Camphill Village Trust€¦ · Web viewThe Camphill Village Trust is part of the international Camphill movement. The movement was founded in 1940 to create communities where vulnerable

The Camphill Village Trust

Employee Workplace Concerns Procedures

Version 3.0 – April 2008

IntroductionThe Camphill Village Trust is part of the international Camphill movement. The movement was founded in 1940 to create communities where vulnerable children, youths and adults, many with learning disabilities, could live, learn and work with others in relationships based on care and respect for each other.

As employers, we have legal duties and responsibilities. In addition, as part of the Camphill movement, we have a responsibility to uphold our founding ideals. Our movement was inspired by the Christian ideals expressed by Rudolf Steiner and others in the early part of the 20th century. These ideals are based on recognising that each human being is an individual to be valued. Our respect for what we see as the ‘spiritual uniqueness’ of each human being means that we try to respect the dignity of all those who are part of what we do.

ContentsThis document is for employees* working in The Camphill Village Trust (CVT) and contains the following:

PageEmployee Concerns Procedure - if you are worried about anything to do with your work

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Dignity at Work Procedure - if you are experiencing behaviour that is unacceptable to you 6

Whistle-blowing Procedure - if you have concerns about something that may be malpractice 10

Employer Concerns Procedure - if we become concerned about your work or conduct 11

Dismissal Procedure - if we are considering ending your employment 16

Mediation - when mediation might be appropriate 18

Non-contractual

* And all other workers within the legal meaning of that word (Section 230 Employment Rights Act 1996). For instance, this would include bank or relief staff.

These procedures do not form part of your contract of employment (except where we have said that a particular provision does form part). This means that we have been able to include more details and explanations so you can understand more about the purpose of this procedure and how it works. We hope including more details will also support us to act fairly without meaning we have broken your contract of employment if by mistake we overlook some of the specific details in practice. It also means we can retain some flexibility, for instance, to respond differently in circumstances we have not anticipated.

Local variationsMost employees work in CVT centres, so this document refers to Management Groups and Local Management Committees. We recognise some centres use different names or may have slightly different structures.

The stages of decision-making given in this document illustrate the underlying principles involved. Sometimes it may be appropriate for decision-making stages and those responsible for each stage to be modified to reflect local arrangements and the specific context. There will always be at least two stages.

The CVT HR Group will advise on the equivalent bodies for centrally employed employees, if none are readily identifiable they will be the CVT HR Group and CVT Council.

More information and adviceYou may wish to refer to the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures (www.acas.org.uk) or contact ACAS on 08457 474747 for general advice and additional information about your legal rights.

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http://www.acas.org.uk/

Employee Concerns Procedure__________________________________________________________________

The purpose of this procedure

The purpose of this procedure is to allow you to raise concerns with us.

We hope that this procedure will help us to listen to and acknowledge your concerns. We are committed to treating your concerns seriously and to responding quickly and effectively.

Using this procedure will usually be necessary to protect your legal interests before an Employment Tribunal.

When to use this procedure

Please use this procedure if you are worried about anything to do with your work. This could include, for example, concerns about your work environment, the people you work with, our workplace practices, health and safety or unfair treatment. In some circumstances you may wish to refer to our Whistle-blowing Procedure.

Where you are concerned about the welfare of a resident you may find it helpful to look at our Adult Protection Policy. Please raise your concern directly with the Safeguarding Adults Officer named in the Adult Protection Policy.

If you feel that you are being treated in a way that you find unacceptable, please consider using the Dignity at Work Procedure.

How this procedure works

Informal discussionsIf you feel worried about anything to do with your work, we ask you to talk about your concerns first with your manager.

We hope that your concerns will usually be sorted out in this way. However, if your concerns are not sorted out, we would like to hear about them formally from you.

In some circumstances, because of our legal responsibilities, we may decide we have to look into your concerns even though you may not want this to happen. We will always talk to you about this before we go ahead.

In writing At each of the formal stages of this procedure, you will need to ask us in writing to use this procedure and give written details of your concerns. Making this request in writing helps to make sure that everyone is clear that you wish to use the formal stages of this procedure and means we are both complying with the law on workplace disputes. If you would like help with setting out your concerns in writing please ask for assistance.

