Support with Employee Disciplinary Process
Employee disciplinary matters can be difficult to deal with. There’s always two-sides to a story. Emotions can be running high and the topic of the disciplinary could be very sensitive. Add in the strict legal procedures that need to be followed and not knowing what you can and can’t do and say and the whole situation can start to feel quite overwhelming.
We’re here to help.
We understand that taking employee disciplinary action is tough. You don’t have to do it alone; we can be with you every step of the way.
Our experienced HR consultants and their support teams will make a real difference. We can offer you expert, legally compliant advice at any stage of the process. We can be on hand to guide you through each step. Or, we can take control of the entire investigation on your behalf.
For more details, see our Employee Disciplinary FAQ
Key Service Features
for Managing Employee Disciplinaries
Support from a CIPD qualified HR consultant assigned to your business
Compliant with UK Employment Legislation and the ACAS Code of Practice
Pragmatic approach to get the appropriate outcome with minimal risk
How We Can Help You
There are many different ways that we can help you, including:
- We can be a sounding board and make sure that you are not digging yourself into a hole by doing what you plan to do.
- We can provide you with a plan to follow and the documentation you need. We can be there to guide you every step of the way.
- We can deal with the issue on your behalf. We’ll work with you to agree the approach. Then have the conversations for you and make sure all of the documentation is in place.
And many other variations! We can be as visible or invisible as you like. Whichever approach you choose, you’ll know that the issue is being dealt with in a legally compliant way and in a way that’s aligned to your business values and disciplinary policy.
“Lighter HR have provided us with invaluable HR advice. They are supportive, approachable and have a very thorough and methodical approach.”
Rosie O’Callaghan
Co-founder & Director, Jasper Rose
Employee Disciplinary Frequently Asked Questions
I’m worried I’ve not acted “by the book” with this disciplinary issue…
With employee disciplinary issues, this is a very common concern. It could be that you’ve let performance or attendance issues drag on for longer than they should have done and have then had a moment where you’ve lost your patience. Maybe you’ve said something that you now think you probably shouldn’t have said.
Another common concern regarding employee disciplinary issues is that a warning has been issued that you now want to rely on. However, you’ve realised that you didn’t follow the correct process with the initial warning.
Whilst we can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, we can certainly help you to come up with a plan to move forward. All we ask is that you are completely honest with us. We’ll offer no judgement as to what has happened to date. We’ll ust focus on giving you guidance and support so that you can be confident that the next actions you take will follow the correct employee disciplinary procedure.
What’s the risk of managing this employee disciplinary without professional help?
Ultimately, the employee disciplinary procedure can result in dismissal. If you haven’t followed the correct process, then that dismissal can be deemed to be legally unfair. You’ll find yourself in an Employment Tribunal needing to defend your actions. This is distracting and expensive – especially if you lose the case!
By getting help from LighterHR, we’ll work with you to ensure that the employee disciplinary procedure that you follow is fair and legally sound.
This helps you in two ways:
- Firstly, if the employee feels that they have been treated fairly, they are significantly less likely to bring a claim even if they don’t like the outcome;
- Secondly, by following a legally sound process, you are best placed to argue your case in an Employment Tribunal.
It’s also worth remembering that, if you fail to follow correct legal / ACAS employee disciplinary procedure and then you do lose an Employment Tribunal, you could be required to pay an additional 25% to the employee on top of any award they are granted.
We’re not trying to scare you. That’s not our approach. However, we do think getting our help with employee disciplinary issues is a commercially good idea.
Is managing this disciplinary matter going to take up a lot of my time?
There’s no hiding from the fact that you will need to be involved in dealing with an employee disciplinary. You’re the employer (or the employer’s representative) and you’re likely to be much closer to the facts that we can be.
However, we can definitely do the majority of the work on your behalf. We can undertake investigations. We can write outcome letters (the accuracy and detail of which is vitally important just in case you find yourself defending an Employment Tribunal claim). Additionally, we can chair meetings.
Can you reduce the risk of an employment tribunal claim?
Reduce it, yes. Remove it, no!
No-one, no matter what they may tell you, can completely remove the risk of an employee raising an employment tribunal claim.
When it comes to dealing with employee disciplinary issues there are definitely some steps that we’ll take with you that will help to manage the risk.
Firstly, we’ll make sure that the employee disciplinary procedure is the right thing to do. Sometimes you can want to quickly move to action. However, if an employee hasn’t had feedback before now and the first time they hear that you’ve got issues with their performance is when you invite them to a disciplinary hearing, it’s unlikely to end well!
Secondly, we’ll make sure that we get all of the facts. We’ll make sure that the correct investigations are undertaken where necessary. We’ll make sure the individual is provided with all of the information that they need in order to be able to defend themselves. If an individual feels they are treated fairly and given an ability to present their version of events, they are less likely to take action even when they don’t like the outcome.
Critically, we can manage the risk of you incurring higher-than-necessary awards and paying the additional 25% at tribunal for failing to follow the appropriate process.
What Do I Do Now?
Support for managing your employee disciplinary matter can be in place as soon as you need it.
To understand the options for support with disciplinaries, use the sidebar to book a consultation, complete the contact form or call us on 0203 535 5750, and our team will start helping you straight away.