Need Help With a Workplace Investigation?
When dealing with a disciplinary or grievance issue, or other workplace issue which requires investigation, having an impartial investigator is an invaluable way to ensure that the process is dealt with effectively, professionally and in a timely manner.
Our experienced team of HR experts and former employment lawyers regularly deal with a large number of complex investigations for schools, charities and businesses, and ensure investigations are thorough, effective and cause minimal disruption.
We investigate disciplinary allegations, employee grievances, bullying and harassment, allegations of discrimination, whistle-blowing, employee fraud, parental complaints and breakdowns in trust and confidence, including at senior level.
Please get in touch to find out how we can support you with a workplace investigation. Our confidential, practical and solution focused approach is always guaranteed.
How We Can Help
Impartial Investigation
As we are external to your organisation, we look at the issues raised impartially. Your investigation may also be sensitive, or involve senior staff members, so an external investigator can be a real benefit.
Save Time
Investigations can be time consuming and hard for senior leaders to carry out alongside their usual duties. Investigations can span over weeks or even months, and can involve meeting with numerous witnesses and hundreds of pages of evidence.
Investigation Experts
Many of our HR consultants have previously worked as employment lawyers, so we understand how employment law requires investigations to be carried out properly, to produce a balanced and impartial report that will stand up to scrutiny, potentially in an Employment Tribunal.
Our Investigation Process
Background
The first step is for us to find out some details from you about the issues under investigation. That may be a phone call or by you sending relevant documents through to us. We will review all the relevant documents and policies and discuss the process with you.
Terms of Reference
We then work with you to prepare the Terms of Reference. This sets out the areas that we are asked to look into, the list of people that we have been asked to interview and the likely timescale of the investigation. This is a critical stage in an investigation and is often overlooked. The Terms of Reference document can be updated and changed over time, as the scope of an investigation may change, and it is worth noting that sometimes it becomes apparent that we need to interview other people and in that case we will discuss that with you and discuss the most proportionate approach.
Interviews
Having read the background documents and policies, we will then set up the interviews. We take notes of the interview and send them to the interviewee to check, amend and approve. It’s often the case that the people we interview will send us further documents, which we will consider and add to the documentary evidence. When we have interviewed everyone, we will then prepare our investigation report. Interviews can be done remotely online to save on time and cost.
Investigation Report
In the investigation report we analyse the evidence we have received in a logical and clear way and set out our findings and conclusions. We set out the evidence we have analysed in relation to each allegation and then stating our findings and conclusions.
Recommendations
If we have been asked to do so, we also set out our recommendations for the next steps. We will add as appendices to the report the notes of the interviews we have carried out and the documentary evidence we have collected. Critically, investigators are not decision makers and we will not make recommendations on possible sanctions for example, as that would be to overstep our remit. Our aim is to make our reports speak for themselves, so that the key evidence is referred to and our findings, conclusions and recommendations are clear.
Cost
We charge for our investigations work on the basis of an agreed day rate and will can provide a costs estimate once we have had an initial discussion about the work involved.
Are Your Line Managers Confident in Dealing with Employment Issues?
Managers are often expected to deal with HR and Employment issues without any training.
We offer HR & Employment Law for Managers eLearning to support and upskill managers in a variety of areas such as dealing with grievances, addressing performance issues, holding effective appraisals and much more. Brought to you by VWV Plus eLearning Solutions.
Testimonials
“Andrew, with his expertise in education HR, was just so good. Knowledgeable, efficient and supportive. A good listener and adviser. The other Panel members agree that the process went so smoothly due to Andrew’s expertise and careful guidance. Andrew needed to refer some matters to your legal team as the issue was sensitive. That advice came back promptly and clearly. This gave all of us confidence in the decision Andrew guided us towards – which it what we thought but having Andrew’s reassurance was invaluable. Cannot commend Andrew Miles highly enough.”
“We have used Narrow Quay’s retained HR service for the last year, and it has been transformational for us. Our senior managers now feel supported when navigating some often complex HR issues, and know that there is a professional yet empathetic voice at the end of the email or phone. The advice provided has been nuanced to our organisation, pragmatic, in-depth and salient. Requests have been responded to in a very timely way and frequent communication over the phone is always much welcomed – it is much easier to talk HR issues through. We are delighted with our relationship with Narrow Quay and look forward to another year of working together.”
“Massive belated thank you to Simon Martin for delivering a tailored session for our managers at Phoenix on employment law and HR challenges. A really engaging session providing fundamentals and stories of where things can go wrong if you don’t keep employees at the heart of your organisation. Great to be back working together again – creating healthy work cultures”
“This is essential training for any organisation. The content was well delivered by staff with well-grounded knowledge and expertise, and the session was dynamic and interactive. It really got the staff team to think about their personal biases and our institutional practice. It has heightened our awareness and further opened the door for us to continue the discussions about our organisational culture.”
“Narrow Quay HR were recommended to me to help with a complex and sensitive consultation process. I was immediately impressed with their professional, friendly and proactive approach. They had a keen understanding of the education sector and as an independent school I found their expert assistance invaluable”
“Participants’ feedback was overwhelmingly positive with every session being rated either Good or Outstanding. This was one of the best professional development days that we have had from an external provider and I can recommend Sarah and Caitlin without hesitation.”
“It was a constructive and positive experience working with the Narrow Quay team. We were provided with expert contextual advice and the professional, fully-engaged service helped us resolve a number of complex HR issues, aiding whole School strategic development. Highly recommended.”
“Caitlin always considers our situation holistically, taking the bigger picture view, and delivers a creative, original and well considered opinion.”
“Sarah’s advice has been excellent throughout.”
“We have used Simon on occasions to meditate between colleagues. We were very pleased with the resolution and the parties have a much-improved working relationship. We would happily use Simon and Narrow Quay’s services again.”
Other Services
Workplace Mediation
Manage workplace conflict effectively and confidentially with our professional and impartial mediators. Find pragmatic, effective solutions for all involved.
HR Solutions & Retainers
Whether you need a monthly retained contract to help manage day-to-day HR issues, or want a trusted expert to use as a regular sounding board, we offer flexible and practical options.
Employment Contracts & HR Audit
Tailored employment documents and professional, fixed-fee HR audits ensure you have a strong, consistent and legally compliant employment practice.