Disciplinary, grievance and capability
Disciplinary
It is essential that certain standards of performance and behaviour are maintained to protect the smooth running of the preschool and the wellbeing of its employees.
The disciplinary procedure is designed to ensure fair treatment for those whose job performance is below requirements and those involved in breaches of discipline. Depending upon the seriousness of the case, the disciplinary procedure may be entered into at any of the stages outlined below. Except for instances of gross misconduct, dismissal will not be the first step. However, the employee should be aware of the seriousness of the situation if they find themselves subject to the disciplinary procedure.
In general, particular shortcomings on the part of an employee in meeting job requirements or standards will be initially brought to their attention in informal conversations, or formal appraisal/supervision. These discussions should identify any problem area and result in an agreed action plan with targets set, including offers of assistance towards achieving improvement. If discussions are unsuccessful, the formal disciplinary procedure will be followed.
Procedure
1. Any case which appears to the preschool to warrant formal action will be dealt with by an appropriate manager who will carry out a full and proper investigation into the relevant circumstances, obtaining the full facts, which will then be put to the employee. In cases of unsatisfactory performance by an employee, the Capability Procedure will be followed.
2. At any disciplinary hearing the employee may be accompanied by a work colleague or friend of their choice.
3. In instances that the preschool considers being particularly serious or where further investigation or consideration appears to be desirable, the employee may be suspended from work temporarily on basic pay, without prejudice, by the preschool owners. Any precautionary suspension of this kind must be reviewed within 2 weeks.
4. Depending on the seriousness of the facts revealed by the investigation, the managers may deal with the case in one of the following ways:
a) Case closed - No further action
b) Verbal advice - Not recorded
c) Verbal warning - Recorded on employee's personnel file removed after 6 months
d) Formal written warning - Recorded on employee's personnel file removed after 1 year
Or, where the facts appear to warrant more serious steps, the following action may be taken:
e) Final written warning
f) Termination of employment, whether summarily or with notice or with payment in lieu of notice
5. The employee should not regard the range of possible responses outlined above as cumulative. Where it is decided that action should be taken, it is for the preschool manager to decide which of the possible responses is appropriate in a given case.
6. In particular, the employee should note if a single breach of discipline is particularly serious (albeit the first breach of discipline/instance of sub-standard performance) they may be given a final warning.
7. The employee will be given a copy of any warning issued in respect of them (including any recorded verbal warning) and a copy will also be placed on the employee's personnel record.
8. During the period that the final written warning is held on file, in most cases, continuation of repetition of the misconduct, poor performance of duties or further breaches of discipline, may result in the employee's dismissal (whether with or without notice or payment in lieu of notice).
9. Verbal warnings are disregarded after 6 months, one year for a written warning and two years for a final written warning, unless continuance or repetition of the original misconduct, or further unsatisfactory job performance after the period specified in the warning.
10.Except for instances of gross misconduct (examples of which are given below), the employee will not normally be dismissed for a first breach of discipline.
11.The employee's conditions of employment will not be changed during the disciplinary process.
Gross Misconduct
Examples of gross misconduct for which the employee will normally be summarily dismissed (i.e. without notice or payment in lieu of notice and despite the fact that no warnings have been given) are set out below. This list is not exhaustive: it contains examples of the types of conduct which will normally result in the employee's summary dismissal.
• Theft or unauthorised possession of property belonging to the preschool, or to another employee
• Misuse of confidential information (including disclosure)
• Conviction for a criminal offence arising from, or relating to, the employee's work for the company
• Drunkenness or disorderly conduct (including being under the influence of alcohol or unauthorised substances or misusing substances) whilst at work
• Conduct tending to bring the preschool or the employee into disrepute including violent, threatening or intimidatory behaviour or fighting whilst at work or on preschool business or otherwise on the preschool site.
