Disciplinary Procedures – How to provide a fair and consistent procedure

Do you want to know the secret to performing fair and consistent disciplinary procedures?

Most people are aware that when it comes to disciplining their staff a fair and consistent procedure must be followed. Even more so when the potential outcome is dismissal, although we obviously try to avoid that as much as possible.

A lot of issues can be solved with an informal chat, after all we are all human and have lives outside of work which may be affecting us and there are often mitigating factors. 

However, if all the other possible options have been exhausted then disciplinary procedures may be needed. In order to ensure that a fair and consistent procedure is followed you will need to carry out an investigation.

Why do you need to Investigate?

An investigation takes place to establish the facts of the case and to make an assessment whether a disciplinary hearing is the appropriate course of action. It also provides you with all the necessary information to present at the potential disciplinary.

However, the result of the investigation may be that a disciplinary isn’t required, in which case you will have avoided a lot of unnecessary workplace stress for everyone involved.

Does it have to be a long drawn out process?

Everyone wants to get the investigation right, after all the potential impact of getting one wrong could be huge. Not only to the person being investigated but to the company as well.

Because of this it may seem like an enormous task. But the reality is, if you follow an efficient process it really won’t take that long.

Also depending on the nature of the allegations, for example performance, it may be as simple as looking at individual targets, key performance indicators, absence and performance reviews.

Which would make the investigation simple and straight forward with clear justification for why a disciplinary may need to take place.

Is anyone able to perform an investigation?

This depends on the nature and severity of the allegations, but in all cases an external party can conduct the investigation. Due to this a lot of companies will outsource the task to ensure a fair and consistent process.

However, most cases where it appears to be clear with non-disputable facts, it’s preferable to have an internal member of staff conduct the investigation who isn’t directly involved in the allegation, such as a line manager.

On the other hand, where the case isn’t clear and has disputable facts for issues such as gross misconduct, discrimination or bullying you may want to consider outsourcing the task to a third party.

Let’s Talk

We can perform the investigation for you to free up your time, remove some of the internal pressures and ensure that any sensitive information is kept strictly confidential.

A HR consultant can be the key to ensuring you provide a fair and consistent procedure that takes everyone’s well-being into consideration.

While we hope that everything within your business is running smoothly the reality is that you might have some issues that need addressing or you simply want some advice for peace of mind.

If that is the case, then get in touch and and one of our incredibly helpful and knowledgeable HR consultants will be more than happy to help you.