Disciplinary, Performance and Grievance

Disciplinary proceedings investigate alleged misconduct or poor performance. Employers must inform you of allegations, provide evidence, invite you to hearings, allow you to respond, and give you right to appeal. You can be accompanied by colleagues or trade union representatives. Outcomes include no action, informal warnings, written warnings, final written warnings, demotion, or dismissal. Gross misconduct can result in summary dismissal without notice. Employers must investigate properly, consider your explanations, and act reasonably. Procedural failures make dismissals potentially unfair.

Employers must allow you to be accompanied by colleagues or trade union representatives but aren’t required to allow solicitors at internal hearings. However, employers may permit solicitors particularly in serious cases. Even if we cannot accompany you, we prepare you thoroughly for hearings, review evidence, draft responses, and advise on strategy. In serious cases, particularly potential gross misconduct dismissals, having legal advice significantly improves outcomes even if we can’t attend hearings directly.

Grievances are formal complaints about workplace treatment, discrimination, harassment, bullying, contractual breaches, or other problems. Acas code requires employers to investigate grievances properly, hold meetings, and respond in writing with appeal rights. Raising grievances can protect your position if employers subsequently dismiss you, as dismissals following grievances raise victimisation questions. Grievances should clearly specify complaints and desired outcomes. We help draft effective grievances and represent you in grievance meetings.

Unfair investigations can make subsequent dismissals unfair. Employers must investigate allegations properly including interviewing witnesses, reviewing evidence, and considering explanations before deciding outcomes. One-sided investigations ignoring evidence favouring you are unfair. We challenge unfair investigations by highlighting procedural failures, missing evidence, and failures to consider your explanations. If you’re dismissed after unfair investigations, this strengthens unfair dismissal claims. Document investigation failures and raise concerns about procedural fairness during processes.

Don’t resign without legal advice. Resigning may affect your ability to bring an unfair dismissal claim. Employers sometimes pressure employees to resign rather than face dismissal. This may breach implied trust and confidence allowing constructive dismissal claims. If you’re offered settlements to resign, don’t accept without reviewing terms. Settlement agreements can secure better outcomes than resigning with nothing. We advise whether resigning or seeing processes through is better for your specific circumstances.

Yes, you have rights to appeal disciplinary decisions. Appeals should identify why decisions were wrong, procedural failures, disproportionate sanctions, or new evidence. Employers must hold appeal hearings and consider grounds seriously.

Appeals can overturn dismissals or reduce sanctions. However, appeal panels often rubber-stamp original decisions. We can help you document your  appeal grounds carefully and present them effectively. Even unsuccessful appeals strengthen subsequent tribunal claims by exhausting internal procedures and highlighting unfairness.