Workplace Harassment and Code of Conduct Investigations
Buckingham investigative experts offer knowledge, experience and the company’s proven process while assisting companies with conflict, harssassment and code of conduct violation issues. Utilizing our independent team to assess these sensitive investigations helps for a timely conclusion with as little disruption to the workplace as possible. Company leadership will be provided with an extensive, detailed, and confidential report including documentation and backup materials. The goal is to ensure your company is court-ready if necessary.
Buckingham’s investigative process offers complete coverage and strives to eliminate your company’s risks with the goal of keeping your people safe.
Investigative Services Offered
Misconduct
Corporate policy violations including discrimination, theft, imbalanced relationships, insubordination, and breaking confidentiality
Compliance
As it relates to government regulations
Corporate Malfeasance
Bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, insider trading, extortion and other malicious acts perpetrated by officers, executives and other high-ranking individuals within a corporation
Background checks for new employees
A thorough examination, similar to what exists at the highest levels of government
Workers' Compensation
Employee's claim of an injury or illness that was caused by their job or by a harmful work environment
Workplace Harassment Solutions
Investigations & Training
Buckingham has a specialized task force that solely focuses on harassment investigations and training. We’re committed to helping our clients develop and maintain a respectful workplace and help identify and address inappropriate behaviour. Unfortunately, it happens, and when it does, it can erode morale and foster a negative work environment that affects employee well-being and company effectiveness. Furthermore, a failure to instill respectful workplace principles or respond quickly to inappropriate behaviour can lead to situations of perceived or real harassment, which is a serious workplace violation. Buckingham experts are helping companies across Canada reduce this risk.
The Buckingham procedure rejects the myopic approach of simply identifying those in violation of policy. The process, which uses procedural fairness as its foundation, seeks to identify and collect all available information and compile it in a professional and unbiased report for company management to evaluate. Our investigation process is focused on the restorative rather than punitive, unless, of course, an employee is in breach of the company’s harassment policy or code of conduct policy. Our goal is to help your company create a culture of respect and a harassment-free workplace.
Six Reasons to Prioritize a Safe Workplace
- All companies are required to have a harassment policy and procedure in place, at both the federal and provincial level. Harassment is included in the Labour Code (Bill C-65)
- Harassment is now considered a workplace hazard and, subsequently, a workplace injury
- Companies are legally required to investigate, obtain facts and make informed decisions
- Procedural fairness
- Reducing incidents of harassment will facilitate an improved and positive workplace culture
- A harassment-free workplace will reduce costly litigation and grievances
Workplace Harassment Solutions
Creating a harassment-free workplace is good business – one that facilitates professional relationships among employees and management, and contributes to a healthy environment. In addition, eliminating harassment allows a company to mitigate risk, protect its people, and eliminate or reduce costly legal fees. What’s more, it helps diminish absenteeism and employee turnover. We understand the challenges of harassment in the workplace and have worked to provide a set of workplace harassment solutions.
How to Reduce Incidents of Harassment in the Workplace
- Create harassment policies and procedures, including an internal complaint process
- Require harassment-awareness training for all employees
- Promote diversity and inclusion
- Provide ongoing, interactive, and specialized training for those individuals who are responsible for receiving and resolving harassment complaints
- Ensure that any complaint or suspicion of harassment is taken seriously and stopped
- Offer informal resolution to the affected parties, utilizing a trained mediator
- Communicate your company’s plan regarding these issues to ensure that every employee understands the company’s position
