Disceplinary Question

[hammerman]

A colleague at work has been accused of unnaceptable behaviour and he's asked me to go in as a "friend" at the interview.

He doesn't know what the person has accused him of...although im sure this will come out but is my pal entitled to see what has been written about him under the freedom of information act with regards to the case.

Many thanks

[tonywiltshire]

You do not need the Freedom of Information act you have the Statutory Dismissal and Disciplinary procedures which in step 1 requires the employer to set out details of the employee’s alleged conduct and provide them with these details.

[boxtops]

Yes, he certainly is - and he should have this information before the meeting. Our disciplinary procedure requires the person to have at least two written warnings (having discussed them first) before the full disciplinary is brought into play. There's no need for FOI - he needs to know what the accusations are, so that he can prepare his response.

[boxtops]

This document relates to Scotland but the principles will apply anywhere about written warnings, details of the "offence" etc http://www.rcs.ac.uk/export/sites/RCS/common/documents/FOI/docs/DISCIPLINARY_AND_DISMISSAL_RULES_AND_PROCEDURE_Oct_08.pdf

[Peter Pedant]

fuh-tang ! Tony scores first !

as Tony says

also it would not be Freedom of Information but Data protection Act
and he/you state he is entitled to the script of the complaint because he is named and therefore it is his data.
This should be addressed either to the person accusing or the person who is chairing the panel and or the Data Controller (there is one for every company)

Give 'em hell. and then later get the whole firm unionized - unions have full time personnel who are paid to do this sort of thing.

Take notes and so go in with pen and paper
do not trust your employer to make notes

and Good Luck- do well and you will find yourself in demand - but you may not be in the queue for early pay rises....

[DJHawkes]

if you are allowed in 'as a friend' this must just be an informal investigative interview. A fact finding exercise and there should not be a forgone conclusion that it is going to progress to any sort of disciplinary procedure until after this meeting and after consultation with a trained HR person,

[hammerman]

DJ...yes this is an investigative interview to see if it proceeds. Are we allowed to see any of their notes and who is making the complaint etc ? can we see the transcript of the complaint....what the complainant has exactly said etc ?

[DJHawkes]

At this stage I don't think your colleague will actually be shown anything recorded from anyone else being interviewed over the issue, the issue will be put to them in a way that will draw out a statement from your colleague and they need to be open and honest about the sequence of events. If they are unaware of the exact problem then he will find that the person conducting the investigation interview will probably set the scene for them to help him focus in on the time and location of the alledged incident and they will be asked who was present. if the colleague genuinely cannot recall any facts it would be useful to try to recall time place and possible witnesses during this investigation.

[Peter Pedant]

this is from the internet:
Code of Practice
A Code of Practice for employers has been published by the Information
Commissioner’s Office and is available on its website (www.ico.gov.
uk). Although the Code is not legally binding, it represents the views of the
Information Commissioner on what organisations must do to ensure compliance
with the Data Protection Act 1998. Part 1 deals with Recruitment and Selection,
Part 2 deals with Employment Records, Part 3 deals with Monitoring at Work
and Part 4 deals with Information About Workers’ Health.
15 DISCIPLINARY AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
15.1 ACAS Code of Practice
When conducting disciplinaries and individual grievances employers and
employees must have regard to the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and
Grievance Procedures. Whilst the Code is not legally binding, if an employer
unreasonably fails to comply with the Code, a Tribunal will have the power
to increase any award that it makes by up to 25%, and if the employee has
unreasonably failed to comply with the Code the Tribunal has the power to
reduce any award by up to 25%. The Code does not apply to redundancy
dismissals, the non-renewal of a fixed term contract or collective grievances.
The Code recommends that all employers should draw up disciplinary rules
together with a procedure for dealing with disciplinary issues.
It indicates that the employee should be provided with details of the allegations
that have been made against them in advance of any disciplinary hearing and
should be given the opportunity of challenging the allegations and evidence
before a decision is taken. The Code also recommends that employees should
be given a right of appeal against any decisions taken.
15.2 The right to be accompanied
All workers have the right to be accompanied by a colleague of their choice
or by a suitably qualified trade union official when required or invited to attend
certain disciplinary or grievance hearings. However, the right does not apply
to meetings that are purely investigation meetings. The employee may be
accompanied by a trade union official even if the employer does not recognise a
trade union for collective bargaining purposes. If the person whom the worker
wishes to accompany them is unavailable at the date set for the hearing, the
worker is entitled to ask that the hearing be postponed to another reasonable
date within five days of the date originally set. The accompanying person
may consult with the employee and address the hearing, but may not answer
questions on the employee’s behalf.

[DJHawkes]

that's pretty much the guidelines we use as union reps peter

[Peter Pedant]

mwah mwah I love union reps Dee jay

I was accused of harassment (possibly maliciously or possibly because she felt harassed) and was very glad to have a union rep

Oh, the words complained of that were harassing were:
" Where the hell is your disciplinary procedure ? You are required by s6 of the Act to give it to me !"

and my God didnt it get up and run !

[DJHawkes]

I've only been a delegate since July but it is interesting and very informative, my area is from birmingham to Carlisle though, and so alot of travelling . It's going to be great to get to sit in on the process and help members get a fair hearing.

[Peter Pedant]

i have to say that I found the investigative interview,
a please-incriminate-yourself affair.

also harassment is subjective so that the victim can maintain 'a take' on the words which just make you gape.

[bob561941]

Join a union they are a good investment