Versions of Events Differ? Raising Challenges in Interviews If you are conducting a workplace investigation, no doubt you’re dealing with something unpleasant. All the more so because at some point you will have to conduct an interview with the person against whom allegations have been made. Allegations have been made, an interview is required To […]
Conflict of Interest: A Source of Corruption in Government It is an unfortunate reality that supposedly small conflicts of interest can grow into fully-fledged corruption. Within government, conflicts of interest can at first seem like the most minor of issues. Certainly, small favours might be given or suppliers provided with minor inside information. Perhaps friends […]
How to Use Timelines in Interviews When conducting an investigative interview in the workplace, finding out exactly ‘who did what when’ can be somewhat easier said than done. Because we are generally interviewing a number of people and collating various documents and/ or items, we need to find ways to accurately collect and reconcile the […]
Eye of the Beholder: The Impacts of Bullying on Observers The all-too-clear effects of bullying upon targeted workers have been closely studied across many years. In a bid to reduce bullying-related injuries and impairments, employers have worked hard to prevent and detect bullies in the workplace. Yet how do those who observe bullying behaviour – […]
The High Cost of Employee Theft: Is it Happening to You? It can be a shock to discover that theft is occurring in your workplace. Each of your staff may have shone at recruitment, with no visible trust issues apparent. So how can we reconcile our valuable personnel with the fact that theft regularly occurs […]
Using Sketches to Trigger Memory in Interviews Professional investigators face one challenging adversary – human memory. The deterioration of memories over time, plus a number of ‘tricks’ that the brain can play when attempting to recall information has often frustrated professionals in the field. The well-known PEACE model of interviewing certainly assists workplace investigators to […]
Reasonable Action? FWC ruling on Willis In a recent matter before Commissioner Lewin of the Fair Work Commission (FWC), some rather interesting findings were made around the question of ‘reasonable management action’. The case in question, Willis v Gibson & Anors, highlighted the reality that a jurisdictional challenge made upon such a basis will be […]
You Just Discovered a Worker May Be a Paedophile: What Now? Finding out that someone you know might be a paedophile can cause quite a shock. And when that person is an employee, a whole raft of questions can surface at once. Who reported this, and in what manner? How should you go about finding […]
Four Steps to a Great Investigation Report By the time a workplace investigator has reached the stage of compiling the investigation report, many hours, documents and interview outcomes have no doubt accumulated. How to bring all of this together effectively into a quality report might seem quite challenging. Yet, by dividing the task of reporting into […]
Employees Working with Children? Do the Checks Families are becoming busier than ever. More service options are being sought by parents each year around the education, entertainment and care of their children. As a result of this, the number of Australian employees working with children continues to grow. From play centres to sports camps, music […]