Waikato Business News July/August 2019

50 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS July/August 2019
WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY
Workplace Health and Safety
Legally Compliant Employment Investigations.
Increasingly Employers are encountering situations that
require a formal investigation to be undertaken. These
may be employment or health and safety related and may
involve several people being interviewed.
The requirements regarding Procedural Fairness and
Natural Justice must be met in any investigation process to
ensure the final report is not jeopardised on a procedural
basis. Procedural Fairness requires that the parties being
interviewed are provided with all information relevant to the
investigation prior to the date of their interview, that they
are given the opportunity to comment / respond to this and
are advised of their rights to seek independent support and
representation. Natural Justice is the rule against bias and the
right to a fair hearing.
When required to undertake an investigation into an
employment related matter, the Employer should ensure that
their actions or presence do not unreasonably compromise
the integrity of the investigation process. A simple checklist
would include:
• Have you been involved in the matter requiring investigation?
• Do you have sufficient knowledge of the matter requiring
investigation?
• Are you able to look at the matter objectively?
• Are you independent of the parties’ subject to the investigation?
• Will your involvement compromise the integrity of the
investigation?
• Do you have the skills to undertake a thorough investigation?
• Do you have the time available to undertake the investigation
efficiently?
If you are not able to say ‘yes’ to each of the above principles
the final investigation outcome may be compromised
and open to legal challenge by the Employee under investigation.
Often Employers have the required skills and knowledge
to investigate a situation, they may even have the required
skills to be able to undertake a comprehensive investigation,
however their relationship with the parties under investigation
may be too ‘familiar’ with this opening their outcome
report to allegations of bias and predetermination – even if
they have sought to adopt an independent stance throughout
the process. In such cases, the Employer should consider
assigning the investigation to another manager from outside
the immediate work area associated with the investigation or
engage a suitably skilled independent party to manage the
Russell and Linda-Maree Drake
Russell Drake Consulting
Phone: (07) 838 0018
Email: info@russelldrakeconsulting.co.nz
www.russelldrakeconsulting.co.nz
investigation on their behalf.
With the costs of successful Personal Grievance claims
increasing significantly in the last 12 months, the Employer is
often faced with the question as to save costs by undertaking
the investigation internally – possibly increasing their risk
of Personal Grievance, or invest money in an independent
investigator and potentially reduce the risks of a successful
and expensive Personal Grievance.
If you are uncertain as to whether your own involvement
in an investigation is a risk or not, please feel free to call us
to discuss your options.
202518AA
Connecting businesses and people with health and safety
• Health and safety management
processes
• Investigations
• Audits, inspections, reviews
• Health and safety education
• Guidance, advice and
information
• Management of health and
safety
We are passionate about connecting
people with health and safety. We
will consult with business owners/
directors, provide education to staff,
supply tailored health and safety
documentation, or help you put the
right systems and processes in place. If
you want to create a culture change in
your business, we can provide you with
practical solutions. We can give you
the guidance, support and assistance
you need, enabling you to understand
and own your health and safety, while
ensuring your processes are simplistic
and meet compliance requirements.
Is your Waikato
business ready for the
tightening H&S rules?
This is a question that Waikato based
Health & Safety consultant, Gavin
Lysaght thinks about a lot. In his
work for Securo Health & Safety, he visits
clients in-person according to a regular
schedule throughout the year.
Gavin has found that these on-site visits
are a key way for clients to ensure they
are making incremental improvements to
their Health & Safety system “Having a
third-party visit your office or worksite on a
regular basis makes you view your facility
through fresh eyes” explains Gavin.
“When the next wave of rule changes
come along, many of our clients have a very
short to-do list in order to comply, because
they are already operating at a best-practice
level.”
“Starting with our Securo Site Audit is a
popular option for businesses wanting such
a fresh perspective” explains Gavin. To find
out more visit www.Securo.co.nz/site-audit.
To make an appointment or to
talk over your options, contact Gavin
Lysaght, on 027 239 3096 or email
securowai@securo.co.nz.
www.Securo.co.nz
To connect with us, contact:
Tracey (Director)
027 417 3664
Lionel (Consultancy Assistant)
027 227 4889
www.hsconnexions.co.nz
202467AA