Issues arise when an employee’s conduct or performance is questioned. If the situation can’t be resolved in an informal way, the employer can consider moving to a disciplinary procedure as a formal way to address this.

Workplace rules or company expectations are usually well-defined, so measuring them against an employee’s behaviour is relatively easy. If the issue is manageable, then talking to them to make sure they understand what’s expected of them in future or agreeing on improvements and setting up a training plan may be enough.

Is it serious misconduct?

What’s more difficult is assessing whether there has been misconduct serious enough to warrant disciplinary action. 

A disciplinary procedure can be considered when you need to deal with either a worker’s ‘misconduct’, meaning unacceptable or improper behaviour, or their ‘capability’, referring to their performance. 

For the widest perspective, it’s useful to understand the most common behaviours considered to be serious misconduct:

To make matters more complex, however, misconduct can also occur outside of the workplace. This could take place, for instance, at a corporate function where a team member behaves inappropriately in front of clients, which would reflect badly on your company.

Gross misconduct

Gross misconduct is behaviour that is deemed unprofessional or unethical. GM can be so serious that it can warrant instant dismissal without notice – known as summary dismissal. Although this can sometimes be legally acceptable, in reality, you’ll still need to follow a fair procedure. 

Gross misconduct can be hard to define, but some common examples are:
 

How to proceed

Such complex and sensitive matters are difficult to deal with. Knowing what you can and can’t do, how you should approach things, and trying to balance both your own concerns and the law with your employee’s well-being and statutory rights can be extremely challenging. 

If you believe the misconduct or capability issues are serious enough to take further, you’ll need to take very specific action. This will necessitate following a fair procedure, which will include preparing for and carrying out an investigation. If this shows the employee has a case to answer, a disciplinary meeting or ‘hearing’ will need to be held so that all the evidence can be heard before the outcome is decided on. 

The right support

Understanding employment law can be daunting, so knowing how to move forward at each stage and within the correct legal parameters is key. This is something our highly qualified HR consultants can help you with, so you don’t have to manage it alone. 

 

WorkSmarter guarantees a strictly confidential service, which means you can be assured that your company’s most sensitive information is safe and in trusted hands. We’ll listen

without judgement and take a pragmatic, solution-driven approach with bespoke guidance for your unique circumstances. 

 

For maximum convenience and discretion, WorkSmarter’s live web-based support is there for you when you need it and accessible from any device.

 

It’s important that you feel sure you’re doing the right thing by your company and by your employees. Whether you need to discuss a complex matter in detail or just want to run something by us, we're here for you when you need us most. Every time. 

 

Our team can help ensure your business complies with all relevant laws and regulations, reducing the risk of legal disputes and costly settlements or Employment Tribunal awards.