Scribd
Upload
54 views4 pages

Discipline Tips

When disciplining employees, following a fair procedure and thorough investigation is important to avoid legal issues. Employers must have a strong disciplinary procedure and prove any dismissal was justified. However, it is easy to mishandle the disciplinary process. Unless a fair procedure was followed, an employer may face an unfair dismissal claim even with valid reasons for dismissal. The document provides guidance on conducting disciplinary procedures properly in six steps: investigating issues, setting up meetings, conducting meetings, making decisions, informing employees, and allowing appeals. Key aspects include balancing severity, considering alternatives and mitigating factors, and investigating issues raised in an employee's defense.

Uploaded by

Babangida Garba
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
54 views4 pages

Discipline Tips

When disciplining employees, following a fair procedure and thorough investigation is important to avoid legal issues. Employers must have a strong disciplinary procedure and prove any dismissal was justified. However, it is easy to mishandle the disciplinary process. Unless a fair procedure was followed, an employer may face an unfair dismissal claim even with valid reasons for dismissal. The document provides guidance on conducting disciplinary procedures properly in six steps: investigating issues, setting up meetings, conducting meetings, making decisions, informing employees, and allowing appeals. Key aspects include balancing severity, considering alternatives and mitigating factors, and investigating issues raised in an employee's defense.

Uploaded by

Babangida Garba
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

When it comes to disciplining employees,

failing to follow a fair procedure and


investigate properly can result in a whole host
of legal trouble.
Sacking an employee is a serious matter, which is why an Employment Tribunal will
want to satisfy itself that the decision to dismiss was reasonable and reached after a
fair and robust investigation into the issue. The best way to prove that the sacking
was justified is to have a strong employee misconduct and disciplinary procedure.

Unfortunately for employers, it’s frustratingly easy to bungle the disciplinary process.
You may have a perfectly valid reason to dismiss, but unless you can show that you
have followed a fair procedure, you may find yourself facing a claim for unfair
dismissal. An employee misconduct and disciplinary procedure is absolutely
essential.

We’ve produced a free Employer’s Definitive Guide to Misconduct and Disciplinary


Procedures, which answers some of the common questions employers have when
dealing with employees’ misconduct. The guide offers expert tips and warnings, and
explains how to ensure you’re carrying out a fair process, following best practice and
abiding by the law.

What is a disciplinary procedure and what is it for?


A disciplinary procedure is a process for dealing with perceived employee misconduct.
Depending on the severity of the transgression, there are different avenues an organisation
may take to deal with the misconduct, ranging from an informal discussion with a manager to
more formal proceedings that follow a set process as laid out in your Employee Handbook.

The purpose of a disciplinary procedure is to ensure that employees reach the standards
expected of them, both in terms of their behaviour and their performance. Despite the name,
initiating disciplinary procedures is not all about reprimanding employees; it’s also about
working with employees to maintain high standards of conduct and competence, and
encouraging improvement if they fall below these standards. It also provides an opportunity
for employees to tell their side of the story.

What sorts of behaviour warrant disciplinary action?


Common issues raised as the subject of a disciplinary meeting include poor timekeeping,
unauthorised absence, and email, internet or social media misuse.

Misconduct comes in many different forms; it may be one trivial incident, repeated minor
misconduct that progressively turns into a more serious offence, or an act of gross
misconduct. Acts of gross misconduct are those deemed to be serious enough to destroy the
relationship of trust and confidence between the employer and employee, making the
working relationship impossible to continue. Examples include theft, fraud, harassment,
violence, serious breaches of health and safety rules, damage to company property, and
serious incapacity caused by alcohol or drugs. In such cases, it may be legally acceptable to
dismiss an employee without notice; however, it’s always best to take advice from
an Employment Law specialist before acting.

How to conduct a disciplinary procedure in 6


steps?
1. Ask yourself whether formal proceedings
are necessary
Before rushing into disciplinary action, you should first ask yourself whether you can
resolve the issue through informal channels, or whether disciplinary proceedings are
justified in the circumstances.

For example, you may be confronted with an employee who has committed one
minor act of misconduct, such as turning up late to work, but who otherwise has a
good disciplinary record. In this situation, common sense would dictate that formal
action is likely to be a disproportionate response and will most likely do more harm
than good; a quick word on an informal basis is likely to be enough to resolve the
issue and prevent the problem from escalating further.

2. Investigate the alleged misconduct


Once you decide formal proceedings are necessary, you are duty bound to
investigate. Conducting an investigation is crucial in terms of determining the
fairness of any subsequent dismissal, as it is a central part of the legal test a
Tribunal has to consider.

