4. INVESTIGATION

Providing practical support

At this stage, TUC guidance outlines the typical role played by a union rep representing a member facing a disciplinary as follows:

• meet the member to gather all the facts. Ask the member to gather any relevant facts and information;

• provide a reassuring presence, offering support, but no guarantees about the outcome;

• explain the different stages of the procedure to the member, the likely timescale and what is likely to be expected of the member;

• encourage the member to be honest throughout. If material emerges during the investigation suggesting that a member has provided misleading or inaccurate information or has not been truthful, this is likely to place the member at a serious disadvantage; and

• encourage the member to be involved in helping with the case, for example, keeping a diary, gathering information and identifying witnesses (TUC Workplace Manual, 2012).

There is no statutory right to be accompanied to an investigation meeting, although sometimes the right to be accompanied to investigation meetings forms part of a negotiated agreement (see Chapter 8).