OCL Staff Discipline Policy Staff Discipline Policy
1. DIVERSITY POLICY STATEMENT 1.1 Oasis Community Learning is fully committed to the broad principles of social justice and is opposed to any form of discrimination or oppression. 1.2 It therefore willingly accepts not only its legal responsibilities but also wishes to embrace best practice in all areas of its work in order to secure equality of both treatment and outcome for all. 1.3 We are therefore committed to ensuring that no-one is treated in any way less favourably on the grounds of personal differences such as race; national, ethnic or social origin; gender (including reassigned gender); sexual orientation; religious belief; age; disability; marital status; caring responsibilities or political or other personal beliefs. 1.4 We will implement all necessary action and training to ensure that the commitment of Oasis Community Learning with regard to equality of treatment and outcome are fulfilled and will regularly monitor and review progress made in this respect. 1.5 We will ensure that employment and development opportunities are available to those who are, or who become, disabled on an equal footing with those without a disability, adapting jobs wherever possible to make them accessible. 1.6 This procedure should therefore be applied in accordance with this policy. 2. SCOPE 2.1 Applicable to all staff employed by Oasis Community Learning in Academies and at Oasis Community Learning offices. 3. PURPOSE 3.1 The procedure is designed to help and encourage all employees to achieve and maintain standards of conduct whilst ensuring consistent and fair treatment for all. It describes the procedure to be followed by Principals and Line Managers of non Academy-based employees in dealing with acts of misconduct. 3.2 The procedure is not to be used when dealing with lack of capability where no wilful misconduct is involved. In such circumstances, the separate procedure for dealing with lack of capability must be used. 4. PRINCIPLES 4.1 It is the duty of each employee to conduct him/herself appropriately and to take all reasonable care in carrying out his or her duties. 4.2 No disciplinary action will be taken against an employee until the case has been fully investigated. 4.3 The employee will be advised in writing of any nature of the complaint against him/her prior to being invited to any investigation or disciplinary meeting and will be given the opportunity to state his/her case before any decision is OCL Staff Discipline Policy
made. S/he will also receive a copy of the procedure. 4.4 The employee will be informed that s/he has the right to be accompanied by his/her trade union representative, workplace representative or work colleague at the investigation meeting, formal hearing and at appeal hearing. 4.5 If the employee concerned is a trade union official, whilst the same procedure applies, no disciplinary action will be taken until the circumstances of the case have been discussed with a full-time official, with the employee s agreement. 4.6 No employee will be dismissed for a first breach of discipline except in the case of Gross Misconduct, when the penalty will be dismissal without notice or pay in lieu of notice. 4.7 An employee will have the right to appeal against any disciplinary penalty imposed. There is no right of appeal against the decision to start the formal disciplinary procedure by referring an allegation of misconduct or poor performance to a hearing. 4.8 At all stages of the procedure, the person(s) hearing the case will be impartial and not the person who has investigated the matter. In normal circumstances in Academies the responsibility for hearing disciplinary cases will be delegated to the Principal and thus a Deputy Principal or other senior Manager should investigate the matter to enable the Principal to remain impartial. For central staff, the responsibility for hearing disciplinary cases will be delegated to the Director or other senior manager and thus a more junior manager should investigate the matter to enable the senior manager to remain impartial. 4.9 If the Principal/Manager has already been directly involved in the process, or is a witness, then they should not hear the case and the matter should be dealt with by another Manager of at least equivalent status. 4.10 In the case of disciplinary matters against the Principal the matter will be dealt with by a member of the Oasis Community Learning Executive and the decision made by the Academy Council and the Directors. 5. PROCEDURE Formal Counselling Stage 5.1 It is part of the normal supervisory process that employees have brought to their attention the standards of conduct expected by Oasis Community Learning. Where they fall short of these standards, line managers must draw any deficiencies to the attention of employees under their supervision, as this can lessen the possibility of recourse to the formal Disciplinary Procedure. This type of counselling will be done on a one-to-one basis. 5.2 Counselling is not part of the formal disciplinary process and no disciplinary sanction can be imposed during this stage. 5.3 However, the outcome must be confirmed in writing with the employee, who should sign the document as a true record and details should be retained on the employee s file. The record should be removed after the period for
