Disciplinary, Dismissal and Grievance Procedures

General Principles

The following general principles will apply to the Disciplinary, Dismissal and Grievance Procedures

Each step and action will be taken without unreasonable delay. Timelines may vary to those set out in this policy, due to (for example) the volume or complexity of the allegations being considered, or the availability of appropriate members of staff to conduct each stage of the process.
Whenever the worker is invited by Cavendish Professionals to attend a meeting, the worker must take all reasonable steps to attend.
At all stages of the procedure (except any investigation meetings) the worker will have the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or a work colleague of your choice. If your choice of companion is unreasonable (e.g. because they are unavailable for a prolonged period of time or because of a conflict of interest) Cavendish Professionals may ask you to choose someone else. If your companion is unable to attend any such meeting you may suggest an alternative date, provided it is within 5 working days of the original date.
Timing and location of meetings must be reasonable.
Meetings will be conducted in a manner that enables both Cavendish Professionals and the worker to explain their case.
Meetings may be adjourned so that further investigation can be carried out in light of any new points raised. Any new information obtained will be provided to you for consideration before the meeting is reconvened.
For appeal hearings following a decision Cavendish Professionals will as far as reasonably practicable, be represented by a more senior manager than attended the first meeting (unless the most senior manager attended that meeting).
Whenever Cavendish Professionals or the worker is required to send the other a statement, the original or a copy will suffice.
If you have difficulty at any stage of the procedure because of a disability please discuss this as soon as possible with Cavendish Professionals.

Purpose

The Disciplinary, Dismissal and Grievance procedures are designed to help and encourage all workers to achieve and maintain appropriate standards of conduct, attendance and job performance. Cavendish Professionals’ rules and these procedures apply to all workers. The aim is to ensure consistent and fair treatment for all in the organisation.

Principles

No disciplinary action will be taken against a worker until the case has been fully investigated. The amount of investigation required will depend on the nature of the allegations and will vary from case to case.
Cavendish Professionals may suspend a worker with or without pay while an investigation takes place. Such a suspension will be reviewed as soon as possible and will not normally exceed 10 working days. Suspension of this kind is not a disciplinary penalty and does not imply any decision has been made about the allegations.
A worker will not be dismissed for a first breach of discipline except in the case of gross misconduct (when the penalty may be dismissal without either notice or payment in lieu of notice).
Misconduct will generally fall into two categories, namely “general” misconduct (in respect of which the general disciplinary action procedure described below applies) and “gross” misconduct, which is of so serious a nature that it justifies instant dismissal for a first offence. Listed below are examples which would normally be considered to be either general misconduct or gross misconduct. However, it should be recognised that neither list can be regarded as complete to meet every case, and also that action described as general misconduct may amount to and be treated as gross misconduct if the circumstances or the manner of the misconduct are such as to warrant serious disciplinary action. These lists should be regarded therefore as being illustrative rather than exhaustive.

Examples of “gross” misconduct:

Summary dismissal (i.e dismissal without notice or pay in lieu of notice) may be necessary in cases of gross misconduct. For guidance, the following are examples of the offences which may be regarded as gross misconduct and will normally result in summary dismissal. It is emphasised that this is not an exhaustive list:

Unauthorised use or disclosure of confidential information or business matters relating to Cavendish Professionals, its clients, temporary workers or applicants.
Acts of violence, including physical assault, unlawful discrimination, drunkenness, taking of non-prescribed drugs in such a way as to impair the ability to carry out work or conduct of any kind which endangers the health and safety of others.
Any bullying or harassment of fellow workers, clients, candidates or any other person.
A criminal offence committed at work other than a minor road traffic offence committed in the course of the employment, or an offence committed outside work which is incompatible with the worker’s terms of engagement with Cavendish Professionals.
Falsification of information or references on appointment.
Theft or fraudulent activity.
Unauthorised absence or gross negligence in the performance of duties.
Breach of Cavendish Professionals’ Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy.
Any conduct tending to bring Cavendish Professionals, or the worker into disrepute or which results in the loss of custom of a client, temporary or applicant or a loss of business.
Working for or assisting a competitor of Cavendish Professionals or seeking to establish a business which is likely to compete with Cavendish Professionals or divulging confidential information concerning Cavendish Professionals and its business.
Serious insubordination or refusal to obey a lawful instruction in connection with the employment.
Deliberate and serious damage to property or causing any loss, damage or injury through negligence.
Serious misuse of Cavendish Professionals’ property or name.

Examples of general misconduct:

The following may be regarded as reasons for disciplinary action in that they deviate from accepted standards and constitute general misconduct. The worker’s first offence will usually result in a written warning. Repetition of offences following a warning could lead to a final written warning as appropriate. Thereafter any repetition will result in dismissal. This is not an exhaustive list:

Poor job performance.
Poor time-keeping.
Failure to comply with the conditions of your contract.
Unseemly or disruptive conduct.