Depending on the nature of the allegation, the investigation may be very short or
very complicated, lasting a couple of days to a few weeks. For instance, if you have
caught someone taking money out of the till, the investigation into the act itself is
likely to be relatively short. However, if you discover that stock is missing but have
no idea who the culprit is, a longer investigation may be necessary to identify who is
responsible and prove wrongdoing.

The aim of this stage is to fact-find: to determine what happened, when it happened,
where it happened, why it happened, whether anyone else is involved, and whether
anyone else saw what happened. The investigation process typically involves:

 Interviewing witnesses. This may be colleagues or customers. Sometimes it will be


necessary to interview the accused as part of the process, but not always, especially
if the issue is straightforward and the evidence speaks for itself.
 Gathering evidence. This can take a variety of forms, including CCTV footage,
attendance sheets, email correspondence, telephone or computer records, and
witness statements. Investigators must consider evidence which both supports and
challenges the allegations made rather than seeking to prove their assumptions.
This means looking for evidence that an employee may not be guilty of misconduct,
as well as proof of their guilt. This is central to a reasonable investigation which, in
turn, is vital to a fair dismissal.
 While the investigation is being completed, you may need to consider whether
the employee should be suspended on full pay. This is only permitted in
certain circumstances, for example, if you think the employee poses a risk to
your business or other members of staff or that they could tamper with
evidence. However, the time they are suspended for must be as short as
possible and kept under review. It must also be made clear to the employee
that the suspension itself is not a form of disciplinary action.
 A recent decision by the Court of Appeal  has suggested that an employer can
suspend an employee without breaching trust and confidence, an implied
contractual term of all Contracts of Employment, if it has “reasonable and
proper cause” for doing so.

3. Set up a disciplinary meeting


Once the investigation is complete, if there is no case to answer, then no further
action needs to be taken. However, if there appears to be sufficient evidence to
indicate misconduct, the investigating officer must step out of the picture and pass
the evidence onto a disciplinary officer.

It’s important, where possible, that the person who conducts the disciplinary meeting
is not the same person who carried out the investigation. If this isn’t possible, or you
would prefer to trust the process to an independent professional, Ellis Whittam’s
expert HR Consultancy team can conduct investigations and meetings for you.

The disciplinary officer is responsible for inviting the employee by letter to a


disciplinary meeting. The invite letter must:

Step 4: Conduct the meeting


At the disciplinary meeting, you should explain the allegations, go through the evidence, and
give the employee the opportunity to comment upon it. They may raise things in their defence
that require further investigation afterwards; if so, you must gather additional evidence, and
consider it, before coming to a decision (if appropriate).

Step 5: Make a decision


Once all the evidence has been considered, you should adjourn the meeting to decide whether
disciplinary action should be taken, and what this should look like.

When determining the most suitable action to take, it’s important to ask the following
questions:

 Is the sanction fair and reasonable in the circumstances?


 Are there any mitigating circumstances?
 How have similar cases been dealt with?
You may decide to take no action, issue a written warning or final warning, dismiss
the employee, or take other types of action short of dismissal, such as demotion.

Actions such as demotion can only be taken if it is expressly included in the


employee’s Contract of Employment or the employee agrees to it.
6. Inform the employee and let them appeal
Once the meeting has been held and any additional investigations complete, you
must confirm your decision to the employee in writing, setting out why the allegations
are proven and the appropriate sanction. The employee must be given the chance
to appeal if they feel that the decision you have reached is unfair or unreasonable.

If an employee appeals:

5 things to keep in mind when conducting a disciplinary


Balance
Severity
Alternatives
Whistleblowing
Length of service

Make sure you consider and investigate issues an employee raises in their defence.
This is crucial to a fair procedure and is often overlooked.

 An appeal meeting must be arranged. The person responsible for the appeal should
be someone who has not been involved in the investigation or disciplinary meeting.
 You should remind the employee of their right to be accompanied.
 At the appeal meeting, you should run through the employee’s grounds of appeal
and consider each in turn. You may be required to investigate some additional points
following the appeal if you are unable to confirm or answer something based on the
evidence already gathered.
 Once that process is complete, the decision of the appeal must be confirmed in
writing to the employee. This decision will be final.

 Ensure that the employee is given reasonable notice of the hearing;


 Inform them of their right to be accompanied by a fellow colleague or a recognised
Trade Union representative;
 Enclose all of the evidence you are seeking to reply upon; and
 Be clear about the allegations and the potential outcomes of the meeting (for
example, a first written warning, dismissal, etc.)

You might also like