improvement has expired. Investigation 5.4 When an allegation of misconduct arises for which it is not appropriate to use the formal counselling stage (above), or when an issue has previously been addressed through formal counselling without the necessary improvement, the relevant manager should conduct a fact finding disciplinary investigation meeting with the employee at the earliest opportunity. A note taker should be present. 5.5 This interview is not a disciplinary hearing and must not develop into one. 5.6 The manager carrying out the investigation (the Investigating Officer or Presenting Officer) should be impartial and not have had any material involvement in the conduct or behaviour that gave rise to the disciplinary allegation. The manager carrying out the investigation will not chair or be involved as a panel member of any subsequent disciplinary meeting. 5.7 An employee will not always be invited to an investigatory meeting. In some cases this will be appropriate. In others, the investigatory stage will be the collation of evidence by the Investigating Officer for use at any disciplinary hearing. Each case will be taken on its merits. The key standard for the Presenting Officer to consider is whether there is enough evidence to suggest that there may be a case to answer at a disciplinary hearing. 5.8 The employee can be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union representative at the disciplinary investigation meeting. Oasis Community Learning will not unreasonably refuse this request, provided that this does not introduce unnecessary and unreasonable delay into the investigation process. 5.9 Managers should consider whether the employee has any language problems, is disabled or is a young worker that requires a reasonable adjustment to be carried out or for special assistance to be provided. 5.10 All relevant witnesses must be interviewed and statements taken and signed and dated. The witness statements should be written in full. There is no requirement for this to be done at the same meeting and a full statement may have to be written up and typed after the meeting. The manager will note the date, time and place of each observation or incident. 5.11 If witnesses are students, their parents/guardians must be advised and their consent obtained. A parent/guardian may accompany a child during the interview but must not answer on behalf of the child or comment on their answers. A factual record of the discussion will be agreed to avoid the child being called as a witness at any subsequent hearing. The witness statement should record what was asked, who was present, the child s responses (in their own words) and the date, time and length of the interview. The student should not be told who else would be approached, as this could affect the quality of their replies. The student should be reassured that nothing will be held against them for having reported the incident or stating what they saw or
heard, etc. Statements will be shared with the employee in advance of the meeting. 5.12 Having taken all the required statements, the manager should undertake any further investigation with a view to finding other independent supporting evidence, e.g. documentary evidence, the evidence of contractors or other third parties or CCTV images. 5.13 In the case of CCTV images, wherever possible the images of other employees on the footage who are not relevant to the alleged misconduct should be obscured before showing the footage to the employee. The circulation of the images should be restricted only to those attending the disciplinary meeting and they should be reminded they are covered by confidentiality provisions. 5.14 The investigation report will be made available to all the parties concerned prior to the disciplinary meeting (except where Oasis Community Learning considers in exceptional circumstances that information should remain confidential, e.g. where considered necessary, the identity of witnesses should be kept confidential or where there are child protection considerations). 5.15 Once the investigation has been concluded or has reached a stage whereby the manager can reach a decision on disciplinary proceedings, the manager will decide what action should be taken. This will fall into one of the following categories: to take no further action to follow the capability policy and procedure to deal with the matter informally outside the formal disciplinary process (see above) to arrange for the matter to be dealt with under the formal disciplinary procedure. 5.16 His/her decision is final and there is no right of appeal against this decision. Precautionary Suspension 5.17 In appropriate circumstances (and almost always where the misconduct, if established, would be regarded as gross misconduct), the employee will be suspended from work on full pay whilst the matter is being investigated. Suspension will normally only be considered where it appears necessary to protect students, staff or property or where the staff member s continued presence at work would be an impediment to a proper investigation. 5.18 Suspension is a neutral act and the HR Director (or his/her delegated representative) must be consulted before such action is taken. In Academies the Principal, Executive Principal or HR Director may suspend an employee. When a suspension involves a Principal, this can only be carried out by the Board of Directors, or the Chief Executive of Oasis Community Learning. For central staff, the relevant Director or HR Director (or his/her delegated representative) may suspend an employee. The same stall members are able to lift a suspension.
