Are participants in a workplace investigation, as complainant or alleged perpetrator of misconduct, ‘untouchable’ by their employer – can their performance be managed, can they be disciplined, can they be retrenched without risk of court proceedings against the employer?

There is a view in legal and HR circles that the threat of claim by employees in the Fair Work Commission’s ‘adverse action’ jurisdiction means participation in a workplace investigation makes participants immune from any ‘adverse action’ by their employer. The action is not even justified by circumstances unrelated to the facts the subject of the investigation if it is merely contemporaneous with the investigation. This is a myth!
Continue Reading Participants in a workplace investigation – The Untouchables?