Grievances and Disciplinaries
Support for your business from employment law solicitors
Regardless of how well you run your business and manage your employees, there is always the possibility of an unwanted workplace dispute. Our team of employment law and HR specialists can help you deal with grievances and disciplinaries and avoid a wider impact on your business and workforce.
Our team can assist with all types of employment disputes, including disciplinaries, grievances, terminations, settlement agreements and exit packages.
Do we have to have a written disciplinary procedure?
A written disciplinary procedure is helpful for outlining a set of reasonable rules and making it clear to employees how disciplinary issues will be handled. It helps you ensure that you act fairly and consistently where you believe there are grounds for disciplining an employee.
A written disciplinary procedure should not be seen as a way of punishing your employees, but rather guidance on overcoming disciplinary issues and encouraging employees to be productive again.
We can review a written procedure, or draft an entirely new one for you.
Do I need to follow the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures?
There is no legal requirement to follow the ACAS code of practice. Failing to do so does not automatically make a dismissal unfair.
But it does help you to act fairly by outlining the basic requirements of fairness and providing a standard of reasonable behaviour.
In cases where the code applies and you unreasonably fail to follow any of its provisions, an employment tribunal can increase an award it makes against you by 25%. The Employment Tribunal will take several factors into account when deciding if you have failed to follow the provisions of the code, including your business size and resources.
If you don’t think you can follow all the steps in the code, it’s definitely worth seeking legal advice from us.
How should I handle an employee grievance?
If an employee raises a grievance, it’s important to follow a set and fair procedure to ensure the employee is listened to and the grievance is addressed thoroughly.
We would advise taking the following steps:
- Check your grievance procedure to ensure you comply with the company’s procedures and the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievances
- Appoint an impartial person such as a third party to investigate the grievance
- Invite the employee to attend a grievance hearing to explain the grievance and how they think it could be resolved and allow them to bring a companion
- Where necessary carry out further investigations
- Provide a written grievance outcome stating whether you uphold the employee’s grievance, why this decision has been made and what action will be taken to resolve the issue
- Allow your employee the right to appeal which will be dealt with through an appeal hearing
A former employee has raised a grievance, do I need to deal with it?
It’s advisable to deal with a grievance even where an employee has left the company because it can help to avoid an Employment Tribunal claim being made against you.
It also provides the opportunity to determine whether the claim is valid by fully investigating the grievance.
Using Rothera Bray for legal advice on grievances and disciplinaries
We will listen, advise, and assist you with workplace disputes, with the aim of minimising any disruption and cost.
Seeking advice as soon as a dispute is likely is important. Being proactive can save time and money later. Our team will review the dispute and advise on the best course of action depending on the needs of the business.
No business can avoid an employee taking a dispute to an employment tribunal. However, the chances of the employee’s claim succeeding could depend on the strategy adopted by the business at the outset.
There are no winners in an employment dispute. However, the impact of the dispute on the business can be greatly reduced depending on how, as a business, you respond to a dispute.
Stay informed
Get all the latest legal updates on grievances and disciplinaries with our email Employment Law Briefing which will be sent to you every other month:
Keep our employment law team on retainer
We offer bespoke retainer packages, tailored to your individual business needs.
We don’t believe that ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to ensuring you have the right support in place to grow your business. Our retainer packages are like having your own, specialist, in-house employment law experts at the end of the phone. Our solicitors are on hand when you need us, offering commercial and robust advice based on your business requirements and goals.
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Ensure that you're following the right procedures and protect your business with our help.
