Across industry sectors, there has been a marked rise in internal investigations into employee complaints and employee conduct. Workplace investigations are crucial for protecting an organization’s health and addressing allegations of misconduct, harassment, discrimination, code of conduct, and policy violations. In Ontario, workplace investigations are not only best practice but also required by legislation, for example, the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Properly conducted investigations can ultimately mitigate risk, safeguard organizational standards, and ideally prevent future issues by identifying underlying problems. However, investigations can also be resource-intensive, disrupt the workplace, and have a significant psychological impact on staff.
To ensure that investigations are used appropriately, incorporating threshold assessment into investigation policies and practices can be an important tool.
Threshold Assessment
Before activating the machinery of an investigation, employers should first ask whether the issue raised by the complainant necessitates a full investigation. This is also known as conducting a threshold assessment.
The first consideration in a threshold assessment for workplace investigations is a preliminary review to determine if the allegations, even if true, would actually rise to the level of violating company policy or legislation. This can assist in filtering trivial complaints or misplaced objections from more legitimate complaints.
A secondary consideration at the threshold stage is for an employer to ask themselves, “is it possible that the alleged conduct could have even occurred”? This prong of a threshold assessment will be germane in much more limited circumstances, but it is still worth being mindful of and applying this factor in order to properly assess complaints.
The threshold assessment of complaints can be determined by the employer internally, but in certain circumstances, employers may seek the expertise of external investigators to assist.
This assessment is important, because if a complaint does not meet the threshold, other resolution options can be explored to address the issue, minimize costs and disruption in the workplace.
Importance of a Threshold Assessment
In Northwest Territories v. Union of Northern Workers (2025), the arbitrator found that the employer’s investigation was unreasonable and that the employer erred by failing to conduct any preliminary assessment or to seek out particulars of the allegations. This case signifies that threshold assessments are not only a recommended best practice, but that an employer may also be penalized for not conducting the appropriate assessment prior to conducting a broad investigation and placing an employee on administrative leave.
Transparency of a Threshold Assessment
To create transparency and build trust within the organization, it is recommended that employers expressly incorporate language that reflects a threshold assessment into their complaints/investigation policies. This makes individuals aware, prior to filing a complaint, that employers have the discretion not to proceed with an investigation should the threshold assessment not be satisfied.
Greenwood Law specializes in conducting impartial workplace investigations and advising both employers and employees through an investigation process at any stage. If you are currently dealing with a workplace issue and are not sure if the next steps should include an investigation, contact Greenwood Law.
