In order to dismiss an employee fairly for misconduct the employer must have a genuine belief, based on a reasonable investigation, that the offence was committed. (Please see our Guidance Note on Terminating Employment for further information).

Most investigations can be carried out with the knowledge of the employee. However, it is sometimes necessary to conduct covert investigations, for example to confirm suspicions that the employee is moonlighting or fraudulently claiming to be sick, or, where alerting the employee might prejudice other investigations such as those conducted by the police...subscribe to view the full document