Carrying out an Effective Investigation

Get it right, from the very start.

It’s not uncommon for businesses to launch a disciplinary or grievance investigation with no previous experience of how to do this effectively. The problem is that once a process is started, it can be very difficult to steer that process “back on track” if it starts to go wrong.

Carrying out an effective investigation is not easy. It requires careful thought and skill at each stage. A good investigator will constantly be thinking about what else they need to ask or find out to get to the truth of what may or may not have taken place. Questions need to be posed sensitively, particularly in grievance investigations, which are often emotionally charged.

Once the investigation is completed, compiling a fair and objective investigation report before decisions are made is essential. A good investigation report should be thorough, and difficult to argue with either at appeal stage or in tribunal.

About the course
Course content

  • when you might need to do an investigation
  • the role of the investigator
  • fact-finding
  • effective note-taking
  • objective viewpoint
  • intelligent questioning
  • preparing an investigation report

Delivery options

Classroom style (interactive)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the module, you should understand the purpose of carrying out a thorough and fair investigation, how to do this, and how to record the investigation and its findings in a way that can be relied upon, if necessary, in the future.

Why Capital Academy

Capital Academy’s employment modules are specifically designed with time-poor senior and HR managers in mind. The training is fast-paced and designed to build on existing knowledge. Module resources such as factsheets and infographics are supplied to help you to find answers quickly when time is of the essence. All our employment law training is delivered by qualified lawyers who will remain available to you after the delivery of the training, as a friendly face that knows your business, and who can deal with any follow up queries.