• Dishonesty or fraud of any sort including abuse of the sickness self-certification procedure, expense reporting procedure, making false statements with intent to deceive (for example, giving false references, making false claims regarding the employee's qualifications, formal or not - for a job)
• Gross neglect of duties or wilful negligence, which could lead to the preschool sustaining a serious loss of reputation or legal action being taken against it
Serious Misconduct
Other serious misconduct may lead to a final warning if the alleged misconduct is proved.
• Conduct whether inside or outside working hours which may adversely affect the preschool's reputation, or which reflects on the employee's suitability for the type of work which the employee performs
• Unauthorised absence from work (including conduct inconsistent with an alleged sickness injury or other incapacity)
• Serious or persistent neglect of the employee's duties or any material breach or non-observance of those duties in particular refusal or failure to obey the lawful instructions of their managers are viewed very seriously.
• Failure to observe any requirements of the preschool's Equality and Diversity policy for the time being in force, including sexual or racial harassment
• Disregard for the safety of other employees including disregarding the preschool's Health and Safety policy for the time being in force or its Smoking, drugs and alcohol policy for the time being in force
• Unacceptable or negligent conduct or ill-treatment of preschool employees
• Unauthorised possession, copying, alteration, mutilation, destruction or retention of the preschool's records (including computer records) or documents.
Appeals against Disciplinary Action
1. An appeal may only be brought against disciplinary action if there is new or additional evidence that did not come to light at the initial hearing. Any appeal against disciplinary action must be made in writing within five working days of the disciplinary action.
2. An appeal against a written warning should be made to a preschool manager (not involved in the original disciplinary hearing), who will carry out a full review of the facts, which may include a further meeting with the employee, their representative and other staff. Following this review, the manager will reply in writing to the employee's comments.
3. Any appeals against dismissal will be heard by no less than two people, a manager and third elected party. They may confirm the decision or substitute another decision under this policy. The appeal panel will not include any person who has previously been involved in the disciplinary hearing.
4. Every effort will be made to ensure that appeals are heard and resolved quickly.
5. At appeals, the employee has the right to be accompanied by a colleague or friend who may make representations on their behalf provided the employee expressly authorises this at the beginning of the relevant hearing.
6. Where the employee appeals against any disciplinary action taken against them, the original disciplinary decision (including the decision to dismiss) will be implemented pending the appeal hearing and its outcome). Any actions initiated under this section must be concluded prior to any subsequent issue of grievance, disciplinary or capability being investigated.
Grievance
The Grievance Procedure enables all employees to express dissatisfaction with, or formally bring to the attention of the preschool managers, any complaint about their working conditions or their Contract of Employment or any matter concerning the application of the Equality and Diversity Policy.
Employees are encouraged to seek assistance from the preschool managers to ensure that problems are prevented or promptly resolved, preserving a productive environment. Any serious complaints of discrimination or harassment against employees will be pursued through the Grievance and/or Disciplinary Procedure. The Grievance Procedure provides employees with the right of redress. It is the intention of the preschool managers to manage in such a way that grievance and other similar issues should not arise, but, if they do, it is recognised to be in everyone's interests to settle them as quickly as possible.
Procedure
1. Any employee who has a grievance against the preschool, or any member of its staff, should, in the first instance, raise the matter informally with their manager. It is expected that many issues will be resolved at this stage.
2. If an employee wishes to appeal against the initial decision made, or action taken by their manager, they should set out in writing the main points of the grievance in order to clarify the issue(s) involved and refer it to a preschool manager. A written appeal should normally be made within 5 working days of the date on which the decision with which the employee is dissatisfied was communicated to them.
3. A meeting will then be arranged between the employee and a preschool manager to consider the matter and to try to reach a solution. This meeting will take place as soon as is reasonably practicable (normally within 10 working days) after receipt of the employee's written referral. The decision of the preschool manager is final and no further right of appeal will be given to the employee within the company.
