Sexual harassment complaints always give rise to extreme anxiety and emotion on both sides. The claimant may be traumatised by their experiences. They may also fear the potential repercussions of coming forward. On the other hand, the accused person may feel anger or shame. They may feel anxious about how these allegations will affect their career and professional reputation, their marriage and their friendships with other colleagues.

An experienced investigator will know how to minimise the impact of the investigation on involved parties while drawing out the information they need to make sound determinations about whether sexual harassment has occurred.

Our experienced investigators are used to working with highly emotional people, in a wide range of workplaces, in cases with high levels of complexity and sensitivity. The investigator will quickly determine relevant sources of evidence and pertinent witnesses. They will conduct confidential audio recorded formal interviews and assess the credibility of each witness.

They will quickly determine whether allegations of sexual harassment can be substantiated and provide a detailed report containing an analysis of all of the evidence collected and findings in relation to each allegation. Typically, the investigator will not advise you on whether disciplinary action is warranted. That will be a job for your Human Resource professionals or legal advisers.

STEPS FOR GETTING STARTED

If you’d like to know more about how we conduct sexual harassment/misconduct investigations, or if you’re unsure about whether you need to conduct a sexual harassment investigation, our experts are available to speak with you any time.

If you’ve decided to engage an independent specialist to investigate allegations of sexual harassment, please give us a call to discuss next steps. We are available to start at short notice.