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Human Resources

Disciplinary Policy

2013

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DISCIPLINARY POLICY FOR STAFF

A. RATIONALE The document sets out the College’s Disciplinary Procedure and applies to all staff. The key purpose of the Disciplinary Procedure is to manage employee misconduct, poor performance and capability issues alongside the Performance Management Policy. The Disciplinary Procedure follows good employee relations practice and the ACAS Code guidelines on Disciplinary Practice and Procedures in employment. The purpose of this procedure is to help, encourage and support all employees to achieve and maintain standards of conduct and to ensure consistent and fair treatment for all employees. This policy and procedure will not discriminate either directly or indirectly against any individual on grounds of gender, race, ethnicity or national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, religion or belief, age, trade union membership, disability, socio- economic status, offending background or any other personal characteristic. B. SCOPE This policy & procedure applies to all employees, other than Senior Post Holders (as defined in the Instruments and Articles of Government, please see separate Senior Post Holder Disciplinary policy), where it is considered that disciplinary action is warranted on issues of conduct. This policy applies to all employees after the initial probationary period has been satisfactorily completed. Please refer to Probationary Policy & Procedure for the process for dealing with issues arising during the probation period. Any issues of victimisation relating to protected characteristics will be dealt with in line with the Equality Scheme. People being treated unfairly as a result of bringing forward a grievance will be protected under the Equality Act Safeguarding Children The College is required by legislation to ensure the safeguarding of children, young people and vulnerable adults. There are clear obligations on the College to report safeguarding concerns to external bodies and to keep records of such instances. If an allegation is made against an employee and that employee resigns the allegation will continue to be fully investigated and a conclusion reached. Please see the Safeguarding Allegations Management procedure for further details on how allegations will be addressed. Right to Accompaniment An employee will have the right to be accompanied at a hearing or appeal meeting by a work colleague or a trade union representative. This right will be communicated to the employee in the invitation to any relevant meeting.

Suspension If there are reasonable grounds to believe an employee is guilty of an act (or acts) of serious or gross misconduct, the employee may be suspended. The employee is entitled to receive full basic pay during any period of suspension.

Human Resources

ER Hopwood

Hall College T

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Any decision to suspend a member of staff can only be taken by a Senior Post holder of the College. The employee will be informed of the suspension by the Senior Post holder who may be accompanied by a member of the HR team. If the suspension occurs on a Friday then the employee will be given the opportunity to contact a Union representative for support purposes. The suspension will be confirmed in writing to the employee within 3 working days of the suspension detailing the reasons and conditions of the suspension, their right to full pay and their right to appeal against the suspension to the Principal. The outcome of any such appeal hearing could be to continue with the suspension or end the suspension and reinstate the employee in work. The decision to end the suspension does not, in itself, preclude any subsequent disciplinary hearing and / or sanction. Appeal against Suspension The appeal against suspension must be put in writing to the Principal detailing the reasons for the appeal within 5 days of the receipt of the suspension letter. Any appeal hearing will be held as soon as is practicable and the employee will receive at least 3 days’ notice of any such suspension appeal hearing. Right to Appeal An employee will have the right to appeal against any sanction issued during a disciplinary process as detailed in the appeals section of this policy. This right of appeal will be advised to the individual concerned in writing. Where an employee is an accredited trade union representative no formal action, other than suspension, will take place until the circumstances have been discussed with a full time union official. Attendance at Meetings Employees are required to attend all meetings relating to the disciplinary process. If the employee cannot attend, the meeting may be rescheduled once at the request of the employee. If the employee fails to attend any such rescheduled meeting or has no valid reason for non-attendance the College may decide to hold any such meeting in the absence of the employee and a decision taken on the evidence available at that time. The employee will be notified of the decision to hold the meeting in their absence in writing detailing the reasons this decision has been reached and the outcome of the meeting. If an employee has a disability reasonable adjustments will be considered as far as reasonably possible. C. POLICY STATEMENT It is necessary for the proper operation of the College's business and the health and safety of the College's employees that the College operates a disciplinary procedure. The following procedure will be applied fairly in all instances where disciplinary action is regarded as necessary by the College's management save to the extent that advice and counselling is given for any minor act of misconduct committed by an employee.

