Dealing with Difficult Complaints

Workplace complaints become complex for several reasons, including due to the small percentage of complainants who behave in ways that are, shall we say, counterproductive to their own interests.

In today’s episode our host James Judge is joined by two experts with decades of experience dealing with difficult and complex workplace complaints, Chris Wheeler and Gabrielle Sullivan.  Chris is a former NSW Deputy Ombudsman and has extensive experience in conducting hearings, formal workplace investigations as well as developing guidelines for complaint handling, whistleblowing and ethical conduct. Gabrielle is a NSW Accredited Specialist in Employment and Industrial Relations and Director in the Employment Law and Investigations Group at BAL Lawyers.

Some topics we cover:

• The most common causes of complex complaints
• Strategies to ensure complaints don’t escalate
• Legally speaking, what is procedural fairness and how does it apply in workplace investigations?
• How mental health and personality disorders can impact complaint handling
• The ins and outs of privacy, secrecy, confidentiality and reasonable disclosure, for complainants, whistleblowers and complaint handlers
• Ways to avoid criminal charges and litigation when addressing workplace complaints

Resources we mention:

• The Dunning and Kruger effect