You will have seen various reports about the government’s Employment Rights Bill, which is due to make things significantly more complicated, time consuming and costly for employers who wish to part company with problem employees later this year. Fortunately, some of the initial proposals in the Bill have been watered down a little as theContinue reading “Do you have a difficult employee who started in the last year? Act WELL BEFORE October”
Category Archives: Disciplinary
Tempted to call a young employee a ‘stroppy little teenager’? It may cost you thousands if you discriminate against younger employees.
We normally associate age discrimination with older people, but it is just as important to ensure you avoid treating younger workers less favourably. A supermarket was taken to Tribunal when a manager became frustrated with a young employee’s attitude at work and called her a ‘stroppy little teenager’. They ended up paying her significant compensationContinue reading “Tempted to call a young employee a ‘stroppy little teenager’? It may cost you thousands if you discriminate against younger employees.”
How to manage an employee’s appeal against a disciplinary decision
The disciplinary outcome letter will have specified how to appeal against the decision, who to raise the appeal with, and the timescale by which the individual needs to do this after receiving their confirmation letter. As explained in our previous article , unless it is simply not practical the appeal should be heard by aContinue reading “How to manage an employee’s appeal against a disciplinary decision”
How to write a disciplinary hearing outcome letter
In last week’s article we looked at the considerations when making a decision after holding a disciplinary hearing and considering all of the evidence. The next stage, which we discuss today, is confirming the decision in writing to the employee as per the ACAS Code of Practice (see www.acas.org.uk) which, you will recall, tribunals expect employersContinue reading “How to write a disciplinary hearing outcome letter”
How to decide the outcome of a disciplinary Hearing
The outcome is the most impactful part of the disciplinary process for all parties. However, it is only possible for the disciplining manager to arrive at a fair decision if the following steps, as outlined in our previous 4 blog articles, have been carried out fairly and professionally in the preceding days or weeks accordingContinue reading “How to decide the outcome of a disciplinary Hearing”
How to hold a disciplinary hearing, including giving notice of the hearing in writing.
In this article we consider how the disciplining manager should approach the disciplinary hearing, from giving the employee written notice of the hearing through to managing the meeting in a fair and professional way in line with the ACAS Code of Practice. Once the disciplining manager has examined the evidence and concluded that a hearingContinue reading “How to hold a disciplinary hearing, including giving notice of the hearing in writing.”
How to conduct a disciplinary investigation, then decide whether disciplinary action is warranted.
Our article last week gave guidance on suspending an employee during a disciplinary investigation and then deciding who should carry out the investigation. Building on that, our piece this week looks at how to carry out a full, fair and competent investigation into the allegations and then decide, based on the evidence, whether disciplinary actionContinue reading “How to conduct a disciplinary investigation, then decide whether disciplinary action is warranted.”
Consider these points before suspending an employee. Plus, who should investigate a disciplinary issue?
This article focuses on the tricky issue of whether an employee should be suspended whilst a disciplinary matter is investigated. We also look at who should be chosen to investigate the allegations, along with who can then hear the disciplinary itself and make a decision. Suspension It should be remembered that suspension in itself isContinue reading “Consider these points before suspending an employee. Plus, who should investigate a disciplinary issue?”
Why SMEs need a disciplinary policy – including managing conduct and poor performance issues separately
In this week’s article we look at the disciplinary policy, the legal requirement to have one / the consequences of not having one, and how to access the CIPD’s model policy document so you can be sure to comply with the legal requirements in this area. We then cover why it is important to haveContinue reading “Why SMEs need a disciplinary policy – including managing conduct and poor performance issues separately”
Pitfalls to avoid when taking disciplinary action
Following the release of our ‘Practical Guide to Disciplinary Action’ and last week’s article ‘The 10 steps of taking disciplinary action’, this week we look at the main reasons why employers lose disciplinary action related employment tribunals. After reading up on around 40 tribunals I have summarised the outcomes of some of the most relevantContinue reading “Pitfalls to avoid when taking disciplinary action”