The College reserves the right to implement the procedure at any stage as set out below taking into account the alleged misconduct of an employee. Employees will not ordinarily be dismissed for a first disciplinary offence unless this is a case of gross misconduct.

D. DISCIPLINARY CASES INVOLVING SENIOR POST-HOLDERS Senior Post-holders including the Principal are accountable to the Corporation. Where a disciplinary issue arises, it is the responsibility of the Chair of Governors (or a Governor delegated by the Chair) to consider suspension if appropriate and carryout a full investigation prior to considering a disciplinary case concerning a Senior Post-holder in line with the Disciplinary Procedure.

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Time frames may be extended to allow for the availability of a Governor but the procedure will be carried out as quickly as possible.

If appropriate, before taking formal disciplinary action, reasonable effort will be made to resolve matters by informal discussions with the Senior Post-holder. This will be dealt with either by the Principal or, if the Principal is the Senior Post-holder concerned, by the Chair of the Corporation, or in his or her absence the Vice-Chair of the Corporation. The disciplinary meeting will be chaired as follows:

i. where disciplinary action short of dismissal is being considered: the meeting will be chaired by a disciplinary panel of the Corporation consisting of two or three Governors.

ii. Where dismissal is a possible outcome: the meeting will be chaired by a special committee of the Corporation consisting of three Governors.

Neither the disciplinary panel nor the special committee shall include the investigating officer

or the staff or student Governors.

The special committee may, following a disciplinary meeting, give notice of dismissal to the Senior Post-holder if:

i. the Senior Post-holder fails to comply with a final written warning ; ii. or despite having been given a final written warning as the result of either misconduct

or unsatisfactory work performance, the Senior Post-holder commits a further offence of misconduct or his or her work performance continues to be unsatisfactory.

In the event of summary dismissal the Corporation shall, without unreasonable delay, provide the dismissed Senior Post-holder with a written statement of the alleged gross misconduct which has led to the dismissal and the reasons why the Corporation considers that the Senior Post-holder was guilty of such misconduct and notifying that Senior Post-holder of the right to appeal against the dismissal.

A Senior Post-holder who wishes to appeal against a disciplinary decision must do so within 10 working days of the date of the decision. To do so, the Senior Post-holder should inform the Clerk to the Corporation in writing, stating the grounds for appeal.

The appeal will be heard by an appeal committee of the Corporation. In so far as is reasonably practicable, the committee will not include any member of the Corporation who has been involved in the disciplinary process in question so far. The committee shall not include the Principal, staff members or student members of the Corporation . Wherever possible, the Chair of the Corporation should be held in reserve for an appeal committee, rather than sitting on the disciplinary panel or special committee. In this way, the most senior member of the Corporation is able to take part in the final stage of the formal disciplinary procedure. E. IMPLEMENTATION

Advice & Counselling (Informal Action) Informal action should be considered where appropriate to resolve problems and so advice and counselling may be appropriate in cases of minor employee misconduct e.g. poor time-keeping. The issuing of an informal warning will not form part of the Disciplinary procedure. Informal advice and guidance may be given by the appropriate manager in the presence of HR without the employee being accompanied. It must be a confidential and constructive two way discussion.

