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Employers do, unfortunately, sometimes have to take disciplinary action against employees, particularly if it is not appropriate to attempt to resolve the issue informally or an informal attempt has not been successful.
Most organisations have their own disciplinary procedure which specifies how many warnings will be given prior to dismissal, although the statutory dismissal and disciplinary procedures require that as a bear minimum a 3 step process is followed (i.e. (1) write to invite the employee to a meeting, (2) hold the meeting allowing the employee the right to be accompanied by a colleague or an accredited trade union representative and finally, (3) allow the employee the right to appeal the outcome).
Disciplinary procedures must be carried out fairly and objectively and any penalty imposed must be reasonable. Disciplinary procedures usually fall under the heading of conduct or performance.
The sanction given will of course depend on the seriousness of the case and any relevant mitigating factors. Once a disciplinary warning has been decided upon it should be clearly documented, include the behaviours, steps and objectives expected, and indicate when it will expire.
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