Discipline and dismissal
Contents
Employer responsibilities
Employers must handle disciplinary matters fairly and follow a formal disciplinary procedure. They must also make sure employees are not unfairly dismissed, including in redundancy situations.
Failing to do so can lead to costly claims at an Employment Tribunal.
Disciplinary procedure
This section focuses on how to put in place disciplinary rules and procedures, and how to follow them if an employee's performance or conduct isn't up to the expected standard.
It covers:
- what disciplinary procedures cover and why;
- which disciplinary and dismissal procedures to follow;
- how to investigate disciplinary matters;
- disciplinary meetings;
- penalties; and
- employee appeals.
Dismissal
If you're considering dismissing your employee, this section can help you to act lawfully and follow a fair process. It includes sections on:
- unfair dismissal;
- when an employee can bring an unfair dismissal claim;
- permitted reasons for dismissal;
- following a fair process, including when there's employee misconduct;
- special cases; and
- what happens if you lose an unfair dismissal claim.
Redundancy procedure
See this section for information on how to follow a fair redundancy procedure. It covers:
- the basics;
- types of redundancy;
- your redundancy obligations;
- consulting with employees at risk of redundancy; and
- redundancy payments.
Settling disputes
See this section to learn about:
- how to use negotiation or arbitration to reach an agreement; and
- the role of settlement agreements (or compromise agreements in Northern Ireland).
What is the law guide
The Desktop Lawyer law guide aims to present the law to you in a comprehensive yet jargon-free and easy-to-read format. Our law guide is constantly kept up to date with changes in business and family law by our team of in house solicitors, and includes information across all the legal jurisdictions in the UK.
Our law guide is free to use. Where we provide documents related to this area of law, or where they may help you with any legal issue in this area, they will be listed to the right of this message.