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The discussion and action plans will be documented so that there is a clear understanding of what has been agreed and a letter confirming the outcome will be sent out by the line manager or HR representative. For formal action, the Line Manager may proceed to the formal Disciplinary Procedure as the next stage if the required improvements are not forthcoming. Investigations An initial investigation may be instigated by the line manager (or equivalent manager if more appropriate) immediately following the incident to establish the facts. A formal investigation meeting with the employee will then be arranged prior to any stages of the disciplinary process. Wherever possible and appropriate, the employee will be given reasonable notice of any investigation meeting, taking flexible working into consideration. The purpose of the investigation is to establish facts, circumstances and information relating to the case which may require the investigating manager to interview witnesses, obtain statements and make relevant enquires in order to decide if there is a case to answer at a Disciplinary Hearing. (Refer to Investigation Guidelines for support) The investigation will be conducted by a suitable management representative (usually, but not always, the direct line manager / departmental manager). The College will ensure that the person investigating the disciplinary issue will not chair any subsequent disciplinary meeting. The College will discuss the details of any safeguarding allegations with a Designated Safety Officer (DSO) prior to conducting an internal investigation. Where an allegation of a safeguarding nature has been made to a member of staff they will be suspended from duties on full pay until at least such time as further investigations have been carried out. The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) will be informed of all Safeguarding allegations against staff that come to the employer’s attention and investigations will be carried out by DSO and other appropriate staff following their agreement in line with the College’s Allegations Management Procedure. Following the investigation, a decision may be no further action, to issue a verbal warning (informal action), to follow other more appropriate procedures or to hold a formal Disciplinary hearing. The College will notify the employee as soon as possible when the investigation is concluded. Arrangements for a Disciplinary Hearing Where formal action is to be taken, the employee will be notified of this decision in writing, detailing the allegation to be considered and will be given reasonable notice of the date / time of any Hearing, of at least 5 working days and employees will be provided with written copies of evidence to be considered. The employee must provide any evidence or names of witnesses they wish to provide at least 2 days before a disciplinary hearing. Where the allegation is a matter of safeguarding a decision will be reached with the DSO involved as to what information can be shared. Where there are several documents to be referred to they should be in the form of a numbered bundle. Documents of evidence, witness statements and names of witnesses that are received after 3 days prior to the hearing, will be received at the absolute discretion of the Chair. The Chair may also decide that the request to include certain documents, witness statements and witnesses are irrelevant or unreasonable and the Chair’s decision on this matter can be made at his/her absolute discretion.

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The employee will be informed of their entitlement to be accompanied by a Trade Union representative or work colleague. Other types of representative including family members, lawyers or former work colleagues will not be permitted to attend. Conduct of the Disciplinary Hearing The purpose of the Disciplinary hearing is to review the evidence and facts of the case. The employee will have every opportunity to state his or her case. The Chair of the Disciplinary hearing will hear representations from both sides and be able to make a decision as to whether a case is found and if so an appropriate sanction. The Chair will be accompanied by a member of the HR team who will offer advice and may also ask questions. A note-taker may also attend to record the details of the discussions. The Chair will introduce themself and any colleagues and explain the reason for their presence. The employee subject to the allegation or their representatives will be asked to do likewise and confirm the names of witnesses attending on their behalf. The investigating manager will confirm the names of his/her witnesses. The Chair is responsible for the conduct of the hearing and shall determine any dispute in this respect at his/her absolute discretion and in the interests of natural justice. The Chair will explain that witnesses will be asked to remain outside until required to join the meeting to discuss their evidence. Thereafter they may be requested to remain available. Witnesses may be asked questions by the Chair of the disciplinary hearing or HR team member at any time during the course of their evidence. The Chair will explain the purpose of the hearing and the procedure which will be followed:

The investigating manager will set out the allegation against the employee, introduce the evidence and ask their witness questions

The Chair and/or HR team member may ask the investigating manager/their witnesses questions

The employee may ask the investigating manager/their witnesses questions

The employee will then have the opportunity to present their response to the allegation and may ask their witnesses questions NB the employees accompanying person is there to support the employee and must not answer questions on their behalf

The Chair and/or HR team member may ask the employee/their witnesses questions

The investigating manager may ask the employee/their witnesses questions

The investigating manager will summarise the case by making a final statement (no new evidence should be introduced at this stage)

The employee will summarise the case by making a final statement (no new evidence)

The Chair will adjourn to consider their decision

The Chair will either make a decision and advise the employee following an adjournment of the meeting on the same day or on an agreed date or will explain to the employee why a decision has not been made and agree an appropriate time whereby a decision will be made and communicated to the employee

An adjournment may be requested by either the Chair or the employee at any stage in the hearing.

