Dismissal & Disciplinaries
Employees have the right not to be unfairly dismissed. Where an employer is considering a serious sanction such as written warnings or dismissal then a fair procedure must be followed.
We advise employers on how to fairly manage the procedures and employees on what to say and do.
The basic requirements are set out in the ACAS Code of Practice (No 1) which is normally referred to in an internal disciplinary procedure. The Code except in very serious cases expects employers to:
- Use fair procedures
- To try to deal with initial problems informally
- To carefully investigate issues before considering discipline
- To set out the issues with sufficient detail and to allow the employee to answer the allegations
- To allow an employee to bring a trade union representative or workplace colleague to disciplinary meetings
- To have a right of appeal
The rules of ‘natural justice’ apply to these internal procedures. A manager against whom genuine allegations of bias have been raised would not normally investigate or hear the issues.