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© Sally Gower 2013

Case law indicates the importance of undertaking a 'fair' investigation.

It is already established that employers must carry out proper investigations as is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case. The Court of Appeal has confirmed that, when looking at the reasonableness of an investigation, tribunals should take into account the severity of the consequences for the employee (Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust v Roldan).

In this case the outcome of the Hearing for the employee could, as well as dismissal, have resulted in a police investigation and deportation. Ensuring a comprehensive and competent investigation will always be important, particularly since it should be noted that the court agreed that the employer had to make a particular effort to be even-handed and fair in the way it conducted the investigation.

Where part of the complainant's version of events was questionable, the employer should have tested this, because it is often the case that if part of a story begins to unravel, other aspects may do so also.

When faced with a case where the evidence consists of two conflicting accounts of an alleged incident with little or no corroboration of either side, employers are not obliged to believe one party and disbelieve the other. It is 'perfectly proper' for the employer to say that they are not satisfied that they can resolve the conflict, in which case they should give the alleged wrongdoer the benefit of the doubt.