The laws require all employers to have a disciplinary procedure. When employees join your company you have to let them know of the disciplinary procedure and examples of actions that will cause the employees to be disciplined and/or dismissed.
You are advice to consult the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) on statutory disciplinary and grievance procedures. ACAS produces a code of practice on disciplinary procedures with details on how to draw up and operate a disciplinary procedure. The code is used as a guideline how reasonable an employer has been if an employee brings a claim for unfair dismissal to an Employment Tribunals.
You can contact ACAS at 0845-7474747 or visit their website at www.acas.org.uk.
Generally, the minimum the law says you have to implement in your disciplinary procedure are discussed below. However, your own disciplinary procedure may allow for more warnings, meetings and other courses of action such as demotion or suspension.
Disciplinary procedures
Step 1: Investigate to establish facts
Investigate the situation fully by talking to the employee concerned and any other employees who might be able to throw some light on the situation. Gather any evidence you can find including emails and letters. Interview any witnesses and take signed written statements from them if necessary.
Step 2: Invite the employee concern to an investigatory meeting.
You must make it clear to them that the meeting is not part of a formal disciplinary procedure. The purpose of the meeting is to give them the opportunity to comment on the allegations.
Step 3:After the meeting
Should you think that a formal disciplinary hearing should be conducted then you must inform the employee concern in writing setting out the allegations include evidences supporting the allegations.
You must give the employee the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or a work colleague.
Step 4: At the hearing
Explain your complaint and your evidences and give the employee the opportunity to state their case, ask questions, give evidence and call their witnesses.
Step 5: Thereafter
If you decide on disciplinary action rather than dismissal, you should write to the employee spelling out what the misconduct is, what has to be done about it and the deadline. And explain the consequences if things don’t change – perhaps a final written warning and then the sack.
Step 6:You must allow the employee the right to appeal
Try to get another person to chair the appeal hearing if possible. If this is not the option then try to be impartially as possible and don’t be afraid to overturned previous decision. After the appeal you have to let the employee know your final decision.
If you do not follow the basic disciplinary procedure and any claim against you from your employees with more than a year of service will be considered automatic unfair dismissal and the employment tribunal can increase the compensation payable to the employees.
Canterbury Accountancy – Helping businesses to understand the employment law.
