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Flawed investigation leads to monetary compensation for former employee
Written by: Jessica LeeArticle Overview: In a recent unfair dismissal case brought before the AIRC, the AIRC found that while an employee's conduct warranted dismissal, the dismissal was nevertheless harsh, unjust and unreasonable because of the procedural fairness failures by the Company.
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Flawed investigation leads to monetary compensation for former employee
The Company, Downer EDI Rail Pty Ltd, terminated the employee over an incident involving a rail car rolling 100 metres under its own momentum into a rail car workshop and crashed into another rail car cashing it to move approximate 14 metres. It was found that the incident could have had fatal consequences particularly in light of the fact that the rail car could have rolled into a public space in the middle of a city and, had the employee been performing his job properly, the incident would not have occurred.
The Company interviewed the employee three times after the incident and allowed him to provide a witness statement. Whilst the employee was given the opportunity to amend his witness statement, he was under the belief that the interviews were part of the investigation process rather than a disciplinary process. The AIRC found that the Company had not, throughout the three interviews, accused the employee personally of any misconduct. The AIRC found that the interview process had morphed into a disciplinary process without the knowledge of the employee, with evidence from the investigation being used to reach conclusions about the employee's conduct.
In addition, the AIRC concluded that while notice of the reasons for the termination were given to the employee, they were not valid because the employee had no concrete indiscretions for which he knew that the Company was finding him accountable for as the Company had not articulated the particulars of the employee’s breach of the Company’s policies and procedures.
The AIRC ordered that the Company pay to the employee three weeks salary in lieu of reinstatement.
HR Tip:
This case shows that employers must be careful when investigating matters and ensuring that both management and employees are aware of the distinction between the investigation process and the disciplinary process. Where an employee is alleged to have participated in misconduct the employee should be made aware of the allegations of the investigation.
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About the Author: Jessica Lee RSS for Jessica's articles - Visit Jessica's website  Click here to visit Jessica's website   Duty of care includes protecting employees from violence outside of work Employer successfully questions an employees medical certificate Flawed investigation leads to monetary compensation for former employee Conducting a faulty investigation can lead to an employees success in an unfair dismissal claim |
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