If you write expressing concerns and we are not sure whether you wished the matter to be dealt with as a formally, we may write to you to check you wish to proceed formally and ask you to confirm in writing if you do not.

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Fact-finding We may need to look into your concerns to make sure that we have all the relevant facts.

A companionAt each of the formal stages of this procedure, you may ask a work colleague or trade union representative to come with you to help you explain your concerns. Your chosen companion may speak at the meeting to explain your concerns, sum up your concerns and respond on your behalf to any view we express at the meeting. They may ask questions on your behalf but they should not usually answer questions for you. They may ask for a short break to talk privately with you.

We will try to agree a date and time for the meeting that suits everyone. If your chosen companion cannot attend on the date and time we suggest, you may suggest another date and time that is within five days of the date we suggested or, if we agree, a later date. Your chosen companion may have a reasonable period of time off work both before and after the meeting to help them to fulfil their responsibilities. They should arrange this with their manager.

NotesWe will take notes during the meeting and give you a copy. We will ask you to tell us in writing if we have missed out anything or if something we wrote is not accurate. We keep notes so we can refer back to them at later stages in the procedure. We also keep notes because, as you are entitled to raise problems relating to your work, we need to keep records to show that we have fulfilled our obligations.

ConfidentialityIf we are given sensitive or private information during this procedure, we will treat it with respect and deal with it in an appropriate manner.

Writing to you after a formal meetingSo the situation is clear for everyone, we will write to you our outlining your concerns, our fact-finding, and subsequent decision and we will remind you of any right to appeal. We will usually write within five days of the meeting. If we cannot respond to your concerns within this time, we will explain why and let you know when you can expect a written response.

After you leave our employmentWithin three months of working with us, you may still raise a concern about your work with us by writing to us with details of your concern. We will then seek to arrange a formal meeting with you under stage two of this procedure. You may ask a former colleague or trade union representative to come with you to the meeting. If we both agree in writing that a formal meeting is not appropriate, we will simply respond to your concern in writing.

How to use the procedure

Stage one – formal meetingIf you are still concerned after your informal discussions, you may write to the Management Group to ask them consider your concerns. Usually two members of the Management Group will arrange to meet you (ideally, within a ten days) and respond to your concerns. They will write to you after the meeting with a written response and remind you that you have a right of appeal.

Stage two – appealIf you are still concerned, you may appeal to the Local Management Committee by writing to them within five days. Usually two members of the Local Management Committee will

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arrange to meet you (ideally, within ten days). If possible, those hearing your appeal will not have been involved at an earlier stage of this procedure. They write to you after the meeting with a written response.

The Chairman of the CVT HR Group will be told that there is appeal and a member of the CV T HR Group may assist with the appeal process.

Stage three – final appealIf you are still concerned, you may appeal to the Council of The Camphill Village Trust by writing to The Trust Office within five days. Usually two members of the Council will arrange to meet you (ideally, within ten days). If possible, those hearing your appeal will not have been involved at an earlier stage of this procedure. They write to you after the meeting with a written response. Their decision will be final.

We hope you will find this procedure provides a fair and effective way to resolve your concerns.

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Dignity at Work Procedure________________________________________________________________________


We believe everyone should be treated with respect and we will not accept behaviour that we believe adversely affects someone’s dignity. We will treat very seriously any complaint of such behaviour. We also recognise that you may find raising a complaint of this sort particularly difficult and so we have designed this procedure with that in mind.

We believe dignity at work needs everyone to take responsibility for managing their working relationships positively and constructively.

What helps? Welcome new arrivals Be fair and just when dealing with people Respect people’s rights and their individuality Say when you don’t understand and ask for help, and make it possible for

other people to do so too Admit you make mistakes and change your mind, and accept that other

people can do so too Express your feelings, opinions and values, and welcome other people doing

so too Say ‘no’ to unreasonable requests and explain why, and accept ‘no’ from

other people

When to use this procedure

Please use this procedure when you feel that you are experiencing behaviour that you find unacceptable. You may be experiencing such behaviour from an individual or group of individuals: they may be a colleague, your manager or someone else working with us.

