{"id":3248,"date":"2018-07-18T09:07:10","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T23:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplacetraining.com.au\/2021\/09\/11\/can-you-deny-access-to-workplace-investigation-documents\/"},"modified":"2018-07-18T09:07:10","modified_gmt":"2018-07-17T23:07:10","slug":"can-you-deny-access-to-workplace-investigation-documents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplace.com.au\/2018\/07\/can-you-deny-access-to-workplace-investigation-documents\/","title":{"rendered":"Can You Deny Access to Workplace Investigation Documents?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Parties involved in a workplace investigation will often wish to gain access to documents that form part of the process. A difficult question for investigators is when – or if – it will be appropriate to release particular information. The reason for the request and the nature of the information will be key considerations, plus the investigator must find the best way to ensure that the access process is fair and transparent. As a recent case involving Australia Post reminds us, investigators need to carefully consider any decision to deny access to workplace investigation documents.<\/span><\/p>\n

When to disclose information<\/h3>\n

During the course of a workplace investigation it is entirely appropriate to keep parties informed of progress. In many cases, it will be quite simple to provide general information that keeps parties up-to-date, yet preserves any necessary privacy boundaries. One regular complaint from those under investigation is that they were ‘kept in the dark’ at every turn of the process. However, overt secrecy is often not necessary; disclosing information about delays, the nature of inquiries and the broad substance of allegations for example will generally not be problematic.<\/p>\n

Another situation where information will need to be provided is when the investigator is required to do so by law. This could include as a response to a subpoena, summons or other court \/ police request, and should be responded to promptly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why should information be disclosed?<\/h3>\n

In many ways, it is simply professional best-practice to keep stakeholders informed of the progress of an investigation.<\/p>\n

One specific advantage in providing regular updates and briefings is the effective management of expectations. Investigations can leave people feeling anxious, and the process can become impeded if individuals are forced to continually complain about non-disclosure. By regularly providing information about the scope, goals and process of the investigation, the ‘temperature’ in the workplace can be kept under control.<\/p>\n

Providing information is also necessary to ensure transparency and accountability. The investigative process should, as far as possible, be able to withstand outside scrutiny both during and following completion. If it is later revealed that one party received greater assistance or exposure to materials than another, the chances of utilising the investigation outcomes will be greatly reduced.<\/span><\/p>\n

A case in point<\/h3>\n

In the case of ‘LC’ and Australia Post (Freedom of information) <\/em>[2017] AICmr 31, an employee made an FOI request for information relating to a workplace investigation.<\/p>\n

Australia Post declined the request on the basis that the material was exempt according to the ‘personal private information’ exemption under s47F of the FOI Act. However, the commission found that the exemption does not apply to information that is likely to have a ‘substantial adverse effect’ on a person subject to investigation.<\/p>\n

Investigators must ensure that the process remains transparent, and that any and all decisions to prevent disclosure are carefully considered in accordance with the legislation.<\/span><\/p>\n

ensuring procedural fairness<\/h3>\n

One common mistake made by new workplace investigators is to see procedural fairness as a lightweight idea without much application in the real world. We know from experience that nothing could be further from the truth. Those under investigation deserve to know the nature of allegations made, to be given the opportunity to be properly heard, to have a support person if needed, to be questioned by an unbiased individual, and of course to have all relevant evidence considered in the decision. Disclosing information in an appropriate way, and at the right time, can certainly assist the overall fairness of the process – and prevent problems in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

When not to disclose<\/h3>\n

Although transparency and fairness are important elements of the workplace investigation, there are times where information should certainly not be disclosed. The right to privacy might require the investigator to protect information such as addresses, sensitive personal material or intellectual property matters as examples.<\/p>\n

Further, it might be\u00a0<\/span>necessary\u00a0to redact documents in order to protect anonymity or to withhold certain aspects of an allegation. However,\u00a0<\/span>overall investigators must ensure that a party is not substantially disadvantaged by the non-disclosure – a fine balancing act indeed.<\/p>\n

The Australia Post<\/em>\u00a0case confirms our own experience in conducting fair workplace investigations. We certainly know that each situation will depend upon the particular facts when it comes to disclosing information to the parties involved.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you need assistance on whether or not to disclose information during an investigation process, WISE provides supported investigation services and are here to help.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Content retrieved from: http:\/\/www.wiseworkplace.com.au\/_blog\/WISE_Blog\/post\/can-you-deny-access-to-workplace-investigation-documents\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Parties involved in a workplace investigation will often wish to gain access to documents that form part of the process. A difficult question for investigators is when – or if – it will be appropriate to release particular information. The reason for the request and the nature of the information will be key considerations, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[49,152,84,73,282,57,52],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplace.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3248"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplace.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplace.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplace.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplace.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplace.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3248\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplace.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplace.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplace.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}