As an employee accused of misconduct or poor performance in the workplace, you may face disciplinary procedures.
Disciplinary procedures must comply with an ACAS minimum standard. Procedural breaches can result in unfair sanctions and dismissals. A reasonable and fair investigation and impartiality in the decision making are crucial. Where there are breaches or there is a hidden agenda, we may well be able to help you defend yourself more effectively and secure a lesser sanction or an exit on better terms than you might by dealing with it alone.
Disciplinary proceedings may result in immediate dismissal – especially in gross misconduct cases – leaving you without an income and damaging your prospects for future employment. With that in mind, it’s vital that disciplinary and grievance cases are handled in the right way, and that you have access to tactical advice from experienced legal experts.
If you have been bullied, given unfair targets, or have suffered discrimination in the workplace, you may well seek to resolve the difficulties by entering a grievance. For example, those returning from Maternity or Parental leave are commonly denied an opportunity to return to their old roles. It is essential that Grievances are well drafted, as tactically they can put you in an advantageous position whichever way the matter goes. They need to convey the essential legal points that will give you the leverage you need to secure the result you seek or believe is fair.
We see disciplinary and grievance issues from both perspectives
We’ve wide-ranging experience working with both employers and employees in disciplinary proceedings and misconduct cases, so we have valuable insights into the most effective strategies for employees’ success in grievance cases. This also means we can quickly identify weaknesses and anomalies in employers’ cases for disciplinary action, or call out what we consider unfair or disproportionate penalties, wherever they exist.
Grievance procedures can often lead to more informal and measured resolutions of workplace disputes, and therefore cause the employee less professional harm, but sometimes they’re not handled correctly, and employees’ complaints and concerns aren’t given appropriate consideration.
Get professional help to protect your position
The good news is, we can help you to put forward the strongest grievance case and responses to proposed disciplinary proceedings, and give you the best chance of securing the outcome you want.
