Getting the facts right

Overview

Tribunals, appeal panels and regulators rarely see what happened; they see the record of what happened. This module covers a fair investigation step by step, drawing on the 2026 NHS Wales Disciplinary Policy and Sainsbury's v Hitt, how far an investigation should go, interviewing witnesses, writing a balanced report, people data and subject access under UK GDPR, and monitoring at work, with an illustrative case of a complaint investigated twice. This capstone brings the programme together by reading three cases through several lenses at once: the Supreme Court decision in Tesco Stores v USDAW on promises and fire and rehire, Birmingham City Council's equal pay liability and bin workers' dispute, and an illustrative Welsh council managing a TUPE transfer, a team merger, a whistleblowing concern and a grievance. It draws out five shared threads and sets out the employment relationship as one loop.

What you'll develop

In this Bitesize, you will develop the ability to:

1. 1Plan a fair investigation, from assessment and terms of reference to an independent investigator, evidence gathering and a decision on the balance of probabilities.
2. 2Use open, fair interviewing and write an investigation report that shows the evidence and reasoning for each finding without prejudging the sanction.
3. 3Apply data protection principles to people records, subject access requests and workplace monitoring.
4. 4Explain how Tesco Stores v USDAW shows that a promise in a contract can be enforced, and how the law on fire and rehire is changing.
5. 5Analyse a workplace situation through several lenses at once, including contract, equality, consultation, speaking up and records.