Disciplinary Action Advice

Advice and support for managing a disciplinary process 

All businesses face times when they have to take a more formal route when dealing with unacceptable behaviour or under-performance within their team. We appreciate that for some businesses this might be a new experience or for others they might need a refresher on how to manage the process. Either way, we can assist with the entire process from start to finish providing up-to-date legal advice, documentation and support and disciplinary action advice at every stage.

We work with you to help follow the ACAS-recommended guidelines on how to manage a disciplinary process and look to find practical and pragmatic outcomes.

How does it work? 

  • We will work with you to map out the disciplinary process
  • Help you to understand the legalities and potential pitfalls within the process
  • Act as a sounding board and discuss possible outcomes and their implications
  • Provide advice and support in conducting and managing a disciplinary investigation
  • Support and manage disciplinary hearings and provide documentation
  • Provide note-taking resources for investigations/hearings
  • Provide a full template library with documentation to support every stage of a disciplinary process.

As a rapidly growing hospitality business, we realised that we needed to engage an expert partner to make sure that we were able to resolve our HR challenges quickly and pragmatically and so enlisted the support of Bespoke HR in 2005. The team have assisted us in a number of different areas from employee disputes and redundancies to TUPE and help with recruitment. Working with Bespoke HR has been seamless, and we are reassured to know we have HR support on tap so that we can get on with growing our business.

Allan Cook

Operations Director, Chop’d

Frequently asked questions 

Where can I understand more about the disciplinary process?

ACAS provide a great overview of how a business should conduct a disciplinary process. We take these guidelines and use our knowledge and experience to translate them into a workable process that you can use within your business.

I have been having regular meetings with my employee and warned them verbally about their conduct, does this constitute the start of the disciplinary process?

A disciplinary process is a more formal method of meeting with your employee. It requires inviting the employee to a formal meeting, giving them reasonable notice to attend and the right to be accompanied. Call us to discuss what your specific situation and we can advise on appropriate next steps.

Do I need to invite employees to a meeting?

Yes, you need to formally invite employees if you are undertaking a disciplinary process. We have a library of letters available and we can tailor them to match your situation or business. 

Do I need to take notes at the meeting?

It is recommended that notes are taken at the meeting, to act as a reminder of what was discussed and agreed and they should be as detailed as possible. We are happy to provide experienced note takers who are trained in keeping detailed confidential notes during disciplinary meetings.  

What are the potential outcomes of a disciplinary?

This is dependent on the nature of the allegation, its severity and the evidence found. Your dedicated HR consultant will work with you to discuss all outcome and their implications, flagging risks and benefits of each outcome.

I have a small business and don’t have the organisational structure to provide someone senior enough to have an appeal

We can support any size of organisation and give you options in who can hear your appeal. Our HR Consultants can act as a neutral third party and will hear any disciplinary, grievance or appeal.

I have got concerns about a recent incident at work involving my employee- who can I talk to?

We would be happy to discuss your situation and provide guidance on appropriate next steps.

Receive HR updates

Sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Free HR advice

Book a 15 min call with our HR consultants.

HR Health Check

Understand how your people can help your business thrive.