You may find it useful to consider the descriptions of behaviour in the boxes below. Definitions of these terms vary and overlap - it is not necessary for you to find a ‘label’ before you use the procedure.

The most important consideration is not what the behaviour might be called but whether the behaviour is unacceptable by reasonable, normal standards and is disadvantageous, unwelcome or unacceptable to you.

Harassment involves unreasonable or offensive behaviour that causes you to feel hurt or embarrassed. It may be related to age, gender, race, disability, religion, sexual orientation or any other personal characteristic. It may be persistent or an isolated incident. The main thing is that this behaviour is unwanted.

Bullying involves behaviour that repeatedly demeans, devalues or intimidates. A person who is being bullied can feel worthless or threatened. It can involve the abuse or misuse of position. It is rarely a single incident and is more often a build-up of many small incidents, which often involve persistent criticism. It may involve shouting, personal insults and public humiliation. It may also involve more subtle methods such as ignoring or

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leaving a person out. It does not normally include a single incident where the stress of the moment causes behaviour to get worse for a brief period.

Examples of harassing or bullying or behaviour include: spreading rumours which cause harm embarrassing or insulting remarks or behaviour jokes or comments about someone’s appearance verbal abuse unwelcome sexual advances – touching, standing too close, displaying suggestive

pictures and suggestions or demands for sexual favours leaving a person out or picking on them unfair treatment overbearing supervision or misusing a position of power making threats or comments about job security deliberately undermining a competent worker by overloading them with work and

criticising them constantly preventing individuals progressing by intentionally blocking opportunities copying critical information about someone to others who do not need to know ridiculing or demeaning someone – picking on them or setting them up to fail


Complain promptlyWe ask you to raise any complaint with us promptly (ideally within five days of the incident, or the most recent incident, occurring). This will help to make sure that everyone involved can clearly recall the events leading up to your complaint.

ConfidentialityIf we are given sensitive or private information during this procedure, we will treat it with respect and deal with it in an appropriate manner. We will expect you, and anyone else involved, to take similar care.

In writingIf you make a formal complaint, we will ask you to confirm your complaint in writing. If you ask us, we will help you to do this.

A companionYou may ask a colleague or trade union representative to come with you when you make a formal complaint and when we meet with you as part of the fact-finding. Your chosen companion may speak at the meeting to put your complaint, sum up your complaint and respond on your behalf to any view we express at the meeting. They may ask questions on your behalf but they should not usually answer questions for you. They may ask for a brief break to talk privately with you.

We will try to agree a date and time for formal meetings that suits everyone. If your chosen companion cannot attend on the date and time we suggest, you may suggest another date and time that is within five days of the date we suggested or, if we agree, a later date. Your chosen companion may have a reasonable period of time off work both before and after the meeting to help them to fulfil their responsibilities. They should arrange this with their manager.

Fact-findingAfter a formal complaint, we will meet everybody concerned to look into your complaint further. If the complaint is about you, you are welcome to invite a colleague to come with you.

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NotesWe will take notes during the meeting and give you a copy. We will ask you to tell us in writing if we have missed out anything or if something we wrote is not accurate. We keep notes so we can refer back to them at later stages in the procedure. We also keep notes because, as you are entitled to raise problems relating to your work, we need to keep records to show that we have fulfilled our obligations.

Using the Employer Concerns ProcedureAt any stage in the formal procedure, we may want to use the Employer Concerns Procedure or the equivalent procedure for co-workers, and information you have given may be used as part of that procedure.

Counselling We may suggest you have some counselling, coaching or training. Counselling can provide personal support whilst the situation is being sorted out and help you identify any patterns of behaviour you have that are contributing to the situation. Coaching or training can help. For instance, being able to speak up and express yourself clearly is an important skill for positive personal relationships and support to develop assertiveness skills may be helpful. We may also consider counselling, coaching or training for the person or people you have complained about.

We may also consider arranging mediation. More details about mediation are given in a separate section on mediation in the Workplace Concerns Procedures.

