Top 10 HR questions October 2022: disciplinary witness statements

Notes and witness statements produced during a grievance or disciplinary process can present issues for employers as they aim to balance the rights of various parties.

Data protection rules and the need to ensure procedural fairness can sometimes create conflicting responsibilities. The FAQ at number one in October’s top 10 HR questions looks at issues around the disclosure of disciplinary or grievance process notes and witness statements.

A related question, also in the top 10, asks whether an employee who is the subject of disciplinary proceedings has the right to call their own witnesses.

At the end of September, the government had announced that the reforms to the IR35 rules would be reversed. This decision was itself reversed midway through October, along with other elements of September’s mini budget.

This means that the current tax rules on off-payroll working remain in place. It is the client engaging the contractor, rather than the contractor themselves, who is responsible for assessing their employment status and applying the IR35 rules. Two questions on IR35 feature in the top 10, including one explaining the basics of what it is.

Also featured this month are two tricky but common questions around sickness absence: should action be taken under an attendance procedure if there are genuine reasons for the absence, and how should partial days’ absence be recorded.

The top 10 HR questions in October 2022:

1. Must an employer disclose notes and witness statements produced during a grievance or disciplinary procedure if an employee requests them?

2. What is an employee’s holiday entitlement if an extra bank holiday is granted one year?

3. If an employer pays enhanced maternity pay, must it also enhance pay to employees on shared parental leave?

4. Can an employer issue a warning to an employee for poor attendance, even where there are genuine reasons for their absences?

5. What steps must an employer take to ensure that a job applicant has the right to work in the UK?

6. If an employee works part of the day before going home sick, should this day count as sickness absence?

7. Can an employer dismiss an employee because they are in prison?

8. Is an employee entitled to call witnesses at a disciplinary hearing?

9. What is IR35?

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10. Which individuals does an organisation need to assess under the IR35 rules?relx_copyright – This article is Brightmine content – Copyright 2024 LexisNexis Risk Solutions

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