Melbourne Workplace Investigations – Let us conduct your workplace Investigation
The Fair Work Ombudsman, as well as other agencies such as the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Department of Education and Training (DET), have greatly increased their investigations into workplaces.There are various reasons why your business may need to conduct a workplace investigation:
Check the legitimacy of current employees
If you have suspicions about the authenticity of a staff member’s identity, you may decide to conduct a workplace investigation.
Identity fraud and illegal work are significantly more common than you might expect. Your business may be at risk if an illegal worker is employed, as they may not have the correct type of insurance or superannuation to cover any workplace injuries or illnesses.
If someone is working and receiving payment under a false name, they may also not be paying correct tax, or may have very little chance of receiving correct entitlements if they are made redundant or become injured.
When you employ a new staff member, you will usually ask them to produce some form of ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. This information can be checked against a government database to confirm that it is authentic. If you already have a member of staff employed under a certain name, you can also check their details against a government database.
Investigate allegations of employee misconduct in the workplace
If you become aware of a possible breach of policy in your workplace, you may decide to conduct a workplace investigation. You may want to investigate an allegation of discrimination or harassment against an employee, or if there are doubts about their ability to perform their job.
You may want to investigate allegations against an employee that they have stolen money or property from the company, or have breached company policy relating to computer usage or internet usage on company devices.
An investigation into a workplace incident will often be led by a manager or Human Resources representative, but sometimes it is necessary for the owners or directors of a business to get involved.
If you suspect that an employee is stealing from the company, for example, you may need to closely monitor their activity for a certain period of time and then conduct a thorough investigation.
Detect and prevent wage fraud or worker exploitation
If you employ people on a casual or part-time basis, you have the legal obligation to inform them that they are a casual or part-time worker. If you fail to do this, it is known as wage fraud.
Many businesses fail to understand that they need to inform casual and part-time employees that they are employed on a casual or part-time basis. If you employ casual or part-time staff, you will need to closely monitor their hours to ensure that they do not work more hours than they are legally allowed to.
If they do, you may decide to conduct a workplace investigation. You may also want to conduct an investigation if you employ a casual or part-time employee who has worked for you for a long period of time and is regularly working more hours than they are legally allowed to.
Confirm correct pay and tax deductions are being made
If a staff member has made an allegation that you are not making the correct pay deductions from their pay, you may decide to conduct a workplace investigation. For example, you might be required to make superannuation payments on behalf of the employee, and a complaint might be made if these are not being made correctly.
You may also decide to conduct a workplace investigation to confirm that you are making the correct pay deductions for things such as paid leave, employee contributions towards superannuation, or other deductions that are legally required. If you have an employee who is particularly difficult to get along with, or who has a long history of workplace disputes with other employees, you may want to conduct a workplace investigation to confirm that you are making the correct pay deductions.
Detect and deter unlawful discrimination and harassment in your workplace
If you have employees who are not getting along, or you are aware that there are some employees who are regularly discriminating or harassing others, you may decide to conduct a workplace investigation.
You may want to investigate allegations of unlawful discrimination based on race, sex, sexual preference, age, religious beliefs, or other factors. You may also want to investigate allegations of unlawful harassment on the same grounds.
If you believe that some employees are discriminating against others on the basis of their race, sex, or another relevant factor, you can take action against them. If you have sufficient evidence to prove that discrimination has taken place – for example, if you have audio-recorded comments made by certain employees – you can take disciplinary action against them.
Help with detecting rot in your recruitment processes, such as identity fraud
If you are conducting interviews and recruiting new staff, you may become aware of people who are trying to use false identities to get a job with your company.
You may want to conduct a workplace investigation to verify the identity of candidates who you believe are trying to use false identities to get a job with you. If you are recruiting staff online, you may want to conduct a workplace investigation to verify the identity of candidates who want to work for you. You may want to investigate if you believe one or more of the candidates is trying to use a false identity.
Provide evidence for any action you decide to take based on your investigation.
If you decide to take disciplinary action against an employee, you may want to conduct a workplace investigation to confirm your suspicions.
You may want to investigate if you believe that an employee is breaching company policy but does not have enough evidence to take disciplinary action against them. You may also want to investigate if you believe that an employee has been falsely accused of breaching company policy. For example, an employee may make a complaint against another employee based on incorrect information.
Your investigation should include interviewing the parties involved, collecting relevant evidence such as emails, and taking the appropriate measurements where necessary. Your investigation should also include documenting everything that is discovered during the investigation process. When you have completed your investigation, you should be able to provide a written report that includes your conclusions and the evidence that you discovered during the investigation process.
How do Workplace Investigations Work?
Your workplace investigation will depend on the type of investigation you decide to conduct. For example, if you want to investigate allegations of discrimination, you will conduct a very different investigation to someone who wants to investigate allegations of wage fraud.
Your investigation may include interviewing relevant witnesses, collecting and reviewing relevant documents, and conducting forensic analysis where necessary.
Your investigation will also include documenting everything you do during the investigation process. When you have completed your investigation, you will want to provide a written report that includes your conclusions and the evidence that you discovered during the investigation process. It is important to note that your investigation will be much more effective if you approach it in a methodical manner.
Why use a third party investigator for workplace investigations?
There are many advantages to using a third-party investigator for workplace investigations.
These include:
- You are less emotionally invested in the outcome of the investigation than the people who work in the office. You can approach the investigation with a fresh pair of eyes and a level head.
- You may be able to remain completely impartial. If you are conducting the investigation yourself, you may feel pressure to give an employee who you like the benefit of the doubt, even if the evidence suggests that they are not telling the truth.
- You may have a more comprehensive knowledge of the law relating to the investigation. You may know which areas of the investigation are most important and which can be left out.
- You may have a greater knowledge of the technology that is required for the investigation. Your team may not be able to conduct a computer forensics investigation if they don’t have the necessary expertise.
- You may be able to bring in specialists to help with the investigation. For example, you may conduct an investigation into sexual harassment and decide to bring in an expert on sexual harassment to help you with the investigation.
What Will an Investigation Cost?
The cost of an investigation will vary depending on the type of investigation you decide to conduct. For example, an investigation into wage fraud is likely to be more expensive than an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment. The costs of an investigation will also be determined by how long the investigation takes.
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