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If you believe an employee has breached a company policy or otherwise acted inappropriately, you may need to initiate a disciplinary meeting. You should conduct the disciplinary meeting as part of your business’ wider disciplinary procedure. Holding a meeting allows you to discuss the alleged misconduct or performance issue with the relevant employee and determine an appropriate course of action. This article will explain what you as an employer should know about conducting a disciplinary meeting with an employee in England.
What is a Disciplinary Meeting?
A disciplinary meeting — also called a disciplinary hearing — is a formal meeting you convene with an employee to address their conduct in the workplace which you believe violates certain workplace policies. You should treat a disciplinary meeting as one aspect of a wider disciplinary policy your business should have in place, which you make available to all your employees.
Best practice dictates that you should only convene a disciplinary meeting after you have carried out an investigation into the conduct issue with your employee. Importantly, you should refrain from deciding on any further disciplinary action until after the meeting. This ensures that your employee is afforded a fair hearing and reduces the risk that they might later try and initiate a claim against you at an employment tribunal.
You should only hold a disciplinary meeting where your investigation reveals an employee has a case to answer. In other words, you should not convene a disciplinary meeting without good cause or reason. To avoid the appearance of bias, where possible, a different person should chair the meeting from the one who investigated.
The meeting should occur within a reasonable time after you complete the investigation to permit the employee a reasonable period to prepare for the meeting. It should also be at a reasonable place and time.
Further, be aware of and follow the rules laid out in the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. Although the Acas Code is not law, it is best practice to follow these rules. In the event your dispute escalates and reaches an employment tribunal, your case will be stronger if you can demonstrate that you followed the Acas Code.
The Right to Be Accompanied
Your employee has a legal right to bring certain companions to the disciplinary meeting. Likewise, they must notify you within a reasonable time of their intent to do so.
Only individuals with certain relationships can accompany the employee to the meeting, including:
- another colleague from work;
- a trade union official; or
- a trade union representative in the workplace who can act as a companion as they have had training in this or are certified to do so.
The law is not entirely clear as to if your employee has a right to bring a solicitor with them to the meeting. The general rule is that there is no right. However, if there is a reasonable chance the outcome of the meeting could result in the employee’s termination, they may be entitled to do so. Therefore, if your employee announces they intend to bring a solicitor, you may want to obtain legal advice.
At your discretion, you may allow your employee more flexibility as to the choice of companion. However, best practice dictates you should document this in your disciplinary policies.
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What Happens During the Disciplinary Meeting?
The disciplinary meeting allows you and your employee to detail your respective cases regarding your employee’s alleged misconduct. Below is an overview of the steps and processes you may find helpful to follow when conducting the meeting.
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As the employer, you or another staff member with the appropriate authority should begin the disciplinary meeting by outlining the case against the employee. You should disclose all relevant evidence you have gathered during your investigation, including any evidence that may work in their favour. |
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The meeting should always give the employee the chance to present their case and any defence they may wish to raise. They are free to:
The employee is also free to call witnesses to the meeting, provided they submit their request to you with reasonable notice. |
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After both parties have had a chance to present their cases, you can bring the meeting to a close. In most cases, it is prudent for you not to deliver a finding at the meeting. Instead, you should take time to deliberate. At the meeting, you should outline when you expect to deliver a finding and what the potential outcomes may be, such as termination. |
Further Considerations
There are some further points to note about disciplinary meetings:
- If your employee has a disability, you must make reasonable adjustments for them for the meeting, including a further attendee at the conference such as their support worker.
- If your employee is absent from work on sick leave when the disciplinary meeting is due occur, it should take place when they return to work.
- You may hold the disciplinary meeting away from the workplace if the employee expresses concerns about coming to work.
Key Takeaways
As part of your employment policies, you should develop a procedure governing any disciplinary hearings you may initiate as part of a wider disciplinary process. A well-drafted disciplinary meeting policy enables both you and your employee to present your cases about your investigation issue. Importantly, the proceedings should be fair, reasonable, and free from any perception of bias. This will minimise the chance an employee can claim against you at a tribunal for unreasonable conduct.
If you need help understanding what happens in an employee disciplinary meeting in England and Wales, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
A disciplinary meeting, also called a disciplinary hearing, is a formal meeting you initiate with an employee to determine the outcome of any alleged misconduct.
There is no law determining which member of staff or management should chair a disciplinary meeting. Whoever you choose should be free from bias or the perception of bias. For instance, it is best practice to choose someone other than the individual that conducted the preliminary investigation into the employee’s conduct.
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