Anyone know about HR investigations?

[SirHisss]

I've been notified that a colleague has made a complaint about me and that HR are conducting an investigation. I don't want to go in to too much detail but I'm aware of the incident they will have referred to in their complaint however I don't know what their actual complaint is.

The letter I received says that I will be asked to meet with HR in the near future and that if I want to I can submit a written statement in advance.

Can anyone shed any light on why I should submit a statement as opposed to just telling them my side of the story during the meeting? What do I include in it? They will meet with my colleague first, will she get to read my statement if I submit one?

I have asked my union rep for advice but sometimes it takes her days to respond, if at all and there is a deadline which I have to send the statement by.

I'd be grateful if anyone can shed any light, I do nothing but go over it all in my head and I don't know what's for the best.

Sorry you're going through the same @Gcn

It's shit that it drags out for so long and you're left in the dark. If someone has submitted a complaint I think you should have the right to know what you're being accused of before you respond or comment?

I've spent years getting on top of my mental health and I feel like this is sending me backwards again.

I hope your situation is resolved soon.

@SirHisss I wouldn’t hand over a statement prior to your interview. I would prepare one with any background information so you have it with you as a prompt.

As you say, she can twist your information particularly when you are not sure what the complaint is.

@SirHisss any update? Investigation still going on for me, though manager says she thinks it's almost complete. Think investigating manager wants to get info to me before Christmas - great???

@Gcn No, not a sausage. I was told informally that I might be asked to an initial meeting before Christmas, but that hasn't happened. I don't know if they have met with my colleague yet.

I expect it will be well in to January before anything happens now.

I'm not sure what's better - having some information before Christmas so you know what stage things are at, or if it's better to have nothing so that it's not causing more anxiety over the holidays!

How are you feeling? I hate having it hanging over me.

Like you I'm torn between wanting it over, but don't want to have to be thinking more about it over Christmas. My line manager is confident that there's nothing in the allegations, but that doesn't really help.

My thoughts about the person who has made allegations aren't very professional!

My line manager also manages the colleague who has complained about me so she isn't involved in the investigation and has been supportive but has to stay neutral, which is fsir enough.

Objectively I know that on the date in question, I behaved professionally and didn't say or do anything wrong but it's hard to think logically about it when you've been accused of something and aren't even allowed to know exactly what that is!

I did speak unprofessionally to her, I've apologised multiple times to her - but she's never accepted my apology and says it's not good enough. It was a one off incident, and (in my biased opinion!) her complaint should have been shut down months ago - but we are where we are. I think she wants me publicly flogged...

The letter I was given does tell me that they are investigating an incident which occured on X date so I know what is being referred to, but it's so vague I'm still in the dark about what colleague has said I've said/done and I know that I didn't do or say anything wrong.

Take comfort in the fact the incident and details surrounding it are vague, everything is verbal, no audit trail and no witnesses, plus it was a single event. It becomes your word against this person's. Very difficult to prove whatever they're saying happened. And proving something that didn't actually happen (if your account of the incident is markedly different, for example your account indicates they are bending the truth/exaggerating etc)

stay calm, don't give any information that isn't 100% fact, it's your recollection. Don't say anything like "I think .... " or "as far as I can remember ...". Stick to what you remember but state it as the facts as you know them. That will come across as authentic and in good faith.

it sounds like it could blow over, which I know isn't helpful while you're going through the torture, but based on what you've said it seems unlikely they can completely accept one person's word and not take account of your side of the story

do you think they could be trying to stretch your words into being discriminatory? ie what you said related to a Protected Characteristic (eg making a comment/quip about race, sex, pg, religious belief etc ) That could be why they're having to investigate.

do you think they could be trying to stretch your words into being discriminatory? ie what you said related to a Protected Characteristic (eg making a comment/quip about race, sex, pg, religious belief etc ) That could be why they're having to investigate.

Definitely not, the conversation we had wasn't a casual conversation where any jokes or anything were made. I'm trying to be vague as I don't want this to be too identifying. She brought something up (not work related) and I said that I didn't want to continue discussing it and asked her politely but firmly, several times to stop asking me about it and she wouldn't. She actually became so wound up that I had to leave the room (which I did calmly, without storming out) to stop things escalating further, yet she is the one who involved management and complained.

I do realise how biased I sound, and I'm not trying to paint myself as an angel but I was very careful with my conduct and I'm genuinely stumped as to what she has said I've done wrong.

