When do evidence and data not provide the "truth"?

……when you’ve only got part of the picture!

According to J.Edgar Hoover “Justice is incidental to law and order”. In other words, the outcome of a criminal law process may not always be the just outcome. “Right” won’t always mean “right”! And employment cases have their own laws and policies to follow.

Luckily, when dealing with employment cases, we are using a different threshold for deciding our outcome - balance of probabilities rather than beyond reasonable doubt. Which does give more scope for a just outcome. But it did spark some debate at a recent disciplinary hearing I chaired….

….it was questioned, how could “fact” backed up by “evidence” not be guaranteed to be the outcome? For example, if the individual gave their evidence and two witnesses said the same, that must be true? Well, no, there might be another two witnesses who say the opposite.

And what about evidence that something definitely happened, that must be true? Again, not necessarily! We need to consider other elements including context and custom and practice. For example, an individual, Michael, may provide evidence that both he and his colleague, Jermaine, were both at a meeting (along with a few other colleagues). What this doesn’t prove is how long they were there, what was discussed, what actions were agreed, and so on.

Or, perhaps, there’s a query over expenses and the amount being spent on hospitality when meeting clients. The individual has provided receipts so the expenses definitely exist, there’s evidence! But do the expenses fit within the organisation’s policy, can the full amount be claimed? If the policy is vague, what is the usual expectation in this situation, is there any custom and practice within the organisation or industry?

Finally, how about data, that has to be true…..perhaps not! Is everything included? If you’ve taken a sample, is it representative? How is the data analysed, does that introduce any bias? Could there be other interpretations of the data you’ve obtained?

To chat through your use of evidence and data, get in touch with me at CG Pro-Active HR - free of charge sounding board 👍

(as is usual, all names have been changed, all cases are subject to an element of descriptive licence)