Disciplinary Meetings

Before inviting you to a formal disciplinary hearing, your employer should carry out a reasonable investigation. This means gathering relevant evidence — such as CCTV footage, written records, witness statements, or system logs — and speaking to relevant witnesses. The investigator should ideally be different from the person who will chair the disciplinary hearing.

During an investigation, you may be suspended on full pay. Suspension should only be used where it is genuinely necessary (for example, to prevent interference with the investigation or in cases of alleged serious misconduct), and must not be used as a punitive measure. Suspension without pay is unlawful unless your contract expressly allows it.

Once the investigation is complete, the employer will decide whether there is a case to answer. If so, you will be invited to a formal disciplinary hearing in writing.

Before the hearing, your employer must give you written notice that includes:

• The allegations against you in sufficient detail
• The potential disciplinary outcome if the allegations are upheld (including whether dismissal is possible)
• Copies of any documents or evidence that will be used
• Your right to be accompanied

You have a statutory right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or a workplace colleague. You must make a reasonable request to exercise this right before the hearing. Your companion can address the hearing, put your case, respond on your behalf, and confer with you — but cannot answer questions directed to you.

At the hearing itself, the employer will present the allegations and evidence. You (or your companion) will have the opportunity to respond, challenge the evidence, call witnesses, and present your own evidence or explanation. Take notes throughout and ask for any clarification you need.

After the hearing, the employer will deliberate and communicate their decision in writing. Possible outcomes include:

• No further action: The allegations are not upheld or are too minor to warrant a formal sanction
• First written warning: For minor misconduct or a first offence — typically live on your record for six to twelve months
• Final written warning: For more serious misconduct, or where a first written warning has previously been issued
• Dismissal with notice: For serious misconduct where the employment relationship can no longer continue
• Summary dismissal (without notice): Reserved for cases of gross misconduct such as theft, violence, or fraud

The sanction must be proportionate to the misconduct and consistent with how similar cases have been treated. An overly harsh sanction — for example, dismissal for a first minor offence — may render a dismissal unfair.

You have the right to appeal any disciplinary sanction, and your employer must tell you this in the outcome letter. An appeal should be heard by a more senior manager who was not involved in the original disciplinary process. The appeal is a rehearing or a review of the original decision, not merely a rubber stamp.

Grounds for appeal typically include:

• New evidence that was not available at the original hearing
• A procedural error (e.g. insufficient notice, no right to be accompanied)
• The sanction was disproportionate
• The investigation was inadequate or biased

Exhaust the internal appeals process before considering an Employment Tribunal claim. If you are dismissed and fail to appeal, a tribunal may reduce your compensation on the basis that you did not take reasonable steps to resolve the matter internally.