5.19 The period of suspension will be as brief as possible. In all instances of precautionary suspension the need to maintain the suspension must be a matter of continual review by the Principal/HR Director (or his/her delegated representative) or the Chair of the Board of Directors. 5.20 A senior member of staff unconnected with the disciplinary action or investigation will be allocated to the staff member on suspension to act as their sole point of contact with the organisation and to keep the employee regularly informed of the progress of the case. Disciplinary Hearing 5.21 After the investigation stage, if a decision is made that there is a case to answer and that therefore the matter should progress to a Disciplinary Hearing, the employee will be informed in writing of the time and place of the hearing and of the right to be accompanied by his/her trade union representative, workplace representative or work colleague. The employee will be given five working days notice of the meeting. 5.22 The notification of hearing will contain full information about the alleged misconduct and its possible consequences, to enable the employee and/or his or her representative to prepare his/her case. Copies of any written evidence, which may include any witness statements, will be included with the notification. The information provided to the employee should be as complete as possible to enable the employee to prepare his/her case. 5.23 Where a staff member s representative cannot attend on the date proposed, the staff member will be entitled to propose a reasonable alternative time and date which falls before the end of the period of ten working days beginning with the first working day after the date proposed. 5.24 The Principal/Line Manager will hear the case. A management representative will always attend the hearing to present the management case; this can be the Investigating Officer or another senior member of staff. The HR Director (or his/her delegated representative) will attend the hearing ex-officio to advise the Principal/Line Manager. A note taker will also be present. 5.25 In all cases the disciplinary hearing should be convened as soon as is reasonably practical after the completion of the investigation. Ideally this should be within ten working days of the end of the investigation. 5.26 At the meeting the Principal/Line Manager will introduce everyone present and explain the complaint against the employee. The management representative/presenting Officer will go through the evidence that has been gathered. The employee will then be allowed to set out their case and answer any allegations made. The employee will be given a reasonable opportunity to ask questions, present evidence and call relevant witnesses. S/he will also be given an opportunity to raise points about any information provided by witnesses. Where either the management representative/presenting Officer or the employee intends to call witnesses, they must have given advance notice that they intend to do so. Oasis Community Learning reserves the right to refuse the employee to call an unrestricted number of witnesses.the Annex presents a running order for the conduct of the hearing.
5.27 Should new information come to light, the meeting should be adjourned and, if necessary, a further investigation undertaken. 5.28 During the final adjournment, all of the facts of the case should be weighed up carefully by the Principal/Line Manager before any decision is taken on how to deal with the matter and what sanction (if any) should be applied. In employment law, the standard of proof to be used in deciding whether the employee committed the act of misconduct is on the balance of probabilities. 6. RIGHT OF APPEAL 6.1 The employee must be advised in writing of the decision and the right to appeal. The letter should be sent within one working week of the hearing and the employee should be given ten working days from receipt of the letter in which to appeal. Appeals received outside the ten day period may still be heard if the employee can show good reason for the delay and the delay is not unreasonable in the circumstances. The appeal must be in writing and give the grounds for the appeal. The employee should specify if the grounds relate to the facts of the matter, the level of sanction imposed or the way the procedure was followed. 6.2 Appeals will be dealt with as promptly as possible. They will normally be conducted by way of a review of the decision to apply a sanction and the level of sanction imposed, but may, at the discretion of the presiding manager hearing the appeal, proceed as a full re-hearing of the case. 6.3 The employee will be invited to attend an appeals meeting. The appeal will be heard by a manager who is more senior than was involved at the earlier stage of the proceedings. The manager will also be from a part of the business not directly involved in the original disciplinary investigation or disciplinary meeting. 6.4 The employee has the right to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union representative under those circumstances described above. 6.5 The employee will be notified in writing of the outcome of the appeal as soon possible, but no later than five working days after the completion of the appeals process. 7. LEVELS OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION IF ALLEGATION UPHELD a) Formal Verbal Warning 7.1 The employee will be advised that this is the first stage of the formal disciplinary procedure or that the allegation did not warrant the imposition of a stronger penalty. S/he should also be advised that if further misconduct occurs or the misconduct is more serious, a written warning will be given to the employee. This formal verbal warning will be confirmed in writing. The written confirmation will give details of the complaint, the improvement required and the timescale. The formal verbal warning will be kept on the employee's file, but will be spent and disregarded for disciplinary purposes after 26 calendar weeks satisfactory conduct. b) Written Warning
