Employee Calling in Sick on Declined Holiday?
If an employee is genuinely ill or injured, they are entitled to take time off work by way of sick leave. However, it is not uncommon for an employee to fabricate illness or injury to get time off, sometimes as a result of a holiday request being declined by their employer. There are various scenarios […]
Termination of Employment Due To Custodial Sentence
What does it mean for an employer if one of their employees is convicted of a crime and sent to prison? In most cases, employers will jump straight to dismissal, terminating the employee’s contract, not least because the employee will no longer be available for work, but also due to associated issues such as bringing […]
Disciplinary Hearing Guide for Employers
Under ACAS guidelines, before an employer can lawfully dismiss or sanction an employee for a disciplinary issue, the employer should first hold a disciplinary hearing with the employee. The meeting must be managed correctly to avoid allegations that the employer failed to handle the disciplinary process fairly. In this guide, we look at how employers […]
Right to be Accompanied (Employer Guide)
Employees and workers have the right to be accompanied to a disciplinary or grievance hearing at work. Employers are under a legal duty to follow a fair and lawful process when conducting such proceedings, which includes allowing the individual to be accompanied by a ‘relevant’ companion. The following guide looks at the rules governing the […]
What are Sackable Offences?
The following guide for employers examines the issue of gross misconduct, from what this means to the type of conduct that can justify summary dismissal. The sackable offences list will also help to provide HR personnel and line managers with examples of gross misconduct, but this is not exhaustive and every dismissal must be approached […]
Disciplining Twice for the Same Offence?
In most cases, an employee would not be disciplined twice for the same offence. If they were, it may be argued that it was an abuse of process. Nevertheless, if there are unusual circumstances and an employer is looking to reopen disciplinary proceedings that had previously been resolved, would any subsequent disciplinary decision be deemed […]
False Accusations at Work (HR Help)
Employers are required by law to deal with complaints or grievances at work fairly and lawfully. Handling such issues, however, becomes further complicated if you suspect the employee may be making a false allegation. False accusations at work can relate to any kind of untrue claim of wrongdoing made by an employee. While some accusers […]
Employee Stealing from Work?
If you suspect an employee stealing from work or misusing company property without permission, it is likely to come as a shock. Any action you take in response to stealing from work must be fully considered and based on factual evidence to avoid falling foul of legal issues. It is also likely you will have […]
Bringing the Company Into Disrepute
For the most part, employees’ work and personal lives coexist harmoniously side by side. However, there are occasions when an employee’s behaviour or conduct outside of work may be considered to be sufficiently unacceptable to be damaging to the employer’s own reputation. In such situations, the employee can be said to be bringing the company […]
Conducting a Disciplinary Investigation
A disciplinary investigation is where your organisation needs to look further into the conduct of an employee, or to ascertain the facts surrounding an incident or allegation, prior to taking disciplinary action. It is not always the case that a disciplinary investigation will result in a disciplinary hearing. The aim of the investigation is to […]