A complaint to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) about a member of staff prompted it to investigate an employee's actions and inappropriate use of an email account.
What happened
An ACAS employee, who also worked for another organisation where she was effectively an employer, used her ACAS email account to advise her colleagues at the other organisation on employment matters. Several employees reported this to ACAS as an inappropriate use of the ACAS email account, because the employer was not acting in an official capacity as a representative of ACAS, and there was a conflict of interest. ACAS carried out two investigations but found no detriment to the other organisation's staff.
What we found
We investigated ACAS' handling of the complaints and found that it had not initially carried out a proportionate or fair investigation when it was first approached by four separate people. However, ACAS went on to identify its shortcomings and commission an independent and in-depth investigation. We concluded that ACAS' subsequent actions were sufficient to put matters right. We did not uphold the complaint against ACAS.
Putting it right
ACAS went on to strengthen and improve its email usage policy and to set up a national complaints process.
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)
UK
Did not apologise properly or do enough to put things right
Not applicable