False complaintsWe take your complaints seriously, so please be aware that we regard making false or malicious complaints as a serious matter for which we may want to use the Employer Concerns Procedures.

How to use the procedure

Informal discussionsYou can try to deal with the situation informally but what you should do informally depends on how serious the behaviour you feel you are experiencing is, and what you actually feel able to do about it.

You may find it helpful to keep a record of what is happening. You might include what is being said and done and how you are feeling together with a note of the dates you made the record. You might also keep copies of anything else relevant.

Before raising your complaint formally using this procedure, if you feel able to, talk or write to the people involved, to make it clear to them that their behaviour is unwanted and unacceptable to you and that you want their behaviour to stop. They may not realise the effect of their behaviour on you. You may find it helpful to keep a written note of your conversations in case this informal approach does not stop their unacceptable behaviour.

You may find it helpful to talk to a colleague to check your view of the situation, to get some support and to help you gain the confidence to handle the situation yourself. You may want to ask them to come with you when you speak to the people involved or you may want to ask them to speak for you initially.

You may also find it helpful to talk informally with a member of the Management Group. They will listen carefully, explain this procedure, help you to identify possible courses of action and help you to decide what you want to do.

They may decide they need to seek advice from members of the CVT HR Group before deciding how best to proceed. Because we have a legal duty to provide a safe, non-

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discriminatory, harassment-free workplace, they may decide, immediately or after waiting to see if you are able to improve the situation informally, that they need to respond even though you may not want them to. They will usually let you know if this is so. They may decide that the situation so serious that they need to investigate and consider the complaint further using the Employer Concerns Procedure or the equivalent for co-workers.

Formal complaintsIf an informal approach to the other people involved does not stop their behaviour, or if their behaviour is of a serious nature, then you should speak directly to your manager. If you cannot do this, for whatever reason, you should speak to a member of the Management Group. (If feel unable to do so please discuss your situation with a member of the CVT HR Group.) You should tell them that you want to complain formally as part of this procedure.

They will ask you to confirm your complaint in writing before they look into it further. They will help you with setting out your complaint in writing if you need assistance. If you find it too embarrassing or too difficult to do this, then you may ask a colleague or trade union representative to come with you and they may, if you want, speak for you.

The person you complain to is responsible for making sure that your complaint is properly looked into, sensitively and discreetly, and as soon as possible. They may suggest that another person from inside or outside our organisation is involved if they think this might be helpful. They might ask someone of the same gender as you to help if you are complaining of being sexually harassed, or someone who has had relevant training or experience. They will ask you to meet with them to discuss your complaint. You may invite a colleague or trade union representative to come with you to this meeting.

They will tell the other people involved in writing that you have made a complaint and the nature of that complaint and meet with them to give them the opportunity to respond.

Where the complaint is very serious, we may feel that it is in everyone’s best interest if everyone involved stays at home on full pay while we look into the situation further. We may offer this to you as an option and we may offer or require it of the other people involved.

Once the fact-finding has been carried out, a meeting will be held under stage one of the Employee Concerns Procedure and we will tell give you an opportunity to comment on our findings and our proposed response before reaching a final decision. We will tell you in person our decision and confirm it in writing. Our written response will remind you of your right to appeal (using stage two of the Employee Concerns Procedure).

The action we take once we have looked into your complaint will depend on how serious the behaviour is and how often it occurs. If the Employer Concerns Procedure or the equivalent for co-workers is initiated you will be informed that this is happening and when procedure concludes but we may not think it appropriate to tell you in detail about the outcome.

We hope never to have to use this procedure. If we do, we hope that it will provide a safe and fair framework for a solution to be found.

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Whistle-blowing Procedure________________________________________________________________________

When to use this procedureWe would like you to raise with us issues that concern you. If there is anything that concerns you, please either use the Employee Concerns Procedure or the Dignity at Work Procedure. Where you are concerned about the welfare of a resident you may find it helpful to look at our Adult Protection Policy. Please raise your concern directly with the Safeguarding Adults Co-ordinator named in the Adult Protection Policy.