Disciplinary Decision At the end of the disciplinary hearing the Chair will decide if any disciplinary action should be taken. If no action is taken then any papers relating to the case will be destroyed. If any sanction is made this decision will be summarised in writing to the employee within 5 working days of the decision. Sanctions

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The following points will be considered when arriving at a sanction; the employee’s disciplinary record, precedent cases involving other employees; the evidence presented during the hearing and any other mitigating factors. The following sanctions may be issued as a result of a disciplinary hearing and will take immediate effect:

Verbal Warning A Verbal Warning may be applied by the Chair of a disciplinary hearing for minor misconduct. It is usual that an employee who breaches disciplinary standards on this occasion in a minor way would normally receive this warning but this will vary according to the seriousness of the offence. This warning will remain on the employee’s file for a period of 6 months after which it will be disregarded.

Written Warning A Written Warning may be applied by the Chair of a disciplinary hearing if there is no significant improvement following a Verbal Warning, or if a more serious first instance of misconduct is committed. The Written Warning will be confirmed in writing after a disciplinary hearing is kept on the employee’s file for a period of 12 months at which point it will be disregarded.

Final Written Warning A Final Written Warning may be applied by the Chair of a Disciplinary hearing if there is no significant improvement following a Written Warning. Where there is serious misconduct falling short of gross misconduct the College reserves the right to issue a Final Warning despite the absence of any previous warnings The Final Written Warning will be confirmed in writing after a disciplinary hearing is kept on the employee’s file for a period of 12 months at which point it will be disregarded.

Transfer, Demotion and/or other Appropriate Action In addition to, at the same time as or following a Final Written Warning the employee may be put on an improvement action plan. Where there is no improvement, or a further offence is committed, an employee may be dismissed, transferred, demoted or be subject to other appropriate action, as determined by the Chair of the disciplinary hearing or if appropriate, the Governing Body.

Dismissal with Notice Dismissal with Notice may be applied by the Chair of a disciplinary hearing, if after a Final Written Warning there is no significant improvement or another instance of misconduct is committed during the period of a Final Written Warning or the offence is considered to be serious enough.

Summary Dismissal /Gross Misconduct No employee will be dismissed for a first breach of discipline, except in the case of considered serious or gross misconduct. Summary Dismissal may be applied by the Chair of a disciplinary hearing in cases of Gross Misconduct therefore an employee may be dismissed without notice or prior warnings. In cases with the potential for such action the employee will normally be suspended from work on basic salary whilst the case is investigated. The following examples of gross misconduct are not exhaustive and provide examples of behaviour which may be treated as summary dismissal offences. The College’s Professional Guidelines for staff provide further information about the behaviour expected from all employees.

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Deliberate refusal to carry out a reasonable management instruction

Serious act of insubordination

Serious breach of confidentiality

Being at work under the influence of drugs and alcohol

Serious act of any of the following: harassment, discrimination, victimisation or bullying

Theft from another employee, the College or clients/visitors

Fraud or deliberate misrepresentation

Deliberate damage of College property

Fighting or assault on another person

Serious professional misconduct

Conduct which brings the College into disrepute

Gross negligence

Serious misuse of College databases, e-mail, internet or telephone systems

Using College premises for promoting political or religious beliefs

Wilful disregard of the College Health & Safety Regulations

Deliberately serious, abusive, rude or offensive behaviour

A criminal conviction outside work which has an impact on the employment relationship