7.2 The employee will be advised that this is the first stage of the formal disciplinary procedure. S/he should also be advised that if further misconduct occurs or the misconduct is more serious, a written warning will be given to the employee. This written warning will give details of the complaint, the improvement required and the timescale. The written warning will be kept on the employee's file, but will be spent and disregarded for disciplinary purposes after 26 calendar weeks satisfactory conduct. c) Final Written Warning 7.3 If there is repeated misconduct or the misconduct is sufficiently serious to warrant only one written warning but is not sufficiently serious to justify dismissal a final written warning will be given. A final written warning will be kept on the employee's file, but will be spent and disregarded for disciplinary purposes after 52 calendar weeks satisfactory conduct. d) Dismissal 7.4 If the misconduct continues or gross misconduct occurs the employee may be dismissed. If gross misconduct occurs, dismissal will be summary dismissal without notice or payment in lieu of notice. In all cases, any notice of dismissal will commence immediately. Any appeal will be held as soon as is practicable and normally within the notice period. Should the appeal be successful the reinstatement would be from the original date of dismissal in order to avoid any break in service and loss of salary and other service benefits. e) Demotion or transfer 7.5 The penalty of demotion or transfer will only be used in those circumstances where Oasis Community Learning believes punishment of dismissal is too harsh, but where it is regarded that the misconduct is likely to render adequate performance of the employee s existing job unlikely in the future. By mutual agreement, either demotion or transfer may also be considered at any stage in the disciplinary procedure. 8. TYPES OF MISCONDUCT AND HOW THEY WILL BE DEALT WITH WITHIN THE PROCEDURE 8.1 The examples given below are not an exhaustive list and are designed to provide an indication of the action which may be taken if efforts to manage the situation through the informal counselling stage have been ineffective. Allegations of harassment or bullying will always be a serious matter and could, if upheld, result in a final written warning or dismissal. Action Written Warning (Disregarded after 26 weeks) Final Written Warning (Disregarded after 52 weeks) Conduct Continued lateness, unauthorised absence, failure to notify sickness absence, absence from place of work without permission, insubordination. A failure to improve and continued unsatisfactory conduct when an employee is already in receipt of a warning, more serious misconduct which warrants a higher level warning e.g. threats of violence, action short of dismissal where
mitigating circumstances justify. Dismissal Theft, fraud, malicious damage to the academy s or another employee s property, physical assault at work, breach of major safety rules, discriminatory behaviour, disclosure of confidential information, incapacity or misconduct as a result of being under the influence of drink or illegal drugs, racial or sexual or personal harassment and gross insubordination, gross negligence, conduct seriously prejudicial to the good reputation of Oasis Community Learning, any other serious breach of trust and confidence. 9. EMPLOYEE S RIGHT OF ACCOMPANIMENT 9.1 Employees subject to disciplinary action have the right to be accompanied by either a work colleague or trade union representative of their choice at the disciplinary or appeal stage. Trade union representative means any employee who is also a trade union official or an official of a trade union who is not an employee of Oasis Community Leaning, but who has been certified by their union as being competent to accompany an employee. 9.2 The companion has the right to: Confer with the employee before and during the disciplinary investigation meeting and subsequent disciplinary/appeals meetings, including before the employee answers any questions. Respond on behalf of the employee to any views expressed at the disciplinary investigation meeting and disciplinary/appeals meeting. Put forward the employee s position in opening and closing statements made at the disciplinary/appeals meeting which sums up the employee s case. 9.3 The companion should also be allowed to question any witness who is providing evidence for the disciplinary meeting. 9.4 The companion does not have the right to: answer any questions put directly to the employee by one or more managers conducting the disciplinary investigation meeting or disciplinary/appeals meeting address the meeting if the employee does not wish it prevent the employee from explaining their case or answer any questions. 9.5 Oasis Community Learning reserves the right to refuse a request for a companion which it does not consider reasonable. It would not be considered reasonable, for example, for an employee to insist on being accompanied by a companion from a remote geographical location if someone suitable and willing was available from a nearby location, or whose presence would be prejudicial to the hearing.
