Chapter 4
Delay
[ch 4: page 34]The investigation should be carried out “without unreasonable delay” (para 5 of the Acas Code).
In some circumstances a delay in the conduct of the investigation might make a dismissal unfair. This could happen where the employee is prejudiced, for example, because the delay meant that the employer has failed to take statements it might otherwise have done, or because of the effect of delay on fading memories (See A v B [2002] UKEAT 1167/01/1411).
The later case of Lim v Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust [2011] EWHC 2178 made it clear that a delay will not always render dismissal unfair — it will depend on the circumstances of the cases.