Rural Estates Newsletter February 2023 - Flipbook - Page 23
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If a disciplinary sanction is confirmed following the formal meeting, the employee
must be informed of their right to appeal in the decision letter.
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If you have your own disciplinary procedure it must adhere to the ACAS Code as a
minimum and you should provide a copy to the employee.
Employees with less than two years’ service do not have unfair dismissal rights, so
technically you could bypass a formal dismissal process for those employees. However,
it may be sensible to follow one anyway, particularly where there is a risk of a claim for
which no qualifying period applies, such as discrimination or whistleblowing.
Don’t
1. Turn a blind eye
Do not ignore conduct issues in the hope they will go away, as they usually only get worse
and cause discontent within the team. Concerns about an employee’s conduct should be
dealt with quickly and fairly, but in the right way and in accordance with the law, to minimise
the impact to the estate and avoid potentially costly tribunal claims.
2. Confuse capability issues with conduct issues
While the ACAS Code applies to both capability and conduct issues, the two are treated
slightly differently, and it is therefore important to differentiate between them.
If an employee is not meeting the expected standards of performance for their role, this is
likely to be a capability issue and some sort of performance management process would be
required. This could include setting goals and specific coaching.
A conduct issue is likely to arise where an employee either refuses to do certain things or
does something unacceptable or inappropriate. Should an employer uphold allegations of
misconduct following a disciplinary meeting, the most common sanctions are warnings
or dismissal.
3. Rush to suspend
Suspension will usually only be appropriate where this is permitted in the employee’s
contract and in cases of serious misconduct or incompetence, where the employee’s
continued presence poses a threat to the business of the estate or other employees, or
would render an investigation impossible. A knee-jerk decision to suspend could give the
impression that the disciplinary process has been pre-judged and be a breach of trust
and confidence.
4. Apply rules and procedures inconsistently
Failing to follow procedures properly or acting inconsistently is likely to make any subsequent
dismissal unfair. Additionally, cutting some employees slack can significantly impact the
morale of other employees, lead to grievances being raised or, even worse, amount
to discrimination.
Employee misconduct usually occurs unexpectedly, emotions often run high and things can
move very quickly. Having a clear set of procedures ready to hand can make the situation
less stressful for everyone involved.
Rural Estates Newsletter
February 2023
23