Workplace Investigations Archives - Page 3 of 7

Workplace investigations: Interviews, note taking and other best practices

September 23, 2015

The decision in Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco & Grain Millers International Union, Local 410 v. Canada Bread Company Limited, 2015 CanLII 20939 (NL LA) was interesting not only for its outcome, but equally for the description of the workplace investigation conducted into the horseplay/violence incident giving rise to the grievance arbitration. This incident occurred on April

« Savoir-faire » – Effectuer des enquêtes en milieu de travail dans ma langue seconde

August 25, 2015

J’ai grandi en parlant en français. Quand j’étais petite et que je jouais avec mes amis dans le quartier, on parlait en français ou en anglais selon les mots qui nous venaient à l’esprit. On vivait dans une communauté composée de familles anglophones, de familles francophones ou de familles bilingues, alors la langue n’était jamais

“Savoir faire” – Conducting workplace investigations in my second language

August 11, 2015

I grew up speaking French. From the time that I was little and playing with my friends in the neighbourhood, we spoke French or English depending upon what words came to mind. We lived in a community with English families, French families or bilingual families so language was never a dividing line – we were

Avoiding bias during respondent interviews

July 9, 2015 | By Cory Boyd

In preparing for an upcoming course on bias, I have been thinking about the potential impacts that various biases might have on the respondent interview in a workplace investigation. While investigators often turn their minds to issues such as racial or cultural bias, as well as biases that might flow from a personal relationship, another

Credibility assessment: No problem for NSHRC Board of Inquiry Chair

January 8, 2015

I would venture to say that many, if not most of us have struggled with credibility assessments in our practices. Whether interviewing witnesses in workplace investigations or as legal counsel preparing clients to give evidence, we are alive to what is being said and how it is being received. More often than not decisions arising

Punch causes nose bleed, but is not enough to be cause for dismissal

December 18, 2014

A recent decision from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice proves how challenging just cause dismissals can be for employers. In this case, the Court found that an employee who punched a co-worker in the nose did not deserve the “capital punishment” in employment law – dismissal for cause. The employee had 15 years of

Atlantic provincial governments’ respectful workplace policies – the must haves

November 25, 2014

A client recently asked if I knew of any Respectful Workplace Policies that could be used as a framework for creating their own policy. While I am familiar with a number of large organizations’ policies, I began wondering where I would turn if I was to begin searching for greater insight into what should go

Conducting workplace investigations on the road

October 20, 2014 | By Cory Boyd

Occasionally I am asked to conduct investigations in remote parts of the country. Through discussions with the client, it is typically agreed that I will travel to one of their regional offices in order to conduct a number of the interviews in person. As I will only be making one trip, it is always important

Serious insight for serious situations.