In some circumstances you may feel it is necessary to use this Whistle-blowing Procedure. This procedure may be appropriate if you have concerns about something that may be malpractice (that is, something which is immoral, illegal or which breaks our rules).

How this procedure worksYou may be worried that if you report these issues, you will be victimised or harmed, or will put your job at risk. You will have legal protection if you raise your concerns in the right way. If you are acting in good faith and honestly and reasonably believe your concerns are true, it does not matter if you are mistaken. There is no question of you having to prove your concerns. However, if you make false and malicious accusations you will not be protected by law and we will consider using the Employer Concerns Procedure.

We will decide how to respond to your concerns in a responsible and appropriate manner. We will treat allegations of malpractice seriously.

If you ask us to treat the matter in confidence we will respect your request provided it is lawful and appropriate for us to do so. We will tell you about the decisions we take and the outcome of any enquiries and investigations we carry out. However, we may not be able to tell you anything about other people as we may have to keep that confidential.

How to blow the whistlePlease tell your manager or any other appropriate person. If you feel you cannot do this, for whatever reason, please tell a member of the Management Group. We may use the principles of our Employee Concerns Procedure to give us a framework for responding to your concerns.

If you have raised your concerns in this way and you are still worried, or the matter is so serious you feel you need to raise it at a higher level, or if you have no confidence that they will take your concern seriously, please raise the matter with the Chair of the Local Management Committee or if you feel it is more appropriate the Hon. Secretary or the Chairman of the Council of The Camphill Village Trust. Their details can be obtained from the CVT Trust Office, The Old School House, Old Malton, North Yorkshire, YO17 7HD, telephone 0845 0944638, email: [email protected].

If you feel that you cannot raise your concerns with anyone within our organisation and you honestly and reasonably believe the information and any allegations are true, you should consider raising the matter with the appropriate outside authorities. However, in some circumstances you may not have legal protection. Foror your own protection, you may wish to take advice before following this course of action. ACAS on 08457 474747 may be able to give you advice or refer you to more specialist source of advice.

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Employer Concerns Procedure__________________________________________________________________


We need everyone who works with us to maintain certain standards of conduct and work. We believe that this procedure will help us to maintain those standards.

When we will use this procedure

We will use this procedure if we become worried about your conduct or your standard of work. Our Dismissal Procedure will apply in most other circumstances where dismissal is being considered.


Talking informally firstIf we become worried that your conduct or work is below the standards we need, your manager will talk with you informally about our concerns and seek to help you improve your conduct or work.

If our concerns are about your work we will talk with you to try to find out why your conduct or work is below the standards we need. We will identify and agree with you the actions needed to help you improve. This may include us reviewing the standards we expect, offering you advice, guidance or training or offering counselling or support where your work problems are related to your personal life. We may write to you after talking with you informally to outline what we agreed during these informal discussions.

We may need to use the formal parts of this procedure if your conduct or work does not improve during an agreed review period, but we hope that we will be able to sort out most of our concerns informally in this way.

At this informal stage, we may give a verbal warning that, if your conduct or work remains unsatisfactory, we may consider our concerns formally, issue more warnings using this procedure and that ultimately we may dismiss you. Despite this being a verbal warning we may confirm in writing that a verbal warning has been given.

Serious concernsIn some circumstances, we may consider that our concerns are so serious that we need to recognise their seriousness formally using this procedure.

However, we will not dismiss you because of a single incidence of unsatisfactory conduct unless we consider your conduct so serious that we have no in order fulfil our responsibility to protect the interests of residents, co-workers and their families, employees and other volunteers, the Centre and The Camphill Village Trust.

Fact-finding Your manager will decide whether and how to carry out a fact finding. However, the Chairman of the group to which your manager is normally accountable may require a fact-finding to be carried out into an incident of concern.

We will not make any decisions until we feel confident that we have done all we can to look into the situation fully. This may involve us meeting with you. In these circumstances, although you are not legally entitled to have a chosen companion with you, you are

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welcome to have a colleague or trade union representative come with you if you would find that helpful.

