PI’s descend on Birminham – The PI’s Diary reports!

October 27th, 2008

The day started early for me as i needed to be at the hotel by 11am to take notes for WAPI’s 2008 AGM also being held at the Hyatt Hotel in Birmingham. It was my last day as WAPI’s General Secretary. Just as well cause I wasn’t very good at that role. For the full details of the AGM please refer to the WAPI website.

I was subsequently elected onto the governing council (GC) of WAPI in charge of Electronic Media (SEO). Hopefully I will do a much better job of this role than my last one.

Beverly Flynn from Insight Investigations did an absolutely marvellous job in organising the WAPI 2008 Banquet.

2008 WAPI Annual Banquet on October 25th 2008 – The World Association of Professional Investigators, WAPI, is a professional body, formed by professionals, for professionals. It covers all areas of investigation, public sector and private sector, companies and individuals, corporate and domestic.

WAPI meets the need for a worldwide organisation, which can provide a focal point for investigators. It promotes the profession internationally and provides networking opportunities through which members can exchange ideas, knowledge, methods, advice, education and working assignments.

The WAPI Governing Council have elected to host the 2008 WAPI Annual Banquet on October 25th 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Central Birmingham a favourite Venue due to its central location, ease of access from around the UK and for our Overseas Guests alike!

Well after having donned my tuxedo, I joined the rest of the GC on the line-up in order to greet all the guests. After about 10 hand shakes, the novelty was wearing off. Unlike when I was there at the WAPI Banquet 2006, I actually knew loads of people who were attending including 10 members of e-LEGAL | Gathering, one of which, Maria Cooper of Warwickshire Investigation Agency won an award for Best Newcomer of the year.

The table where I was sat was at the back of the room which worked out quite well as it allowed us to talk without annoying the speakers too much. to my left was my friend and colleague Freddy from The Arabian Knight Ltd, next to him was Victoria Mitchell from Foxglove and Surveillance Services, then there was Maria Cooper (Warwickshire Investigation Agency) and her partner Kim, Neil Sheppard (Trident Investigations Ltd) and his Fiancé Kerry and last but not least, David Claire and Matt Frost from Alpha Detective Agency. Also there but not at our table was Tony Goring (Aclarado Enquiries) and KPS (DK Investigations).

Well all in all it was a good night and the band was great.

Posted in Networking, Private Investigator | 1 Comment »

Is blogging the new whistle-blowing?

October 18th, 2008

Rather than simply being a bit of harmless fun, have blogs actually prompted a change in working practices? Is this perhaps a new way of getting unscrupulous or old-fashioned employers to change their ways, or a dangerous employment game with potential gross misconduct consequences?

What do you do if you find out your employees are writing about you on the internet? Do you join in and build on a popular listing, thereby showing you’ve got a sense of humour and are open to feedback, or do you throw the book at them and try to get the site pulled immediately? I guess that largely depends on what they’re writing, but when it’s something you’d prefer stayed behind closed doors, then you could legitimately be looking at a gross misconduct dismissal for bringing the company name into disrepute, or even perhaps, breach of confidentiality depending on the contents and what’s already in the public domain.

We’ve already seen cases where employees have been sacked for what’s been written in their blogs (remember Waterstones some two years or so ago, when blogging was strictly for geeks?), but as the media continues to obsess about the time spent by employees on social networking sites like Facebook (I have to confess it is rather addictive, and yes, I have been going on there in work time – sorry!), could this actually become a legitimate way of raising concerns about a company?

Could the blog become the new whistle-blowing letter to the firm’s accountants or other nominated ‘safe’ contact of the future, and thus give the author automatic protection from recriminations from the firm??? Could these sorts of postings be deemed to be in the public interest? Might we see future legislation or maybe case law indicating that the practice of blogging is the worker’s ‘right’ to freedom of speech, and that any wrong-doing highlighted therein is a ‘protected disclosure’?

Sounds a bit far-fetched for the time-being, but who knows – with the way case law and legislation is going in this country – watch this space!

Posted in Human Resources, Legal Services | No Comments »