DISCIPLINARY ACTION AND GRIEVANCES

Disciplinary procedures are in place to regulate how employers can deal with employee misconduct, unprofessional behaviour, or poor performance.

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) give an outline of how to approach the disciplinary procedure. They advise the following 5 step approach:

• Get the Facts. You need to carry out reasonable investigations to establish the facts. This can be through interviews with employees or any other necessary enquiries.
• Inform the Employee. Once you have all the facts you should inform your employee in writing of your intention to enter disciplinary proceedings and invite them to a meeting.
• Meeting. This will be between yourself and the employee. Your employee has the right to bring a colleague or trade union representative to the meeting.
• Outcome. Decide what action you will be taking and explain why to your employee.
• Appeal. Your employee has the right to appeal the decision. The appeal should be handled by someone not party to the original proceedings.

Employers need to ensure that there is a fair and robust disciplinary procedure in place in line with the ACAS Code of Practice.

Grievances arise when an employee has an issue, concern, or complaint they need to raise with you. The grievance procedure is similar to the disciplinary procedure in the sense that you must:

• Get the Facts. Once the grievance has been raised you need to carry out reasonable investigations to establish the facts. This can be through interviews with employees or any other necessary enquiries.
• Meeting. Once you have established the facts you will need to have a meeting with the employee. This will be between yourself and the employee. Your employee has the right to bring a colleague or trade union representative to the meeting.
• Outcome. Decide what action you will be taking and explain why to your employee.
• Appeal. Your employee has the right to appeal the decision. The appeal should be handled by someone not party to the original proceedings.

Employers need to ensure that there is a fair and robust grievance procedure in place in line with ACAS Code of Practice to avoid future criticism.

At Birch Law we are experts in dealing with disciplinary actions and grievances and can help assist you through the legalities of both. We can help you with everything from advising on disciplinary and grievance procedures to defending your business at the employment tribunal. For a free no obligation chat please contact us on 0161 669 4621 or by email at sbirchall@birchlaw.co.uk.