Running a fair disciplinary process, step by step

Most disciplinary cases that go wrong don’t fail because the employee was innocent. They fail because the process was rushed: no written query, no chance to respond, the same manager investigating and deciding, and nothing on file afterwards. When the case reaches a labour tribunal or court, the employer can’t show it was fair.

A good process protects both sides. The employee gets a real chance to explain, and the employer gets a decision it can defend.

Step 1: Ask before you accuse

For most issues, start with a letter of query. It sets out what happened, when, and which rule it appears to break, and asks the employee to respond in writing by a set date.

Many matters end here. The explanation is reasonable, or a warning is enough. A query also means that if the matter does go further, there’s a written record from the start.

From a query you should be able to do one of three things:

• close it with no further action,
• issue an outcome directly for minor matters, such as a written warning, or
• open a full case if it’s serious or disputed.

Step 2: Open a case and assign the people

For a serious matter, open a formal case and decide who does what:

• an investigator (or a small panel), who gathers the facts and hears the employee,
• a decision-maker, who decides the outcome from the investigator’s report, and
• later, if needed, an appeal reviewer.

Keep these roles apart where you can. In particular, the person who reviews an appeal must not be anyone who investigated, ran the hearing or made the original decision. Otherwise the appeal is just the same people agreeing with themselves.

If the allegation is against someone senior, or the case is sensitive, consider an external investigator.

Step 3: Investigate and hold the hearing

The investigation collects the facts: documents, records, statements, and the employee’s side of the story. The hearing is part of that.

• Give written notice of the hearing, with the allegation, date, time and place.
• Let the employee bring someone, such as a colleague or union representative, if your policy or agreement allows.
• Call witnesses separately. A witness needs to know when and where to come, not the details of the case or who else is attending.
• Record what’s said, and keep any documents produced.

A hearing can run over more than one sitting. That’s fine, as long as each sitting is noticed and recorded.

Step 4: Decide, and say why

The investigator submits their findings: a summary plus the evidence. The decision-maker then decides:

• not upheld: close the case, and tell the employee in writing, or
• upheld: decide the outcome.

Outcomes usually range from a verbal or written warning, through a final warning or suspension, to dismissal for the most serious cases. Write down the reasons, and be consistent: similar conduct should get similar outcomes. If you suspend, give the start and end dates.

Dismissal deserves an extra check. Many organisations require a senior approval before a dismissal takes effect.

Step 5: Allow an appeal

The employee should be able to appeal within a set period. The appeal reviewer, someone new to the case, can uphold the outcome, overturn it, or change it.

Keep it confidential and keep the file

Only the people involved should see the case. Witnesses shouldn’t learn more than they need to. And everything (the query, response, notices, findings, decision, appeal) should sit in one file, because that file is what a tribunal will ask for.

How Eban handles disciplinary matters

Eban has a disciplinary module built around this process. HR can issue letters of query and then close them, issue an outcome directly, or escalate them into a case. On a case, you assign the investigator, decision-maker and appeal reviewer, and Eban stops anyone who investigated, heard or decided the case from being assigned to review its appeal. The lead investigator schedules hearing sittings and records them, and witnesses only receive the date, time and place.

Each person sees their part of the case in their Approval Center on the mobile app, and employees can see their own matters and respond from the app. Outcome types are set up by your organisation, suspensions carry their start and end dates, and dismissals need approval from someone with the right permission. The whole history stays on the case.