Supporting a member during an investigation

The TUC suggests that during a management investigation, reps can help the member in a variety of ways, for example:

• providing support and reassurance;

• monitoring the investigation to make sure it is being conducted fairly;

• ensuring the member is told about any allegations against them before any investigation meeting, wherever possible in writing;

• encouraging the member to stay calm and keep to the facts;

• assessing the possible case against the member;

• taking notes and using them to check the accuracy of the record from the investigation;

• carrying out a separate investigation to obtain evidence, identify any witnesses, check whether procedures have been followed correctly and so on, getting as complete a story as possible and exploring the background, including what led up to the events, and whether anything similar has happened in the past, either to the member or to others; and

• making sure the investigator has a full picture: It is important to ensure the investigator has access to all relevant information that might help the member’s case.

Note that in any later tribunal claim, an investigator or decision-maker will not be assumed to know facts that are known to other managers within the organisation, unless that knowledge was brought to his/her attention, or should have been uncovered in a fair investigation (Orr v Milton Keynes Council [2011] EWCA 62).