Discipline and Grievance Issues

1. Establishing the Principles

The new procedural requirements are in addition to existing requirements, not a replacement for them.

1.1 Make sure employees can find out about your disciplinary rules.

• Say in your terms and conditions where employees can see the rules.
• Some people put them in a handbook.
• Other people make sure they are prominently displayed on the premises.

1.2 Your rules must be reasonable.

• The seriousness of the offence should be assessed according to the damage done.
• Ensure your rules are not discriminatory. For example, by requiring more formal dress from men than women.

1.3 Your rules must be applied fairly and reasonably.

• Investigate thoroughly before you lay any disciplinary charges.
• Give the employee time to consider his or her response.
• Give the employee an opportunity to make representations.
• Take time to consider your findings and carry out a follow-up investigation if required.
• Any appeal should, if possible, be heard by someone senior, who was not involved in the first hearing.
• In deciding on penalties, it is important to be consistent, but it is even more important to be reasonable - you can take mitigating circumstances into account.If you are going to treat people differently for the same offence, you need to be able to explain why.

1.4 You must now use specific disciplinary and grievance procedures.

• Your procedures must be written down. Small businesses are no longer exempt.
• They must be as good or better than the minimum standard established by law.
• A three-stage procedure is now required for most disciplinary and grievance issues.
• Failure to use the required procedures could be very expensive.