occurred

• The reason you believe the allegation is/is not accurate or did/did not occur

• A recommendation for next steps: Is there a case to answer?

• Do you recommend:
• No further action- insufficient evidence or sufficient evidence which contradicts the
allegation
• Informal action- where there is evidence to support the allegation but it is deemed more
appropriate that the individual receives training, guidance, mediation, etc. The individual
should be informed that further similar action may result in formal action
• Formal action- where there is sufficient evidence which supports the allegation

•Where formal action is recommended, the Investigating Manager must not suggest a possible
sanction or prejudge the outcome of a hearing.
What happens next
• Discussing the report- Your report will be submitted to HR and they will
discuss your report with you.

• Attending the Disciplinary Hearing- where formal action is initiated based on

the Investigation Report and recommendations, the Investigating Manager will
be invited to the hearing to present their report. They will also answer any
questions from the Panel or the individual regarding the investigation.

• If the case becomes subject to legal proceedings- you may be invited as a

witness to an Employment Tribunal and asked to explain: the investigation
process followed, the evidence gathered, the findings and the
conclusions/recommendations that were made.
Corrective And Preventative
Actions (CAPA)
•During the course of the investigation you may uncover information which is
outside the scope of the investigation, but which should still be corrected or acted
upon by the university.

•Examples could be:

- Behaviours or actions which have a wider impact outside of the incident
being investigated
- Cultural issues which are department-wide that should be addressed
- Behaviours or actions of individuals not subject to the investigation which
should be addressed
- Indications of a need to review policies, procedures or processes

•Where this is identified, the Investigating Manager should not include this
information in the Investigation Report. This information should be passed to HR
as supplementary information to be actioned.
Summary
• An investigation is a fact-finding process to collect relevant information in order to fully consider the
matter and make an informed decision
• An effective Investigation is: Fair, Rigorous, Transparent, Structured, Sensitive, Consistent with people’s
rights, Neutral, has appropriate ground rules and is timely
• An Investigating Manager: has empathy and is able to influence, actively listens, uses appropriate
questioning skills and is impartial and neutral
• The process will be supported by HR but they will not influence your decisions
• Suspension may be necessary but should not be unnecessarily prolonged
• It is important to plan the investigation process
• It is important to define the scope of the investigation
• When conducting interviews, Investigating Managers should: be able to manage the meeting, have a note
taker, explain the process to the individuals and know how to deal with reluctant/anonymous
witnesses
• It is important to analyse and assess the information gathered
• The Burchell Test and the ‘balance of probabilities’ provide guidance on making decisions
• The Report should be a structured, balanced and neutral. It should include a thorough record of the
process and the decisions/recommendations made
• Next steps- attendance at disciplinary hearings or tribunal to discuss and answer questions
regarding the report