Your rights in disciplinary procedures

It can be a daunting and stressful experience if your employer initiates disciplinary proceedings against you. The process is usually endured with a degree of anxiety, which is often heightened by the sense that your employer may not give you fair or proper consideration to the matters involved

However there are measures in place intended to ensure that such internal disputes are resolved in a fair, consistent and timely fashion.

The new Code of Practice

From 6 April 2009 the rules around internal disciplinary processes changed. If you are disciplined now, or in the future, the process that is followed will be subject to a new regime involving a Code of Practice drafted by 'ACAS', a service that helps to prevent and resolve employment disputes.

The Code outlines the steps that employers should follow in any disciplinary processes and provides guidance on the way such proceedings should be handled.

Most employers have written policies relating to the handling of disciplinary and capability proceedings. These should now reflect the Code and be available for employees to read.

Disciplinary Situations

The Code applies to cases of alleged misconduct and poor performance. However, it does not apply to redundancies or non-renewal of fixed-term contracts.