9.6 Time off to carry out the duties of companion. Any employee who is required to act in the capacity of a companion at a disciplinary investigation meeting or disciplinary/ appeals meeting will be entitled to a reasonable period of paid time off from work duties to complete this role. This will include a reasonable period of time off for the companion to familiarise him/herself with the case and confer with the employee. 9.7 Where employees have difficulty expressing themselves because of language or other difficulties (e.g. a disability) they may wish to seek help from a work colleague or trade union representative. Where necessary, this person will be in addition to the employee s chosen companion (who will be a trade union representative or work colleague). Oasis Community Learning will make whatever reasonable adjustments are necessary to facilitate the attendance of any disabled employee at a disciplinary investigation meeting or hearing. 10. THE DATE OF THE MEETING AND ADJOURNMENT OF THE MEETING 10.1 Oasis Community Learning is committed to ensure that all steps and stages of the disciplinary procedure are completed without unreasonable delay. The date and time of meetings should be arranged so that all parties whose attendance is necessary can attend for the matter to be dealt with properly. The employee should take all reasonable steps to attend. However, Oasis Community Learning reserves the right to fix the date and time of a disciplinary meeting and appeals meeting where it believes fair and reasonable notice has been given to the employee and his/her companion. 10.2 The meeting may be postponed where one of the parties whose attendance for the case to be dealt with properly is unexpectedly unable to attend as this was not foreseen at the time when the meeting was fixed, or their absence is caused by a genuine unexpected reason. 10.3 Should a second meeting be arranged, and the employee fails to unreasonably and without good cause attend both the first and second meeting dates, and a third date is arranged, Oasis Community Learning reserves the right to proceed with the meeting on the third occasion in the absence of the employee and to reach a decision. Where a meeting is to take place in the absence of the employee the HR Manager must be consulted before the meeting commences. Special circumstances will be taken into account, e.g. the employee s serious illness. 10.4 Where during a period of suspension an employee produces a medical certificate then the suspension will be lifted and sickness absence will be substituted. 10.5 Where an employee is unable to attend an investigatory interview or disciplinary hearing they must produce a fit note. Where the sickness continues beyond a reasonable period the employee may be required to attend Occupational Health in order that the Occupational Health Physician may determine whether or not they are fit to attend the interview or hearing, before a decision is made to proceed with the hearing in his/her absence. The
employee must be advised in advance if the hearing is going to take place in their absence and they should be given the opportunity to have their case presented by their representative or to submit their case in writing. Staff will also be offered the option to hold the hearing in another venue or to present evidence by telephone. 11. RELATIONSHIP WITH GRIEVANCE PROCEEDINGS 11.1 Oasis Community Learning s grievance procedure should not be used for appeals against disciplinary decisions, because that is provided for at the appeals stage of the disciplinary procedure. 11.2 If a grievance is raised once the disciplinary process is underway it may be suspended in order for the grievance to be considered first. However, this would only occur if the grievance was related to the subject matter arising out of the disciplinary meeting, e.g. the behaviour of a manager during the course of a disciplinary case. The ACAS Code of Practice 1 - Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures (April 2009) only requires the organisation to consider suspending the process. The suspension of the disciplinary procedure will be at the discretion of Oasis Community Learning, taking into consideration both the interests of the organisation and of the individual who raised the grievance. 11.3 Where disciplinary action against another employee results from a grievance, the grievance procedure may be suspended whilst a disciplinary investigation is carried out, and, if necessary, the disciplinary process is completed. The suspension of the grievance procedure will be at the discretion of Oasis Community Learning, taking into consideration both the interests of the organisation and of the individual who raised the grievance. 12. RESIGNATION OF EMPLOYEES PRIOR TO OR DURING THE COURSE OF DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS 12.1 Employees should note that if they choose to resign after being notified that they are subject to disciplinary proceedings, those proceedings may continue in any event up to and including the end of their employment, and they will normally be required to co-operate with the conduct of those proceedings and to attend any meetings 13. SPECIAL CASES Disciplinary Action against a Principal 13.1 In an Academy, disciplinary action against a Principal will not be initiated without the involvement of a Member of the Oasis Community Learning Executive. A member of the Oasis Community Learning Executive or the HR Director will undertake the role which would normally be ascribed to the Deputy Principal with regard to the investigation and any subsequent disciplinary proceedings.
Disciplinary Action Against a Member of the Executive 13.2 Disciplinary action against a member of the Executive will not be initiated without the involvement of a member of the Board of Directors. The HR Director will undertake the role which would normally be ascribed to the Deputy Principal with regard to the investigation and any subsequent disciplinary proceedings. Disciplinary Action Against Trade Union Representatives 13.3 No disciplinary action or formal warning should be applied to a TU representative until the circumstances of the case have been discussed with a full-time official of the union concerned, with the employee s agreement. Although an investigatory interview and suspension are not disciplinary actions, management should still consult with the full-time official as soon as possible. Principals/Line Managers should contact the HR Director (or his/her delegated representative) before taking any action in such circumstances. 14. ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCES 14.1 Oasis Community Learning will ensure that the treatment of disciplinary matters is consistent throughout its entire organisation. 14.2 The Human Resources Department is responsible for promoting this consistency and will be informed of all cases where disciplinary action other than formal counselling may be contemplated. They will ensure that a representative is present at all hearings and appeals and that advice is available regarding investigations, where appropriate. 14.3 Where HR are not in attendance, managers must consult HR prior to handling potential dismissals.