Proven allegations of a Safeguarding nature

Breach of mutual trust and confidence Appeals An employee has the right to appeal against any disciplinary sanction issued following a disciplinary hearing and the appeal will be made to the next level of line management above the Chair of the disciplinary hearing, or a manager with equivalent seniority within the College. An employee who wishes to lodge such an appeal must do so in writing to the specified manager stated in the disciplinary letter within 5 working days of receipt of the disciplinary letter confirming the decision. The letter of appeal should indicate the reason for appeal. NB The appeal is not a re-hearing; the grounds for an appeal must be clearly stated in the letter of appeal. Arrangements for an Appeal Hearing The employee will be given at least 5 working days’ notice in writing of the date, time and place of the appeal hearing by the HR Department The documents used at the disciplinary hearing can be used again at the appeal hearing. The employee has the right to be accompanied by a Trade Union representative or work colleague. Both the line manager presenting the case and the employee attending the appeal hearing shall advise the HR team of any witnesses they wish to call at the appeal hearing at least 2 working days prior to the hearing. Relevant witnesses will be agreed by the Chair of the appeal hearing and will not be unreasonably refused. The relevance of a witness shall be stated by the employee then determined by the Chair of the hearing at his/her absolute discretion. During the appeal hearing a member of the HR team (preferably who has not been involved in the disciplinary hearing) will be present to advise the chair of the appeal hearing. A note-taker may be present to record details. Conduct of the Appeal After introductions, the Chair of the appeal hearing will explain the reasons for the hearing and how it will be conducted. The employee will be afforded an opportunity to state their reasons for appeal. The chair of the appeal hearing is responsible for its conduct and may allow new and additional information which is fundamental to the case to be included by the manager

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presenting the case or by the employee. Any decision in this respect shall be determined at his or her discretion and in the interests of natural justice. Any witness will be asked to remain available for the duration of the hearing. The Chair of the appeal will confirm that any documents to be referred to during the hearing were to be exchanged at least 2 working days prior to the appeal hearing. If there are any other documents to be referred to they should be exchanged at this stage provided they are relevant to the hearing which shall be determined by the Chair. The Chair of the appeal may ask questions of any of the witnesses, the presenting manager, or the employee and his/her representative in order to establish the facts of the case. The employee will be required to answer direct questions about the case which may be asked by the presenting manager, Chair of the appeal or the HR team member in order to establish the full facts. The Chair of the appeal hearing and the HR team member will be able to ask questions of any of the witnesses from either party during the appeal hearing.

The employee shall state his or her reasons for appeal and call any witnesses

The presenting manager may question the employee and his/her witnesses

The employee may re-examine any of his/her witnesses on any matters referred to by the presenting manager

The presenting manager shall state his/her case and call any witnesses

The employee may question any of the presenting manager’s witnesses

The presenting manager may re-examine his/her witness on any matters referred to by the employee

The presenting manager may make a final statement

The employee may make a final statement Appeal Decision The Chair of the appeal will either make a decision and advise the employee following an adjournment on the same day or an agreed future date and will write to the employee within 5 working days of the decision. The Chair of the appeal hearing shall have the power to confirm, increase, decrease, rescind or otherwise vary a sanction issued at a disciplinary hearing. If the chair of the appeal upholds the appeal, the case against the employee is not found and the record of the disciplinary action will be removed from the employee’s file. There is only one level of appeal and the decision of the Chair of the appeal is final. Appeals to the Governing Body Appeals are made to the Governing Body when the Principal has taken the disciplinary decision. In the event of an appeal to the Governing Body a panel of three Governors will be appointed by the Chair of Governors to hear the appeal. The procedure for arranging an appeal hearing, the conduct of the appeal hearing, and the decision of the appeal panel involving the Governing Body will be as previously stated. Adjournments It may be appropriate for a hearing to be adjourned at any point in the proceedings, and it is a matter for the Chair of the hearing to determine such action.

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Observers The College reserves the right to allow the attendance of one observer employed by the College at disciplinary or appeal hearings. The observer may be a manager, member of the HR Department or trade union representative in training. The observer will not contribute to the meeting but may make notes and will keep the content of the disciplinary hearing strictly confidential. Disciplinary Cases Involving Senior Post-holders Senior Post-holders including the Principal are accountable to the Corporation. Where a disciplinary issue arises, it is the responsibility of the Chair of Governors (or a Governor delegated by the Chair) to consider suspension if appropriate and carryout a full investigation prior to considering a disciplinary case concerning a Senior Post-holder in line with the Disciplinary Procedure. Time frames may be extended to allow for the availability of a Governor but the procedure will be carried out as quickly as possible