If possible, we will arrange for the fact-finding to be carried out by someone who is not going to be a decision-maker at the formal meeting. They will collect and present the documentary evidence and supporting statements. They may draw conclusions from the facts and may make recommendations. They may be invited to attend the formal meeting to answer questions.

Where the concern is such that the police and/or other statutory agencies are involved, the fact-finding may be undertaken by them.

Where possible, we will share with you relevant information we obtain during our fact-finding before the formal meeting with you. If we have obtained information from other employees or other people then we would usually share relevant information with you in the form of our notes or signed statements from them.

SuspensionWe may suspend you on full pay for a short period while we carry out our fact-finding as this is often the most humane approach for everyone involved. Where the Adult Protection Policy is being followed because the welfare of a resident is involved, it will usually mean you will be suspended and the incident will be investigated externally before any further action is taken by us.

An opportunity to explainWe will not make any decisions about your future with us without first giving you the opportunity to explain and talk about the situation with us.

To help you prepare to talk with us, we will always write to tell you about our concerns and the reasons for them before meeting with you formally. We will give you a copy of this procedure and remind you that you may bring a companion with you. If we think a possible outcome is that you might be dismissed we will tell you.

We will also give you an opportunity at the meeting to tell us about anything you would like us to take into account as a reason why a lesser consequence would be appropriate (for instance, your previous good record or a family situation that is seriously affecting you). Although, we may consider a greater consequence appropriate because, for instance, you held a position of seniority or trust.

You may ask for people to come to the meeting to make a statement on your behalf or to answer questions. You will need to let us know in plenty of time so the necessary arrangements can be made. Their attendance and how questions are put is at our discretion. For instance, we may ask that you write down the questions you would like to ask.

Postponement or adjournmentWe will not make any decisions until we feel confident that we have done all we can to look into the situation fully. If we feel it is necessary, so that we can look into the situation further we will postpone our meeting with you or, if the meeting has already started, stop it and resume it later.

A companionTo help you during meetings, you may invite a colleague or trade union representative to come with you to any formal meeting that we hold as part of this procedure. Your chosen companion may speak at the meeting to put your position, sum up your position and respond on your behalf to any view we express at the meeting. They may ask questions on your behalf but they should not usually answer questions for you. They may ask for a brief break to talk privately with you.

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NotesWe will keep notes of our meetings with you and give you a copy of our notes. We will ask you to tell us in writing if we have missed out anything or if something we wrote is not accurate before we place a copy with your employment records. We will keep notes to help us to reach our decision and to help us show that we have treated you fairly.

ConfidentialityIf we are given sensitive or private information during this procedure, we will treat it with respect and deal with it in an appropriate manner.

Time to consider After any meeting we hold with you as part of this procedure, we will take time to think about and discuss the situation before we reach a decision. This may be as little as a few minutes or take a few days depending on how complicated the issues we need to consider are. We may meet with you to give you our decision or we may simply write to you.

Outcomes As a result of a formal meeting and its findings, we may decide to take no further action, warn you of future possible consequences, impose appropriate consequences or dismiss you.

Warning of future possible consequencesWe may warn you that if there is any further similar unacceptable conduct or no improvement in your work within a certain specified period then we may use this procedure again and there is likely to be more serious consequences which might include being dismissed. We will keep a record of that warning. Except with the most serious concerns, you would usually receive a written and a final written warning before we would consider your dismissal.

The period specified will normally be from six to twelve months but in some serious situations may be two years or even be of indefinite duration where we had been considering your dismissal.

Dismissal We will not dismiss you because of a single incidence of unsatisfactory conduct unless we consider your conduct so serious that we have no choice but to dismiss you immediately, without notice and without any payment instead of notice.

We need high levels of trust between everyone working in our organisation to fulfil our purpose. When this trust and confidence is seriously undermined, with no reasonable prospect of it being restored because of the risks involved, we are likely to consider your immediate dismissal.

