Disciplinary Advice

This page is a “work in progress” in terms of how it looks, but I wanted to ensure you get the advice you need as soon as possible, rather than waiting until everything is laid out perfectly.

Being invited to a disciplinary hearing is not pleasant, but understanding what is happening and what you need to think about, can help you navigate what is happening.

Suspension

Before a disciplinary hearing you may be suspended, for most this should be on full pay and is seen as a ‘neutral act’. Your employer will need to set out in writing why you have been suspended, they should also confirm anything they don’t want you to do during your period of suspension.

Generally speaking you shouldn’t contact colleagues during this time, and if this is something you need to, you need to check with your employer first.

You don’t want to breach your terms of suspension, as this will become another allegation.

Investigation meeting

Investigation meetings can be tough, because you usually don’t know what evidence your employer has at this point. My advice here would be to navigate these meetings with caution.

The investigator may ask some broad, ‘scene setting’, questions such as; asking your job title, length of service, roles and responsibilities. They know the answers to these already, they are trying to get you comfortable in the meeting. The more comfortable you are the more you will share.

My advice to people I am representing is to be ready for this, sitting on the edge of your chair can help you stay alert.

Honesty is always the best policy, so if you aren’t sure don’t guess. Saying you can’t remember is always better than saying something that isn’t true, as this will come back to haunt you.

Circling back to where I started, you don’t know the evidence your employer has at this stage, so don’t answer dishonestly. The worst thing that can happen is answering a question dishonestly and then seeing a piece of evidence that shows you have lied.

Employers can quite often get past mistakes or one off errors. Dishonesty is always a deal breaker though.

Invitation to a disciplinary hearing

This is an important step, your employer should provide all the evidence they have at this point. If they don’t give you any, you should ask for it in writing.

A hearing can be a difficult environment, writing your response to the allegations can help you guarantee that you will get your side of the story across during the meeting, this is called a statement of case. Answer each allegation in turn, presenting your own evidence, if required.

At the hearing

Be smart, be polite and if you’ve made a mistake; be apologetic. There are no prizes for being aggressive or agitated in this kind of meeting, accept that you are there and be constructive in trying to find a resolution.