Disciplinary Action:

The following is the disciplinary action that may be taken against a worker in cases of misconduct or unsatisfactory performance

Stage 1 – Formal Written Warning

If a worker’s conduct or performance is unsatisfactory, they will be given a formal written warning. This written warning will include the reason for the warning and a note that, if there is no improvement after a specified period, a final written warning will be given. A copy of the written warning will be given to the worker and a copy will be placed on their personnel file. The warning will be disregarded after 6 months satisfactory service.

Stage 2 – Formal Final Written Warning

If following a written warning, conduct or performance remains unsatisfactory, or if a serious incident occurs, a final written warning will be given making it clear that any recurrence of the offence or other serious misconduct within a specified period will result in dismissal. A copy of the written warning will be given to the worker and a copy will be placed on their personnel file. The warning will then be disregarded after 12 months satisfactory service.

Stage 3 – Dismissal or other sanction

If there is no satisfactory improvement in conduct or performance, or if further serious misconduct occurs within 12 months, the final step in the procedure may be dismissal, either with or without notice or payment in lieu of notice, or some other action short of dismissal such as disciplinary suspension. Stage 3 may also apply to any gross misconduct (even if there are no active warnings on file) or any misconduct during your probationary period.

Disciplinary Procedure

Informal Discussion

Minor breaches of discipline, misconduct, poor time-keeping, etc may result in an informal discussion with the worker’s immediate superior.
Although an informal warning will not be formally recorded for the purposes of any future disciplinary hearing, a note of the conversation may be kept on your personnel file.
It is expected that in most cases an informal discussion will resolve the majority of difficulties. Where a worker commits a more serious act of misconduct or fails to improve and maintain that improvement with regard to conduct, behaviour or job performance, the formal steps detailed below may be taken.

Formal Discussion

Step 1 – Written Statement

Cavendish Professionals will inform the worker in writing of the alleged conduct or characteristics, or other circumstances, which lead Cavendish Professionals to contemplate dismissing or taking disciplinary action against the worker. This shall be done promptly after becoming aware of the circumstances, and the worker shall be invited to attend a meeting to discuss the matter, once any necessary investigations have been conducted to establish the facts of the matter. Cavendish Professionals will provide a copy of any relevant documents which will be used at the disciplinary meeting to the worker in advance of the meeting.

Step 2 – Meeting

The meeting will take place before any action is taken, except in the case where the disciplinary action consists of a suspension on full pay, in order to investigate the allegation.
The meeting will not take place unless:

- Cavendish Professionals has informed the worker of the ground or grounds for contemplating disciplinary action or dismissal; and
- the worker has had a reasonable opportunity to consider his response to that information.

The worker has the right to be accompanied at the meeting by a work colleague or a Trade Union representative.
After the meeting, Cavendish Professionals will inform the worker in writing of its decision as soon as reasonably possible (but normally within one week of the meeting) and notify him/her of the right to appeal against the decision if he/she is not satisfied with it.

Step 3 – Appeal

If the worker does wish to appeal, s/he must inform Cavendish Professionals within 5 working days of receiving the decision, and on doing so Cavendish Professionals will invite him/her to attend a further meeting.

The appeal meeting may not necessarily take place before the dismissal or disciplinary action takes effect but it will be arranged within a reasonable period of time.

The appeal will be dealt with by a more senior manager than at the Step 2 meeting. Where this is not practicable, Cavendish Professionals will hear the appeal and decide the case as impartially as possible.

After the appeal meeting, Cavendish Professionals will inform the worker of its final decision in writing, as soon as reasonably possible (but normally within one week of the meeting). Cavendish Professionals may uphold or revoke the original decision or substitute a different penalty.

Grievance Procedure

If a worker has a problem or concern about their work, working conditions or a relationship with a colleague, they should aim to settle their grievance informally with their line manager.

If an worker’s grievance cannot be settled informally, or a formal approach is preferable, the worker should raise it formally with management by following the procedure below.

Step 1 – Written statement

The worker must set out their grievance in writing and send this statement to the Manager of Cavendish Professionals unless your grievance concerns the Manager of Cavendish Professionals in which case the grievance should be submitted to the Director, Patrick Liston. Include facts, dates, a chronology and names of individuals, as appropriate. The subject heading should be marked as “Formal Grievance”.

Step 2 – Meeting

Cavendish Professionals will invite the worker to attend a meeting to discuss the grievance, normally within 5 days, but longer where it is necessary to undertake an investigation to establish the facts or it is otherwise impracticable.
The meeting will not take place unless:

- the worker has informed Cavendish Professionals of the basis for the grievance in writing; and
- Cavendish Professionals has had a reasonable opportunity to consider its response to that information.

After the meeting Cavendish Professionals will inform the worker of its decision, as soon as reasonably practicable (but normally within one week of the meeting), and Cavendish Professionals will notify the worker of his/her right to appeal if s/he is not satisfied with it.

Step 3 – Appeal

If the worker does wish to appeal, he must inform the Director, Patrick Liston within 5 working days of receiving the decision, and on doing so Cavendish Professionals will invite him/her to attend a further meeting. After the appeal meeting, Cavendish Professionals will inform the worker of its final decision as soon as is reasonably practicable (but normally within one week of the meeting). Cavendish Professionals’ decision is final.

Date: January 2024

Version: 8 (Review)

Source: REC