Disciplinary Policy & Procedure - February 2021

8. Disciplinary Action

Where, following a disciplinary hearing, the Panel agrees that disciplinary action is justified it must decide what form this will take and inform the employee in writing.  Before making this decision, the Panel should consider the following:

•    whether the Authority’s rules indicate the likely penalty that will be imposed as a result of a particular misconduct. 
•    the penalty imposed in similar cases.
•    whether the standards of other employees are acceptable and consistently applied. 
•    the employee’s disciplinary record (including current warnings), general          work record, work experience, position and length of service. 
•    any mitigating circumstances which might make it appropriate to adjust the severity of the penalty. 
•    whether any training, additional support or adjustments to the work area are necessary; and most importantly.  
•    whether the intended action is reasonable under the circumstances.   

Actions available include:
 
First Formal Action - Written Warning

Where misconduct is confirmed, it is usual to give the employee a written warning. Usually issued for an initial breach of discipline or where this is considered reasonable under the circumstances.  In the confirmation letter, the employee should be informed:

• Of the nature of misconduct.
• Any period of time given for improvement and the improvement expected.
• The disciplinary penalty and, where appropriate how long it will last.
• The likely consequences of further misconduct within the set period following the warning. (e.g. final written warning and ultimately dismissal).
• The timescale for lodging an appeal. 
• that the warning will be placed on their personal file but will be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after a specified period. 

Final Written Warning

Usually issued when the employee fails to improve or change their behaviour despite a written warning, commits other unrelated offences within the time limit of the initial warning or where the offence is sufficiently serious.  The content of the letter will be similar to the above but the consequences of further misconduct may be dismissal or some other penalty.

Dismissal or other penalty
 
If an employee fails to improve or change their behaviour or commits other unrelated offences within the time limit of the previous warning, then dismissal or another penalty will be considered.  As an alternative to dismissal (where appropriate), departments are advised to consider issuing a final written warning in conjunction with other penalties and impose what is considered to be reasonable under the circumstances.
 
Other penalties include: 

• Demotion (permanent and temporary) – if temporary the period of   demotion must be set out in the letter to the employee.

• Reduction in salary (permanent and temporary) -. if temporary the period of reduction must be set out in the letter to the employee ▪ Disciplinary transfer to another job or department. 

If an alternative penalty to dismissal is agreed, the employee will be advised in writing that any continuing failure to improve or change their behaviour or committing of other unrelated offences within the agreed time limit may result in dismissal. 
 
A decision to dismiss should not be based on an expired warning but the fact there is an expired warning can be a factor for determining why a lesser sanction is not considered reasonable 
 
Note:  Some of these penalties may impact on future pension provision for employees who are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme and appropriate advice must be sought.