Examples of conduct that may lead to immediate dismissal include: theft, fraud, deliberate damage to property, assault serious negligence including serious disregard for health and safety requirements

or other policies and procedures conduct which could seriously damage our reputation, including, for instance,

inappropriate behaviour towards our residents or day clients, neighbours, customers, visitors, suppliers or external agencies

conduct which seriously undermines working relationships, including serious cases 13

of harassment or bullying any conduct which places our residents, co-workers or their families, employees

and other volunteers at serious risk.

If we dismiss you having warned you previously that we might dismiss you, then we may require you to work your notice period or, and this is more likely, we may require you not to work your notice period.

Examples of conduct that may lead to our ultimately dismissing you include: poor work, poor attendance or timekeeping being absent without good reason being careless or negligent refusing to carry out reasonable requests not following health and safety requirements not following our policies and procedures behaviour which could harm our reputation, including, for instance, inconsiderate

behaviour towards our residents and day clients, neighbours, customers, visitors or suppliers

behaviour which could disrupt working relationships or relationships with anyone involved in our organisation.

If we dismiss you we will advise you in writing of the reasons for dismissing you. You may have a statutory right to ask us for written reasons for dismissing you and, if we have not already done so, we will give you these within two weeks of your request.

If we dismiss you we will pay you through the PAYE system up to the date of your dismissal and for any unused annual paid leave. We will give you your P45 and (if relevant) an SSP1 form.

Appropriate consequencesIt is a term of your contract of employment that we may at our discretion impose one or more of the following consequences:

- reduce your pay and your responsibilities- move you to an alternative role- suspend you without pay for a period - require you to attend training or obtain a relevant qualification- change a term of your employment (like, for instance, requiring daily telephone

reporting during sickness absence), or- withhold a discretionary payment (like, for instance, a pay increase or a

performance bonus).We might do this, for instance, where the circumstances are such that we would normally dismiss but your overall employment record is good and we decide a lesser consequence would be appropriate.

Writing to you after each meetingSo that the situation is clear for everyone, we will write to you to outline briefly our concerns, our fact-finding, our meeting with you (including the name of your chosen companion) and the outcome of our meeting. We will also arrange for you to receive a copy of the notes of the meeting. After stage one – formal meeting, we will also remind you of your right to appeal, that you will need to tell us you wish to appeal within five days, and of your right to invite a companion to your appeal. After stage two – appeal we will also remind you that this decision is final and there is no further right to appeal.

Appealing14

If you are not satisfied with any decision or action we decide to take, you may appeal in writing within five days. If at all practicable, the people who hear your appeal will not be the same as the people who met with you as part of this procedure. You may ask a colleague or trade union representative to come with you to any meeting held as part of your appeal.

You wish to appeal because, for example, you think the process, or the findings and outcomes were unfair or because you have new information that you believe may be relevant or because you think the process was not fair.

Those hearing your appeal may confirm, cancel or decrease the action you are appealing against, but not increase it. If you are re-employed following an appeal against being dismissed, we will pay your normal earnings from the date we ended your employment until the date we reinstate you. Your employment rights and employee benefits will continue on the basis that your dismissal and reinstatement have not broken your service with us.

Your concernsIf you feel we are treating you unfairly, to protect your legal interests you should explain this to us in writing so that we can consider your concerns at either the formal meeting or the appeal meeting. In some circumstances, we may stop this procedure for a short time while we consider your concerns as part of the Employee Concerns Procedure or Dignity at Work Procedure.

Mediation procedureIt is possible the outcomes of this procedure will leave unresolved conflict within the within the workplace, as its task is not to resolve conflict between colleagues but to protect the interests of the organisation as a whole. If this is the case the Mediation procedure may be used.

FlexibilityThis procedure is not intended to be prescriptive. We may wish to adapt the procedure in order to respond differently in circumstances we have not anticipated. However, we will honour our commitment to the underlying principles of fairness and respect and to complying with the law.

How we will use the procedure

Stage one – formal meetingWe will arrange for two members of the Management Group will meet with you formally as part of this procedure.

Stage two – appealUsually we will arrange for two members of the Local Management Committee to hear your appeal, if possible within ten days of receiving your notice of appeal. They may confirm, cancel or decrease the action you are appealing against, but not increase it. They will write to tell you the outcome within five days of hearing your appeal. They will remind you that their decision is final and that there is no further appeal.

