Step Five: If There are Witnesses
Workplace investigations can feel daunting, whether you are the person raising a concern, subject of the allegation or simply a witness. Witnesses play a crucial role in helping Employers reach a fair and balanced outcome.
Witnesses help build a full picture of what’s happened by providing important context and facts. As an investigator, your role would be to gather the evidence from different perspectives which often can be a witness, and a third party. Where evidence is required from a third party who is not an employee, the individual may not want to attend a meeting to provide a witness statement. One option is for you to take a statement over the phone or via a video conferencing platform and send it to the witness for them to check, sign and date. Another option is for the third party to provide a written witness statement, in which case it is advisable for you to provide a list of questions and issues for them to address. When having meetings with witnesses, ensure they declare and confirm that they are happy for the data in the investigation to be shared. Often, we can redact a witness’s personal information e.g. name in a witness statement that they have provided if they request this to be removed.
Furthermore, in some cases, it may be appropriate to anonymise witness evidence, particularly where there is a genuine concern about reprisals. However, this should be balanced against the employees right to know the case against them and respond effectively.
As briefly mentioned above, Employers must ensure they manage confidentiality carefully. While absolute confidentiality cannot be guaranteed – because fairness may require disclosure of evidence to the parties involved – the investigator should limit disclosure to what is strictly necessary. Witnesses should be reassured that victimisation or retaliation for participating in the process will not be tolerated and could amount to misconduct.
For further information please contact Nockolds HR on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form for guidance. Find out more about the sixth and final step of conducting an investigation here.