Employers and Disciplinary Appeals: Employment Law Guidance

Being an employer is a tough job. You need to keep track of everyone, but, sometimes, you also need to discipline them. When it comes to disciplinary appeals, what do you need to know from a legal standpoint? Even if you are not currently in a situation where this information is needed, knowing it now can help you later on down the road.

Making Just Decisions

Whenever you need to engage in a disciplinary appeal, you always need to keep your morals and ethics in the back of your mind. Simply disliking the way a person walks is not strong enough grounds for such actions. Be sure that you have thoroughly reviewed all of the reasons why this situation happened in the first place.

The Rights

You must also be aware of the rights of the employees and have a clear idea of where the situation is headed once you open up the door. According to the article “Employment Law Assistance for Employers on Disciplinary Appeals” by Colin Eyre, “[Employees] do not have a statutory right to appeal a disciplinary decision, the Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures advises that individuals should have the right to appeal if formal action is taken.” Therefore, your employees can do something about it if you engage in any sort of formal action toward them.

The Acas Code

What exactly is this Acas Code of which we speak? Well, Acas stands for Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. Essentially, this group wants to help strengthen the way situations are handled; however, they are a private group. They do not necessarily have the legal ability to enforce any of the policies that they promote. Basically, they have created many of their policies to say what should happen in a situation, but they cannot make you follow their advice. If you do not follow their advice though, people may not wish to work for you and may consider you to be hosting a place of poor business relations.

The Results

Let’s return back to Eyre’s article to discuss what would happen as a result of the appeal. The court might agree with the employer. If so, Eyre notes that the disciplinary action cannot be increased. It must stay as it was to be before the appeal process ever began. Sometimes, the court will agree with the appeal. Eyre also mentions that employers need to think about the relationship that will result from the employee being brought back into the place of business. Certainly, this could make for some awkward situations, so it’s always absolutely best for the employer to think long and hard before even starting with the decision in the first place.

Consult and Employment Lawyer

When you need legal advice in this area, it’s always best to discuss your situation with an employment lawyer. Although rules and guidelines are in place, situations vary so much from person to person and company to company. You want to ensure that you consult with someone who can lead you personally in the right direction.