The Chairman of the CVT HR Group will be told that there is appeal and a member of the CVT HR Group may assist with the appeal process.

We hope that we will use this procedure rarely. When we do we hope that it will help us to treat you fairly.

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Dismissal Procedure


We believe how a relationship ends is important and that this is just as true for working relationships. For this reason we wish make sure as a minimum we explain our reasons for considering ending your employment with us, give you a chance to respond before we reach a decision and give you an opportunity to appeal against our decision.

This procedure follows the minimum statutory dismissal and disciplinary procedure. Following this procedure protects both our legal interests and your legal interests should the fairness of your dismissal be considered by an Employment Tribunal.

If you feel we are treating you unfairly to protect your legal interests you should explain that to us in writing so that we can consider your concerns at either the formal meeting or the appeal meeting.

When we will use this procedure

We will use this procedure when we are considering your dismissal:- during or at the end of a review period or extended review period- because of long-term ill-health- at end of a fixed-term contract or other temporary contract- upon you reaching your normal retirement age (when our On Retirement guide is

also relevant)- because your position is redundant, or- any other reason not related to performance or conduct, when we will use our

Employer Concerns Procedure.We will also use this procedure when we are considering some other action, other than a warning or your dismissal, and the Employer Concerns Procedure does not apply.


Step 1 – put it in writingWe will set out in writing the reasons for us contemplating dismissal. We will send this statement to you and invite you to attend a meeting to discuss the matter.

Step 2 – meet and discussAfter allowing you time to consider the issues raised, we will meet with you to discuss the situation. You should take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting. You may choose a colleague or trade union representative to accompany you to the meeting. Usually one or two members of the Management Group will meet with you.

After the meeting, we will inform you in writing of our decision and your right of appeal. We do not need to wait on the appeal before carrying out our decision. If we dismiss you, we will give you the reasons for your dismissal in writing. You should appeal if you wish to protect your legal interests before an Employment Tribunal.

Step 3 – appeal (if requested)If you wish to appeal you must inform us in writing within five and we will then invite you to attend a further meeting. You should take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting.

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The appeal will, if at all possible, be dealt with by people who did not attend the first meeting. Usually two members of the Local Management Committee will meet with you (ideally within ten days). You have a right to be accompanied at the appeal meeting. They may confirm, cancel or decrease the action you are appealing against, but not increase it. After the appeal meeting we will write to you to tell you of our decision (ideally within five days). Their decision will be final.

The CVT HR Group will be told that there is appeal and may assist with the appeal process.

A companionTo help you during meetings, you have a legal right to invite a colleague or trade union representative to come with you to any formal meeting that we hold as part of this procedure. Your chosen companion may speak at the meeting to put your position, sum up your position and respond on your behalf to any view we express at the meeting. They may ask questions on your behalf but they should not usually answer questions for you. They may ask for a brief break to talk privately with you.


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Mediation________________________________________________________________________

Mediation is a voluntary process involving a neutral person talking with people in dispute.

The mediator will meet with people individually, or together, or both individually and together, as the mediator thinks most appropriate with the aim of helping them see if they can find a satisfactory way forward that each person involved can live with.

If you consider that the matter might be best resolved through mediation then please raise that with us. Mediation may not be appropriate in all situations, however if you suggest it we will give its use serious consideration.

Similarly if we think mediation would help resolve the matter we may suggest it to you as an option.

Normally we would expect the appropriate workplace concerns procedure to have been started before mediation is used. If mediation is agreed when one of the workplace concerns procedures is being used we will usually put the procedure on hold and resume it if the mediation does not resolve the matter.

As mediation is a voluntary process, the first step would be talking with a proposed mediator to find out more about what mediation is about, before deciding if you would like to try mediation. Once everyone involved has agreed they are willing to try mediation, the mediator will become responsible for organising the mediation.

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Documents

Camphill Village Trust€¦ · Web viewThe Camphill Village Trust is part of the international Camphill movement. The movement was founded in 1940 to create communities where vulnerable