4. The employee may be accompanied by a colleague or a friend at any stage of the Grievance Procedure.
5. All grievances will be kept confidential by all parties involved.
6. No action will be taken to make any changes to an employee's terms and/or conditions while the grievance procedure is in progress.
7. All papers pertaining to the grievance will be kept in both the personnel file of the employee making the complaint and the employee against whom the complaint is being made. Papers will be retained for 1 year.
8. Where a grievance against another employee is proven, the Disciplinary Procedure may be invoked.
Capability Procedure
Action in response to breaches of disciplinary rules are likely to be taken in accordance with the disciplinary procedure, but the company recognises that there may be instances when unsatisfactory performance by an employee should, more appropriately, be dealt with outside the disciplinary procedure.
Clophill Preschool Ltd provides a fair and effective procedure to enable management to respond to unsatisfactory performance by an employee at work. The stages of this procedure not intended to exclude other measures, which in any instance may be considered appropriate for the purpose of encouraging an employee to improve their performance, but they represent a set of stages, which, whatever else is done in that respect, will provide the employee with opportunities to hear how and why their performance is considered unsatisfactory and to offer any explanation about this which they wish to put forward.
Action
1. When it is considered that an employee should be encouraged to improve their performance, an informal discussion will be held with the employee during their supervision meeting or a separate meeting is arranged if supervisions are not due. This discussion will be used to bring to the employee's attention the respects in which it is thought that the employee is not performing satisfactorily, ascertain whether the employee accepts that there is a problem, listen to any explanations or statements made by the employee, and discuss how the employee should seek to improve. The timetable for this is to be agreed with targets set.
2. Records of all supervisions with the employee, starting with a note of the date and explanation will be agreed and signed by both parties.
3. Following the discussion, appropriate arrangements will be made to supervise and monitor the employee's continuing performance for the next half term, usually by the employee's immediate manager, with the employee being required to co-operate in this monitoring process.
4. After the half termly period, a meeting is held to review progress.
5. If the employee has failed to achieve a satisfactory level of performance, their targets are kept in place, the staff member continues to be supported and monitored and performance will be reviewed at the next supervision unless required earlier.
6. If the employee fails to improve they will be required to attend a formal interview to discuss the matter. They will be informed of the reason for the meeting and be told they will have an opportunity at the meeting to put forward an explanation, either personally or through a representative, they have the right to bring a friend or other representative with them.
7. At the interview, the manager will remind the employee of the steps agreed to encourage improvement and will detail the complaints about their performance and the results of the monitoring. The employee will have an opportunity to raise any points which they wish to have considered. If no acceptable explanation is given by the employee, they will be told that a formal written warning will be issued as soon after the meeting as possible. Such a warning should inform the employee that their continued employment may be at risk if satisfactory performance is not achieved and sustained.
8. Appropriate supervision, monitoring and records of monitoring will continue.
9. If at any stage the employee's performance improves to an acceptable level, they should be informed and encouraged to sustain it, this meeting should be recorded either as a Supervision or on a Communication form and added to their previous Supervision, with new targets being set, if required at their next Supervision.
10. At any point during the procedure when the preschool managers consider that it would be appropriate to offer an alternative (not necessarily equivalent) employment to the employee, this should be done in writing, with the letter explaining why the offer is being made and the possible consequences if the employee refuses it and is unable to achieve satisfactory performance in their present job.
11. If, after a term has been allowed for improvement, the preschool managers consider that the employee's performance remains less than satisfactory, a further formal interview will be convened and conducted as in paragraphs 4 and 5 above, before a decision is taken whether or not to allow more time for improvement. At this stage, a further warning may be given or the existing warning repeated. If the circumstances are such that no improvement can be made, a decision to dismiss the employee may be taken.
12. If dismissal is decided upon, the employee will be dismissed with notice or with pay in lieu of notice. If further time for improvement is allowed and sufficient improvement is not forthcoming, the interview process in paragraph 6 will then be repeated.
13. No further right of appeal will be given to the employee within the company.
Feb 24