If you were to ask anyone about workplace misconduct and how businesses deal with it, you’ll probably get a few different answers.
It’s not a topic that is widely talked about in workplaces, but if you spend any amount of time in them, it’s something that you cannot help but pick up on.
Working in the HR department or as an HR professional means that your day-to-day work involves coming into contact with employee conduct on a regular basis.
Misconduct can come in many forms and could be due to drug use, theft, computer usage policy violations, or even more serious things such as sexual harassment or discrimination against colleagues.
Whatever the case may be, it can have a profound impact on the wellbeing of employees and have lasting implications for businesses as well. Given this information, let’s take a look at what misconduct is and what situations qualify as employee misconduct investigations.
What Is Misconduct in the Workplace?
Before we get into the different types of misconduct and how they may be investigated, it’s important to understand what misconduct is.
It’s a broad term that covers anything that violates an organisations policies and procedures. Some common examples of misconduct in the workplace include, but are not limited to:
- Falsifying information on job applications, resumes, or attendance records - This would most likely include things like lying about education and training, previous employment or salary history, or providing false references from current or former employers.
- Engaging in behaviour that is likely to harm others physically or emotionally - Some examples of this type of misconduct would be engaging in extreme verbal abuse, threatening violence against colleagues, or making sexual advances towards other employees.
- Engaging in behaviour that violates an individual’s civil rights - This includes things like racial discrimination, discrimination against other employees based on other factors such as age, gender, or disability, or engaging in sexual harassment by creating a hostile work environment.
Why Are Misconduct Investigations Conducted?
As you can imagine, misconduct in the workplace can have many different negative impacts on an organisation. It can result in a loss of productivity, a decrease in profits and sales, a negative impact on employee morale, the creation of a toxic work environment for employees, and an increase in overall operational costs due to factors including increased insurance premiums and payment of damages to employees who have experienced misconduct.
There are many ways in which misconduct in the workplace can have a negative impact on an organisation, which is why it’s important for businesses to conduct misconduct investigations when it is suspected.
There are generally two reasons for why businesses conduct misconduct investigations. The first reason is to determine whether or not misconduct is occurring so that it can be stopped. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for misconduct to go undetected or unreported in many organisations.
There are many reasons why this may be the case, including fear of repercussions from managers or fellow employees as well as an ignorance of the fact that certain behaviours are considered misconduct in the first place.
The second reason businesses conduct misconduct investigations is to determine the level of impact the suspected misconduct has on the organisation as a whole.
Depending on the severity of the misconduct, it may be necessary to fire the employee in question. If the misconduct is less severe and the employee is willing to accept responsibility for their actions and make an attempt to change their behaviour, they may be given a warning or some sort of disciplinary action instead.
Types of Employee Misconduct Investigations
There are many types of misconduct investigations that businesses may need to conduct.
As we’ve already discussed, the investigation itself will depend on the extent of the misconduct and the level of impact it has had on the organisation as a whole.
The most common types of misconduct investigations include:
- Internal Investigations - These are usually launched by a company’s upper management or HR department in order to determine whether or not misconduct has taken place.
This type of investigation is often necessary after receiving a complaint from another employee, such as an accusation of sexual harassment or discrimination.
- External Investigations - These are often requested when an organisation feels they cannot provide the expertise to undertake a non-biased professional investigation.
What To Know Before Hiring a Professional Investigator
Before you hire a professional investigator to conduct a misconduct investigation on your behalf, there are a few things you should make sure you know. For example, you’ll want to know what type of investigation they are most commonly hired to conduct.
While most investigators are capable of conducting more than one type of investigation, it’s important to know what the norm is for your specific situation.
You’ll also want to know if the investigator is certified or licensed to conduct an investigation on your behalf. This is usually a good sign that they are well qualified for the job, and it can also assist you in choosing an investigator who is licensed in your particular jurisdiction.
In some cases, it may be necessary to hire an investigator who is licensed to conduct the investigation in the jurisdiction where the suspected misconduct has taken place.
Bottom line
Investigations into misconduct in the workplace are not something that should be taken lightly. It’s essential that the investigation is conducted in a thorough and unbiased manner so that the findings are as accurate as possible.
If you’re an employer, it’s important to remember that misconduct investigations are not a black and white issue. There is often a lot of grey area involved in determining what qualifies as misconduct and what does not.
As an employer, you want to make sure you are conducting investigations into misconduct in a fair and unbiased manner. For employees, it’s important to know that you have the right to defend yourself against false allegations of misconduct.
Click on the link to contact Jolasers - we have been conducting complex workplace misconduct investigations in Melbourne for in excess of 16 years.