It's an investigation meeting not a hearing, so your advice is incorrect. Additionally union reps act as a companion not a representative.

The only advice I would give you is to think before you speak and only answer the question asked.

Any joy @Gcn?

I have heard nothing. It's nearly four months since this all kicked off and I haven't been told of any progress or asked to attend any meetings.

I wonder if anyone knows how long this can go on before they have to tell me something even if there is no conclusion yet.

I don't know if it's worth bothering to ask my union rep if they know - half the information they've given me so far isn't even accurate.

@SirHisss I've had an invite to an investigation meeting, had copies of statements and the notes of meetings. Still not got specifics re which allegations are being investigated. I've submitted a statement, the allegations are pretty much nonsense so I'm hoping the investigation meeting will be the end of it.

I carry out investigations.
You dont have to submit anything in advance and I would only do so of you feel it will help you. You can tell your side in the meeting.
You say you have done nothing wrong therefore,although these things can be stressful it will be the investigation officers role to remain open.minded and they should be impartial. They won't just take someone else's word for it.
Were there any witnesses?
At this stage it must be informal as once formal they must inform you of what the complaint is.
Read your company processes and ensure they follow these.
Read up ACAS Disciplinary investigations.
Please try to get your Unions advice.

more detail is better to help you, all the best op

in that case i dont see what you did wrong ? especially as its not work related topic

I do PIs too. I'd never ask for a statement first but you'd be welcome to bring one and talk around it - saves me a lot of writing!

Unfortunately as you're discovering these things drag on and on, and it's awful for everyone concerned.

Do you know who the HR rep on the panel is? I'd be contacting that person and ask when you can expect the investigation to take place. Sometimes it really is he who shouts loudest, unfortunately.

I can't see it going anywhere if it's your word against hers with no witnesses? All there would be to go on would be the balance of probability that something happened. An employer needs something more than that to go on to carry out a disciplinary.

My team hate these cases - lot of time is wasted and the outcome isn't satisfactory for anyone!

I wouldn't give a written a statement for an investigation meeting. What I would do is write down all the points I want to cover (when, who, where, what).

They will likely say there's been a complaint about an alleged incident at x on x. Can you tell us about what happened?

Then they will ask you questions based on what you said.

Where there witnesses? Important you say if there were.

You could put your own counter-complaint in now if the other person behaved inappropriately - union should advise on this.

Good luck.

@Gcn Glad you've had some progress - do you mean you've had copies of what your colleague has said in her meeting? Does that put you a bit more in the loop at least?

Thanks everyone else for your replies. I don't think I mentioned it but in the end I chose to submit a statement. I used the same written account I showed to my line manager before this was escalated by my colleague. My feelings are that my initial account was factual and truthful and that I wouldn't change this at any point anyway, so I may as well let them have the information as early as possible. I haven't had any response to this other than acknowledgement that they received it.

There were no witnesses to the converstion that is being investigated, however there are witnesses to previous converations that may be relevant and that I mentioned in my statement so I'm not sure if they will need to be involved at this stage too.

Trying to get help from my union is like pulling teeth, I'm really disappointed with their response and not sure how to escalate it to get some proper help.

I don't know who the HR person investigating is, but I do know the manager who is involved - I have toyed with asking her for an update but she did say it would be a lengthy process and I'm really self conscious about pestering anyone.

I don't think there'd be any harm in sending an email asking about progress. I also don't see any problem with you having submitted the statement and I doubt they would give it to her before speaking to you - they shouldn't release anything until they have a report/conclusion.

Those other witnesses should be spoken to, but really they need to speak to you before they do anything else.

You sound very balanced and understandable (if that makes sense). Try not to panic, hopefully things will work out. Hope so!

Do you work for a large organisation, or a regulated industry? If so, it is quite possible that there could be a video recording of the event - it may be worth checking if you have video surveillance in the office (you can normally see the cameras on the ceiling).

Definitely no cameras! If there were, I think I'd be far less worried as there would be solid evidence of the conversation and a few things in the weeks prior - they could watch that and draw their own conclusions rather than having this drawn out process of listening to different interpretations and trying to work out what to believe.

I'm going to leave it one more week incase they are using this week to get caught up after the holiday period and if I haven't heard anything I will ask for an update.

Thank you.

There have been no developments since I last spoke to them and they weren't much help then.

So far all they've done is tell me where to find the workplace policies online and advised me to contact occupational health. When I asked for their advice on whether I should submit a statment, they didn't respond. I don't think they will offer anything helpful at the moment unless something changes.