Has there been an issue of:

Theft
Violence
Sexual harassment
Racial harassment
Religious discrimination
Drinking alcohol/Drug abuse
Harassment and Bullying
Insubordination
Bringing the Company into disrepute by misconduct outside work hours

These are just some examples that employers may face daily. There will be instances when an employer suspects that an employee has committed theft etc and there may only be circumstantial evidence pointing towards a particular employee, with the employee claiming innocence. There may in some circumstances be evidence of theft etc but the likely perpetrator is one of several employees, what does the employer do? Would it be fair to dismiss all of those under suspicion?

The employment tribunal when looking at the reasonableness of the suspicion held by the employer will consider whether:
- There is established by the employer the fact of that belief and that the employer did believe it.
- That the employer had in his mind reasonable grounds upon which to sustain that belief.
- At the stage of that belief, the employer had carried out as much investigation into the matter as was reasonable in the circumstances.

Thus, the employer must have reasonable grounds for suspicion and we have the experience to assist employers to either carry out an investigation or advise on the adequacy of the employer’s investigation.

“...The range of reasonable responses test (the need to apply the objective standards of the reasonable employer) applies as much to the question whether the investigation into the suspected misconduct was reasonable in all the circumstances of the case as it does to the reasonableness of the decision to dismiss for the conduct reason.”

Lord Justice Mummery
Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd v Hitt, Court of Appeal.

LPD can review your investigation or investigate on your behalf so that you can make an informed decision as to whether to dismiss an individual or not.