Why choose our lawyers for workplace investigations?
We advise on investigations in relation to a very broad range of issues. We partner with in-house legal and/or HR teams from the point at which an issue is first reported through to completion of an investigation and beyond, to the implementation of follow-up actions.
The
default response to an issue being raised is usually commencing an internal
investigation, and that will often be the right step. We provide flexible
support to investigators and HR/legal professionals on conducting an
investigation and managing any follow-up.
External
investigation may in some cases be more appropriate, because you are looking
for an investigation under privilege to assess your legal exposure, because the
nature of the issue or the position of the individuals involved calls for
independent investigation or simply a because of a lack of internal capacity or
expertise. In these cases, we will either facilitate an investigation by an
independent investigator or carry out the investigation on your behalf.
Once
an investigation is concluded, we are on hand to guide businesses through any
follow-up, be that providing reassurance to an employee who has raised a
concern or helping you to mend team relationships, or, where necessary,
advising on concluding any necessary HR processes, including disciplinary or
grievance processes.
We partner with HR and legal teams from the outset to create an appropriate management strategy and investigation plan which gets to the heart of an issue, minimises disruption to teams and to the wider business and manages risk in relation to possible future disputes.
Where investigations are carried out internally, we offer flexible support depending on your needs. This ranges from hands-on support, including preparing investigation plans, witness lists and scripts, to acting as a sounding board to give you the confidence that you have considered every key avenue of enquiry.
Where an external investigation is more appropriate, we will either carry this out for you (for example where you are looking for an investigation to be carried out under privilege), or we will facilitate investigation by an external party. We have a strong network of barristers with experience managing investigations, and will work closely with them to ensure a seamless process.
We take a pragmatic and proportionate approach and we help you scope investigations in a way that covers key issues without getting lost in the detail. Drawing on our wider practice, including our litigation experience, we spot key pitfalls and issues and cover these off pre-emptively.
Often,
investigations will bring into play different legal frameworks, including data
protection, regulatory and criminal law. Increasingly, we are also seeing
investigations with cross-border elements. In these cases, we are able to
leverage expertise from across the firm as well as our network of specialist
employment colleagues across Europe and partners in "best friends"
firms globally to deliver seamless, integrated support with a single point of
contact.
Key contacts
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Vienna, Austria
- +43 1 928 163 40 18
- Email Philipp
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London, England
- +44 (0)330 460 6724
- Email Nick
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London, England
- +44 (0)330 460 6715
- Email Hannah
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