Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Legal Q&AEmployment lawDisciplineDiscipline and grievances

Weekly Dilemma: dealing with a grievance during disciplinary proceedings

by Personnel Today 14 Jun 2010
by Personnel Today 14 Jun 2010

An employee at my restaurant business has raised a grievance after I started a disciplinary process to deal with a charge of gross misconduct. Do I have to hear out the grievance before I can fairly dismiss her?

The first thing to consider is what your own procedures say about discipline and grievances hearings being combined. Your question suggests that you’ve already made up your mind to dismiss her. The purpose of the disciplinary hearing (which should only be held after an investigation) is to give the employee an opportunity to state her case, and for you to consider properly any representations made by her – or her companion – before finding her guilty or deciding on any sanction.

The Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures says only that the disciplinary process “may be suspended in order to deal with the grievance”. If her grievance is connected with the subject matter of the disciplinary hearing, there is merit in hearing and deciding them together.

For example, if the employee says: “I did what I was told by my supervisor, who has been trying to get me into trouble,” the grievance is so bound up with the discipline it would not make sense to consider them separately – the grievance is part of the defence to the charge. Even if there is no connection, you aren’t obliged to put the disciplinary process on hold while you deal with the grievance (including any appeal). In coming to a decision on whether to delay the disciplinary proceedings, you should take into account how long that delay is likely to be.

If the grievance has come completely out of the blue, the employee may have submitted it as a way of delaying the hearing. If so, that does not automatically mean the grievance has no merit, but it may well be appropriate to consider why the complaint is only being made now. If you decide to combine the grievance and disciplinary hearings, given that both sides should be given sufficient time to prepare, it may be appropriate to delay the hearing to allow for the additional preparation resulting from the grievance. However, if the employee fails to provide you with the relevant information about the grievance in advance of the hearing, that would not normally be a sufficient reason not to proceed with the disciplinary part.

Colin Bourne, barrister, Kings Chambers








Get more information on the issues in this week’s dilemma from XpertHR’s FAQ section:






  • What are the possible consequences of failing to follow the Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures?
  • Who should carry out an investigatory meeting with an employee suspected of misconduct?
  • What can an employer do where it suspects that an employee has committed an act of gross misconduct, but has no concrete proof?

Avatar
Personnel Today

previous post
Sainsbury’s HR chief Imelda Walsh resigns
next post
RBS HR chief Neil Roden resigns now bank is ‘stable’ again

You may also like

MP demands timeline on carer’s leave legislation

13 May 2022

Employment tribunal: use of word ‘bald’ can amount...

13 May 2022

Queen’s Speech: absence of employment bill leaves organisations...

10 May 2022

Queen’s Speech: Exclusivity contracts for low-paid workers to...

9 May 2022

MP seeks legal protections for employees undergoing fertility...

9 May 2022

PwC staff to benefit from extended summer hours...

5 May 2022

Who doesn’t use emojis now?

29 Apr 2022

A dark day for workers’ rights – why...

29 Apr 2022

P&O Ferries told to return £11m furlough money...

28 Apr 2022

Modern slavery: 10% of companies fail to publish...

26 Apr 2022
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+