ANNEX: CONDUCT OF DISCIPLINARY HEARINGS Introductions 1. Chair introduces everyone and what their role is: Self as Chair Other panel member(s) (if applicable) employee employee representative any witnesses for the employee side (provided prior notice has been given) management representative who will state the management case any witnesses for the management side (provided prior notice has been given) person who will clerk the meeting HR manager to give advice to the panel 2. Goes over the order of the hearing: Management will state their case Chair asks questions of the management representative Chair invites panel (if applicable) and employee side to also ask questions Employee will state their case Chair asks questions of the employee/representative Chair invites panel (if applicable) and management representative to also ask questions Chair to sum up both sides Chair to adjourn hearing to deliberate The management case 3. Management representative presents management case: what the allegation is/are background information; chain of events (if necessary) what is the evidence that proves each allegation where the evidence is (must not present any new information that the employee has not already seen) introduces any witnesses if prior notice has been given 4. Chair asks questions 5. Chair opens the discussion to the panel (if applicable) and the employee to ask questions 6. Questioning by the employee and his/her representative should not be used as an opportunity to state the employee case. If this happens, the Chair should remind the employee s/he will have an opportunity to state their case next and to ask if s/he has any more questions. 7. If not/when questions are concluded, moves on to employee case The employee case 8. Employee/representative presents employee case: what response is to the allegation what is the evidence that supports their case introduces any witnesses if prior notice has been given
9. Chair asks questions 10. Chair opens the discussion to the panel (if applicable) and the management representative to ask questions 11. Questioning by the management representative should not be used as an opportunity to state the management case. As above Summing up 12. When both sides have had enough opportunity to present their case and to question the other side, Chair should draw things to a close. 13. If appropriate, the Chair can sum up the key points on both sides. 14. If this is unwieldy, should terminate the discussion. Termination of hearing 15. Chair ends the hearing and advises employee that will let him/her have the panel s decision in writing within timescale 16. Chair advises employee that will have a right of appeal and that the letter will contain full details Decision-making 17. HR clerk notes time of termination 18. HR clerk notes main points of panel discussion and their decision 19. Panel obtains HR advice if required to inform their decision-making 20. Panel considers if there is evidence that misconduct has occurred 21. If panel considers there has, panel considers relevant factors in deciding on a penalty: any mitigating factors; employee s current disciplinary record and length of service; nature of the offence; evidence produced by either party; any sanctions imposed in the past for similar offences 22. HR clerk notes time when decision is reached and what it is Communication of decision 23. Employee is notified of decision 24. Decision and reason for the decision confirmed in writing, along with right to appeal
OCL DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE FLOWCHART Identify issue/complaint Identify investigating officer Investigate quickly Is it serious misconduct? Quiet word/counselling/ Verbal warning INFORMAL ACTION NO YES FORMAL ACTION Child Protection Issue? Principal Discusses with RHRM Strategy meeting, CPO, PR, Police & HR (consider suspension) Police Investigation PR verbally informs EMP of allegation conduct suspension meeting with HR Internal Investigation Consider suspension on grounds of Risk/ Gross Misconduct? - Principal appoints Investigating Officer (IO) - Formulate allegations (Misconduct/Gross Misconduct) - Invite EMP & witnesses to investigation interview (use template letter) - IO conducts interview and gathers evidence - IO writes investigation report recommend Disciplinary Hearing YES/NO? - IO writes to EMP with the outcome of the investigation Convene disciplinary hearing Disciplinary Panel at least 2 SLT members (PR), HR and Clerk No formal action due to there not being enough evidence NO record is to be kept on file IO sends written instruction to attend Disciplinary Hearing along with documentary evidence to employee (recorded delivery or hand delivered) Minimum of five working days notice must be given (refer to template letters) EMPLOYEE can submit their evidence up to three working days before hearing Disciplinary Panel will determine: 1. Whether on balance of probabilities, charge is proven follow ANNEX Conduct of Disciplinary Hearing 2. Appropriate penalty to be applied 3. Hearing to be recorded 4. Verbally inform of outcome then write within five working days Verbal Warning/ Written Warning / Final Written Warning Decisions for dismissal to be agreed with RHRM for LEGAL INSURANCE purposes Dismissals and notice periods effective from the date of the dismissal decision for guidance please seek RHRM advice Right of Appeal can appeal to RHRM (to be lodged in writing within 10 working days of confirmation of decision) NO FORMAL ACTION PRINCIPAL TO MANAGE OUTCOME WITH NO RECORD ON FILE Convene appeal hearing as soon as reasonably possible