Disciplinary and Grievance Investigations

LBMW has an experienced team of employment law solicitors who are regularly involved in disciplinary and grievance investigations and hearings for companies, charities and schools.

In particular, we:

• Advise clients on how to conduct a thorough, fair and proportionate process;
• ​Act as an external investigating officer for clients;
• Advise employee clients who are the subject of a disciplinary investigation or process or wish to bring a grievance.

Contact our expert employment lawyers today

If you require any assistance with employment investigations, contact our employment law team based in Westminster:
Phone no.: 0207 222 5381
Email:edward.henderson@lbmw.com 
You can also make an enquiry by filling out the Enquiry Form on www.lbmw.com.

How LBMW's Employment Law Solicitors can help you handle disciplinary and grievance investigations

We have a depth and breadth of experience in advising employer clients who need to conduct a disciplinary investigation or to handle a grievance.

We understand that such investigations and processes can take up significant management time and are almost always indicators of a dispute or a disaffected employee. In many cases the subject matter can be serious where the allegations, if true, are potentially gross misconduct. There are sometimes regulatory implications which may prompt the need to make a self-referral to the appropriate regulator. Sometimes, one of the parties involved may have made a protected disclosure and have acquired whistleblower protection. There are often publicity and reputational implications too.

Handling such matters requires swift action, attention to detail, understanding of the wider context and sensitive engagement with individuals. The employer must ensure that its policies and procedures are current and suit their needs and should follow them and ensure that it is acting fairly and reasonably in the particular circumstances.

Our employer clients include international organisations, city institutions, SME’s, hospitality businesses, hotels, universities & schools and charities. We work with in-house HR teams, owners, managers or trustees as appropriate. Each employer will have a different set up and it is crucial that, whatever the size or type of organisation, the investigation and hearing stages are handled in a way that is both reasonable and proportionate. We provide partner-led, bespoke advice that is tailored to suit the specific circumstances.

We regularly review and draft disciplinary policies and procedures. Once a live issue emerges, we will either provide ongoing advice throughout the process or we will address particular questions or problems that may arise (eg. where an employee goes off sick prior to a disciplinary hearing or where an employee subject to a disciplinary investigation then brings a grievance.)

Our practice of acting for both employer and employee clients allows us to see things from both perspectives and this often means we can anticipate and understand things that an employee may do next.

Investigating disciplinary allegations or grievances

Our specialist employment solicitors can be appointed to act as independent investigating officers. Where the issue is complex, likely to be time-consuming or sensitive, it can be helpful to outsource the investigation to ensure that it is carried out fairly and independently. The employer’s senior officers are then untainted in any subsequent disciplinary or grievance hearing and can assess the investigation report and its recommendations critically, safe in the knowledge that the investigation has been carried out by an expert and is unbiased.

When investigating disciplinary allegations or grievances, we appreciate the need for a quick process that is both thorough yet proportionate to the issues, the size of the organisation and the particular dynamics and sensitivities in play at the time.

We gather evidence, interview witnesses and prepare a detailed but clear report with findings and recommendations. Whereas many independent reports we have seen are reluctant to come to material conclusions or make genuinely workable recommendations, our investigations and reports are designed to move things forwards.

Our specialist investigations lawyers benefit from years of experience in participating in investigations in many different ways. We help clients set terms of references, we review third party reports with clients, we have guided employees through investigation meetings and with all of this background, we are very well placed to handle investigations ourselves.

As part of our investigation work, we discuss matters of process, confidentiality and overall context with you.

Commonly there will be data subject access requests involved too. Our employment lawyers are qualified to handle data protection and GDPR elements that may arise.

Advice for employees the subject of disciplinary allegations

We recognise that being the subject of a workplace investigation is intensely stressful and may have ramifications not just for the current role but for the employee’s career.

We act for directors, senior executives and people in positions of trust and responsibility. Our clients are often well-known and have reputations that need to be preserved. Acting with discretion and, where necessary taking immediate steps to ensure the confidentiality of the process is often critical. We have recently acted for very senior individuals in religious organisations, the media and the military where the ‘story’ would be of interest to the press if it leaked.

We know what a fair and reasonable investigation and process should look like. It is our aim to ensure the client is treated fairly, robustly represented and understands not just the factual and legal issues but the wider commercial context. An investigation can set off a chain of events that culminates in an exit and we are well placed to advise and seek a solution in the best interests of the client.

How can LBMW's legal representation help during an investigation?

If you are the employer, we can either assume the majority of the burden by being appointed as the independent investigating officer or we can assist HR with procedural matters and guide panels on their decision making criteria.

If you are an employee, we will provide expert advice and guidance in a clear and empathetic fashion. 

For all enquiries or questions, please contact Ed Henderson who is the partner in charge of employment and leads the disciplinary and investigations practice.