Disciplinary Hearings

I have been invited to a disciplinary meeting for misconduct and am accused of something I have not done.  What should I do? 

First, make sure that you find someone that can accompany you.  Your employer has to permit you to take along a work colleague or trade union representative, if you are a member of a union.  Your accompaniment can make representations on your behalf.

How should I prepare? 

Hopefully your employer will have provided you with a statement that is sufficient to enable you to understand the accusations.  You may have also been provided some of the evidence against you (for example statements of colleagues).  You should make your own statement outlining your version of events and, where possible, you should highlight in your statement where your work colleagues are inaccurate or mistaken.  You should also think of some mitigating factors in case your employer concludes you should be dealt with under the disciplinary policy.

My employer has no proof that I am guilty.  Surely he cannot sack me. 

Your employer does not need to prove you guilty 'beyond reasonable doubt'.  It is sufficient that he holds a reasonable belief in your misconduct.  In other words, if he thinks that it is more likely than not that you did commit misconduct and has reasonable grounds for arriving at that conclusion, it is potentially difficult to criticize that decision.

The investigation into the misconduct took a long time, I have not been allowed access to work to take statements, I was given a date for a disciplinary hearing but this was rearranged, I am not allowed to take a dictaphone into the meeting.  Is all this not against the law? 

ACAS provides guidance for employers to use when proceeding with disciplinary action.  That is, as is stated, only guidance and now law.  Therefore, whilst a lengthy investigation might be unreasonable, as may the other things mentioned, it is only really relevant to fairness of the outcome of the disciplinary exercise and is not 'against the law' as such.

I have been given a final written warning and my appeal was unsuccessful.  I do not want this on my record and want to take this further, can I? 

Again, the use of warnings is a suggestion made by ACAS as best practice.  There is no law that governs warnings and the employment tribunal does not have jurisdiction to hear claims against warnings.

Based on the information I have, do you think my dismissal will be unfair? 

It is not possible to answer this question before the disciplinary hearing has taken place.  Whether your dismissal (if there is one) is unfair will depend on the reasons given, the actions of your employer in the disciplinary meeting (including the weight that your employer gives to your own evidence), the procedure that was followed in arriving at the decision and whether dismissal was proportionate to the misconduct.  The unfairness of a dismissal can only really be assessed once it has taken place.

What should I do? 

You should attend the disciplinary hearing and put forward the best defence to the accusations you can.  Whether you think or are advised that a dismissal may be unfair is immaterial because your employer may simply take that risk.  Other than defend yourself, there is not a great deal more you can do to influence your employer's decision.

I attended my disciplinary meeting and was dismissed.  I think it was unfair and want to pursue an unfair dismissal claim.  How do I go about this? 

Before you do anything else, you should appeal against your dismissal in writing as soon as possible.  You have 3 months in which to present a claim for unfair dismissal so, providing you were not dismissed nearly 3 months ago, you still have time.

How do I set out my appeal? 

There is no rule.  Just write down why you think the decision to dismiss was unfair.

Then what? 

Your employer (a different person from the one that dismissed you) should meet with you to discuss your appeal before arriving at a decision, which may be to overturn or uphold the dismissal.

My dismissal was upheld.  Can I now go to the Employment Tribunal? 

If you wish to pursue a claim for unfair dismissal you should present it to the employment tribunal.  We advise and assist in such claims and you should contact us on 01925 650 151 once the decision to dismiss you was upheld.