Workplace Investigations
When issues and complaints arise in the workplace, investigations can help you mitigate your risks and determine your next steps. In some cases, investigations may be required by law. Employers that don’t take complaints seriously could face legal action, reputational damage and unwanted media scrutiny.
When dealing with a workplace complaint, investigations should be timely and objective to ensure a fair process for all the parties involved. Our lawyers have extensive experience carrying out workplace investigations into a variety of allegations, including:
- Discrimination and DEI-related complaints
- Human rights breaches
- Sexual harassment and assault
- Violence in the workplace
- Bullying
- Workplace misconduct
We regularly conduct workplace investigations and train HR professionals on handling investigations, including conducting interviews, reviewing evidence and preparing investigation reports. Our lawyers can be engaged to act as external investigators, or to provide advice and consultation to organizations throughout a workplace investigation.
Why hire an external investigator?
Investigators must be qualified and unbiased. While some complaints can be investigated by HR professionals or other internal investigators, other complaints may be better handled by an external investigator – particularly complaints that could pose legal risks and draw unwanted attention to your organization. When complaints are serious, the stakes are high.
If your HR personnel work closely with the subject of a complaint, having HR carry out an investigation could raise concerns that your investigator is biased. Moreover, if the complaint you’re dealing with could lead to public scrutiny or potential litigation, hiring an impartial external investigator can help you proactively avoid concerns of a biased investigation. If the allegations are serious and require a lengthy, complex investigation, the neutrality of an external investigator can help ensure complainants, witnesses and respondents feel they are being treated fairly during an investigation. Hiring a lawyer as an external investigator also allows certain information throughout the investigation process to be protected by solicitor-client privilege.
Our lawyers have conducted workplace investigations for public and private sector employers throughout Western Canada. We have wide-ranging experience investigating complex complaints, gathering evidence, conducting interviews, assessing the credibility of interviewees and drafting investigation reports with supportable conclusions. We understand the sensitivity and complexity of dealing with serious complaints and the importance of responding to them with timeliness and objectivity.
