Grievance and Disciplinary Hearings

Grievance and Disciplinary Hearings

When things go wrong at work, we’re here to help.
If you have been invited to a disciplinary hearing or meeting, it is likely that your employer is concerned about your conduct, capability, sickness record or any other reason affecting your work.

A disciplinary meeting is held between employee and employer to discuss issues such as:

• Absence
• Timekeeping
• Health and safety
• Performance
• Discrimination
• Misconduct

Depending on the outcome employees have the right to appeal against the decision, usually within a specified time period, in writing.  It is likely this would lead to an appeal meeting, where again you have the right to be accompanied by a work colleague or union representative.

Grievance Hearings

A grievance is a problem, concern or complaint made by an employee to their employer, relating to their employment. You may wish to raise a concern about a particular behaviour, unwanted conduct, situation or changes to the terms and condition of an employment contract. 

Grievances are often raised in situations where there is:

• Bonus dispute
• Unfair dismissal
• Constructive dismissal
• Detriment or lack of career progression
• Impact on an employment law claim
• Forces the employer to listen
• Employees making a formal grievance are afforded protection of their Statutory Rights when raising a formal grievance to their employer.
• There are usually five stages to the grievance process as follows:
• A grievance is prepared and submitted by the employee
• The employer investigates the grievance
• The employer meets with the employee
• The outcome is published
• The employee is given the right of appeal

We offer a free initial consultation where we can assess your case and tell you your rights, as well as whether your Grievance has been handled in the correct manner by your employer.
To speak to one of our expert Disciplinary and Grievance Solicitors get in touch today.

Acas code of practice

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) code of practice sets out guidelines for handling disciplinary procedures informally. The code itself is not legally binding. However, if the case goes to court, a failure to follow it will be taken into account, potentially adjusting any payouts by up to 25%.

According to the code, an employer should follow several disciplinary steps:

1. First, a letter will be sent to the employee to clearly state the problem, with full details about what has been done wrong. There should be an opportunity for the employee to respond to this.
2. A meeting will be held to discuss the issue further. No disciplinary action should be taken before the meeting has occurred.
3. A disciplinary decision will be reached. Normally, the employee will find out about this in written form soon after the meeting.
4. After the action has been decided, there should be an opportunity to appeal the decision. The appeal should be done within a reasonable amount of time from the original decision, and be in written form.

Employers should have a written record of disciplinary rules and procedures to deal with employee conduct and performance, and it must be made available to all staff.