If appropriate, before taking formal disciplinary action, reasonable effort will be made to resolve matters by informal discussions with the Senior Post-holder. This will be dealt with either by the Principal or, if the Principal is the Senior Post-holder concerned, by the Chair of the Corporation, or in his or her absence the Vice-Chair of the Corporation. The disciplinary meeting will be chaired as follows:

iii. where disciplinary action short of dismissal is being considered: the meeting will be chaired by a disciplinary panel of the Corporation consisting of two or three Governors.

iv. Where dismissal is a possible outcome: the meeting will be chaired by a special committee of the Corporation consisting of three Governors.

Neither the disciplinary panel nor the special committee shall include the investigating officer

or the staff or student Governors.

The special committee may, following a disciplinary meeting, give notice of dismissal to the Senior Post-holder if:

iii. the Senior Post-holder fails to comply with a final written warning ;

iv. or despite having been given a final written warning as the result of either misconduct

or unsatisfactory work performance, the Senior Post-holder commits a further offence of misconduct or his or her work performance continues to be unsatisfactory.

In the event of summary dismissal the Corporation shall, without unreasonable delay, provide the dismissed Senior Post-holder with a written statement of the alleged gross misconduct which has led to the dismissal and the reasons why the Corporation considers that the Senior Post-holder was guilty of such misconduct and notifying that Senior Post-holder of the right to appeal against the dismissal.

A Senior Post-holder who wishes to appeal against a disciplinary decision must do so within 10 working days of the date of the decision. To do so, the Senior Post-holder should inform the Clerk to the Corporation in writing, stating the grounds for appeal.

The appeal will be heard by an appeal committee of the Corporation. In so far as is reasonably practicable, the committee will not include any member of the Corporation who has been involved in the disciplinary process in question so far. The committee shall not include the Principal, staff members or student members of the Corporation . Wherever possible, the Chair of the Corporation should be held in reserve for an appeal committee, rather than sitting on the disciplinary panel or special committee. In this way, the

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most senior member of the Corporation is able to take part in the final stage of the formal disciplinary procedure. Equal Opportunities Any appropriate provision will be made for any employee attending an appeal hearing or a disciplinary hearing in order to ensure the individual can attend and is not disadvantaged in any way. If an employee has a disability reasonable adjustments will be considered as far as reasonably possible. The Disciplinary procedure will be implemented in line with the Colleges’ Single Equality Scheme. Outcomes of the Disciplinary Hearing will be monitored in terms of race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation and transgender issues, religious belief, socio-economic issues and allegations of victimisation. Levels of Authority

Stage of the Disciplinary Process Authority Level

Conducting an investigation meeting and presenting a Disciplinary hearing

Manager and above

Chair of a Disciplinary Hearing SMT and above

Suspension of an employee Principal (right to delegate to a Senior Post holder)

Dismissal of an employee Principal (right to delegate to a Senior Post holder)

Presenting to an Appeal Hearing SMT and above

Chair of an Appeal hearing Principal or Governor is the appeal is made against a dismissal made by the Principal

Timeframes The time limits referred to are exclusive of statutory holidays and weekends and must be adhered to whenever possible. Variations to these timescales will not be made unreasonably and will be for practical reasons only. Where possible the delay should be mutually agreed by the appropriate representatives of the College and the employee concerned. Practical reasons mean where and/or when relevant documents, evidence or people are not immediately available or other similar circumstances. The Disciplinary procedure will be carried out as quickly as possible and will not be delayed unnecessarily. Where the employee refuses unreasonably to participate at any of the investigation, disciplinary or appeal meetings then the meeting may be adjourned or held in their absence.

F. DOCUMENT REVIEW INFORMATION

Policy Date: 6th March 2013 Equality Impact assessment completed? Yes EIA Date: 8th February 2013 Completed By: Katie Bywater and Nimisha Mistry Policy Review Date: 6th March 2015