How we can help
The close relationship we develop with clients means that often we act much like a sounding board to your internal HR team and over time, we get to know more about your culture and values and the way you work. This helps us to give bespoke advice to suit your needs.
Trusted advisers
We understand that you will find these issues tricky and sometimes disruptive and we’ll help you with ways to manage the situation. Your own disciplinary procedure may well recommend informal discussions in the first instance and we agree that this is a good place to start. If you notice that you don’t have a procedure in place, we can o course help you with that. In any event, it’s important that fair and clear procedures are in place so that you have clear steps to follow to have the confidence to address problems when they arise.
If an employee has breached procedures or is demonstrating a poor standard of work or behaviour, it may be worth raising your concerns with them directly. There could be a simple reason or it could suggest something more serious is going on that the employee needs help with. If left unaddressed, the problem could escalate and the employee’s performance may deteriorate further and impact on the performance of their colleagues or the overall business. Having supportive conversation is an important first step to try to resolve the problem.
Our expert Employment Team will draft procedures that reflect the standards of various businesses and meet the requirements of the ACAS Code of Practice.
When should an employer take formal disciplinary action?
If you have tried to raise your concerns with the employee informally and there was no resolution or if the incident was sufficiently serious, you may decide to take formal disciplinary action against that employee.
There are a number of stages to a formal disciplinary process, which should include:
- Investigation – decide whether formal action is necessary and if so, the employee should be told of the issues in writing and invited to a hearing (and they have the right to be accompanied).
- Formal hearing – the issues should be reviewed, the employee’s responses fully considered and a formal decision made where possible (or further meeting scheduled where necessary).
- Outcome Letter – warnings, performance improvement plans, dismissals are all possible outcomes that you should confirm in writing.
- Appeal – the final letter should confirm the employee has the right to appeal against the decision made.
We can also help guide you through the steps of a disciplinary process, including drafting the appropriate letters and providing advice on the possible outcomes. We would also consider with you the potential risks of litigation with taking certain steps or the option of offering an agreed exit under a settlement agreement.
