Discipline and Grievance Issues

2. Setting the Rules

2.1 Identify the areas in which you need disciplinary rules. Typically these will be:

• Work performance.
• Attitude and attendance issues such as poor timekeeping and absenteeism, negligence or reckless disregard for safety or hygiene regulations.
• Theft, including pilfering and fraud.
• Offensive behaviour, including abuse, harassment, discrimination and violence.
• Inappropriate behaviour such as drinking, gambling, smoking in prohibited areas or, misuse of company facilities.
• Breaches of your communication policy. For example, accessing and downloading inappropriate material.

2.2 Decide how you are going to classify different offences. In many small companies, this will involve using three categories:

• Minor offences.
• More serious misconduct.
• Gross misconduct.

2.3 Determine what constitutes misconduct - ie behaviour that is unacceptable to you or unacceptable in the context of work.

• You may want to spell out rules completely banning gambling, cash collections and the distribution of political literature, or enforcing a 'clear desk' policy.
• But many rules will be matters of degree.

2.4 Define what acts are so serious that they constitute gross misconduct - entitling you to proceed to the final stage of your procedure at which the employee risks dismissal without notice (after proper investigation, an opportunity to explain, and the application of other fair procedures).

• Typical offences are dishonesty, theft, gross insubordination, falsifying company documents, fighting, drug abuse, using someone else's password, introducing computer viruses, downloading inappropriate material, sending malicious emails, and racial or sexual harassment.
• Particular companies will have their own sacking offences. For example, breaking hygiene rules in a food factory.
• Beware of jumping to conclusions. You cannot sack an employee charged with theft or other criminal acts committed outside work without your own investigation. The fact that an offence is listed in your handbook as gross misconduct is not conclusive. A tribunal will decide for itself whether the offence was 'gross' and if the employer's response was reasonable.