An employer must follow and complete the statutory minimum disciplinary and dismissal procedure if they are considering disciplinary or dismissal of an employee.
An employer's procedure may include more steps than the statutory minimum, but all employers should ensure that they at least complete the three steps which are:
1. Providing a written statement ' to the employee stating that they are considering disciplinary action or dismissal, setting out the complaint(s) against them. The employee should be provided with the evidence/information from any investigations held so that the employee has time to consider these.
2. Arranging a meeting ' once an employee has been provided with a written statement they will be invited to a meeting to discuss the issue(s). The employer must not take any disciplinary action until the meeting has taken place.
An employee has the right to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union representative.
An employee has a duty to attend this meeting, which must be held at a time and place which is reasonable for the employee and anyone accompanying them. If the employee or the person accompanying cannot attend them this should be drawn to the employer's attention immediately and re-arranged. Failure to attend the meeting will affect any potential future claim.
An employee should prepare for the meeting carefully and the employer should explain, at the beginning of the meeting, what will happen during the meeting and outline the allegation(s) against the employee.
Take notes during the meeting.
Once the meeting has come to a close the employer should inform the employee of their decision and the action that will be taken. The employer should also inform the employee that they have a right to appeal the decision and the process that needs to be followed.
3. Arranging an appeal meeting ' if an employee wishes to appeal they should do so in writing stating the reasons for appeal. The employer should invite the employee to a further meeting to discuss the appeal. Again, this must be held at a reasonable time and location and an employee is entitled to be accompanied.
It is important to attend the appeal meeting otherwise any future compensation award by a Tribunal may be reduced.
Suspension
An employer can suspend an employee on full pay without following the procedure set out above. An employee may wish to raise a grievance in regards to the suspension.
If an employee is unsure how to proceed they should seek legal advice.
Where The Disciplinary Procedures Do Not Apply
There are certain circumstances where an employer can dismiss an employee or take disciplinary action without going through the procedures set out above. These are:
collective redundancy, where the employer is proposing to make more than 20 employees redundant and there is a union or employee representative being consulted;
where an employer makes a group of employees redundant but immediately reinstates them under different terms and conditions;
where an employee is dismissed for taking industrial action;
where it would be illegal to continue the employment;
sudden and unforeseen stoppage of the employer's business, e.g. burning down of premises.
In the following circumstance neither employer or employee has to follow the procedure set out above:
if there are reasonable grounds for believing that there would be a serious threat of violence or damage to property by one of the parties;
the employee has suffered harassment and reasonably believes that he/she would be subjected to further harassment should the procedure be followed. Harassment includes conduct which is offensive, humiliating, intimidating or violates dignity;
if it is not possible to begin or complete the procedure within a reasonable time e.g. due to illness.
Help and Advice During Grievance Procedures
Grievance Whilst Employed
The grievance procedure enables an employee to raise any concerns they have about their job, terms and conditions or the way in which a colleague or employer treats them and draws these to the managements' attention.
If an employee has a grievance with their employer, they should try to raise this informally to begin with; either by raising it with the line manager or person specified in the grievance procedures.
It is advisable to keep all correspondence and notes of meetings and conversations relating to any work problems as these may be useful at a later date.
To make a formal grievance three steps must be followed:
Providing a written statement ' this should detail the grievance that an employee has. As a general rule, an employee will not be able to make a claim to the Employment Tribunal until they have submitted a grievance and given the employer 28 days to respond.
Arranging a meeting ' the employer should invite the employee to a meeting, giving the right to be accompanied by a colleague or trade union representative to discuss their grievance. The employee has a duty to attend this meeting or re-arrange if they cannot attend on the specified day.
Arrange an appeal meeting ' an employer must give an employee a chance to appeal the decision made about their grievance. An employee also has a duty to appeal the decision before a tribunal claim can be made. If this is not followed then there is a possibility that any Tribunal award made may be reduced for not completing the procedure.
Grievance After Employment Has Terminated
It may still be necessary to raise a grievance even after an employee has left their job. The correct procedure must be followed otherwise any future Employment Tribunal claim may be jeopardised.
If the three step procedure above has not been instigated before an employee has left their employment, a shorter two-step procedure can be used if the employer agrees, called the Modified Grievance Procedure.
The modified (two-step) procedure requires the following:
Providing a written statement of grievance to the former employer detailing the grievance and requesting for the modified procedure to be followed;
The employer must respond in writing answering the points raised in the grievance letter. An employee still needs to wait for a period of 28 days to elapse before they can make a claim to an Employment Tribunal.
|
