We know that employment law and people issues are increasingly a strategic priority for boards, as they grapple with fast-moving legislative and regulatory changes – many of which have wider consequences from an ESG and/or Sustainability perspective.
Our Quarterly Board Briefing includes a tracker which aims to provide boards with a guide to key upcoming legal changes in the UK, including critical dates, suggested actions and an assessment of any risk/opportunities arising. Although the UK is no longer part of the EU, we know that many of our global clients have operations in continental Europe, and so we also highlight two key pieces of EU legislation to be aware of – the Pay Transparency Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, as both may have significant implications for businesses in 2025 and beyond.
In the Spotlight section at the end of the document, we include additional notes for legal and HR teams on significant hot topics. In this Quarter’s edition, we turn the focus of our Spotlight to Workplace Investigations. We have previously written about the importance of creating a good workplace culture, in light of various falls from grace by those in positions of power or responsibility, from crimes committed by serving police officers, to accusations of bullying by those within the government to name but a few.
However, anyone who has watched the news or opened a newspaper will know that the unsavoury revelations are still coming. We can now add to the roster numerous sexual harassment allegations (and worse) against TV presenters, company chairmen and other senior staff. There remains much to be said about the pre-emptive steps employers can take to avoid these sorts of situations, but the reality is that sooner or later, most businesses will face an allegation of wrongdoing – and will therefore be required to conduct an investigation. Workplace investigations can be complicated, time-consuming and a significant distraction for any business. Furthermore, the manner in which a business handles an investigation can attract as much scrutiny from internal and external stakeholders, as the alleged wrongdoing that led to the investigation in the first place – it will be important that the business acts (and is seen to act) quickly and properly.
We have a cross-practice team of experienced lawyers who conduct a wide range of investigations daily for clients across a number of sectors and jurisdictions. Earlier this quarter, we were thrilled to be named as Winner of the Investigations Team of the Year at the International Employment Lawyer Awards 2024.
To help get you up to speed on what this might mean for your business, we set out our brief answers to some of the key questions the board and senior management may have in relation to this issue and our top five issues to consider when conducting an investigation based on our extensive experience.
We also know that the increased demand for fair and transparent workplace investigations applies around the world. With this in mind, the Spotlight also includes a link to the updated version of our popular Global Snapshot on Workplace Investigations, in which lawyers from our global Labour & Employment team provide outline answers on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis to the key questions that employers are likely to have in relation to workplace investigations.
