Under Investigation

Transforming Disciplinary Practice in the Workplace

Andrew Cooper, Adrian Neal

• Publisher: Bristol University Press
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781529245103
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Human Resource Management
• Index: Business

While employee relations investigations are an important part of organisational practice for managing workplace issues, there is growing evidence of the significant harm they can cause to individuals being taken through them. This harm can also spread further to those involved in their delivery, as well as impacting organisational culture and reputation, leading to financial and economic harm.

Under Investigation proposes a shift in mindset that prioritises employee wellbeing alongside the application of the process, reducing potential harm and creating healthier work environments. Based on a programme of work and research within NHS Wales, it explores the wider impact of employee investigations, considers new approaches to applying disciplinary policy and includes a call to the human resources profession for change.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Epigraph Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• About the Editors
• Notes on Contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Editors’ Note
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Part ICounting the Cost
• 1The Impact on the Investigated: The Potential for Harm to Employees Who Are Subject to Disciplinary Investigations
• 2The Impact on Investigators: Understanding the Harm that Managers and Others Involved in Disciplinary Investigations Can Experience
• 3The Impact on Culture: The Potential for Harm to Organizational Culture Through Poorly Managed or Avoidable Disciplinary Investigations
• 4The Impact on the Bottom Line: The Economic and Financial Harm Caused by Avoidable or Poorly Managed Disciplinary Investigations
• Part IIMaking the Change
• 5A Last Resort: How Pursuing Informal Resolution Can Lead to a Reduction in Employee Investigations, Sick Days and Costs
• 6Creating Compassionate Cultures: How a Compassionate Culture Leads to the Reduction and Better Management of Employee Investigations
• 7First Principles: How Clear and Compassionate Disciplinary Policies and Processes Minimize the Harm and Costs of Employee Investigations
• 8Alongside the Lawyer: How Understanding the Lawyer’s Perspective Supports the Better Management of Employee Investigations
• Part IIICharting the Future
• 9Working in the Grey: How Human Resources Can Mitigate Organizational Risk and Promote Employee Wellbeing in the Management of Employee Investigations
• 10How the Concept of Avoidable Employee Harm Can Be Used to Improve the Management of Employee Investigations
• 11A Systematic Approach: How an Effective Occupational Health and Wellbeing Approach Can Improve the Management of Employee Investigations
• 12The Disciplinary Policy and Beyond: Steps to Improve the Management of Employee Investigations
• 13A Call to Action: The Disciplinary Process through the Lens of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development’s Profession Map – Principles-Led, Evidence-Based and Outcomes-Driven
• Looking for Support, New Insights and Resources to Help with Your Employee Investigations?
• Index