HR Doctor - So what happened next?
Well
only X appealed. As A did not appeal it is unlikely that she will
make an employment tribunal as she threatened to do several times
during her disciplinary meeting.
If possible appeals should be heard by managers who have not
been involved in the original case. In some organisations this can
be difficult and it is also quite acceptable to involve managers
from different parts of the organisation or even outsiders. It is
usual to move up the management hierarchy but not essential. In
this case as most of the Senior team had been involved at one point
it was decided that two non executives should hear the appeal.
The first problem we had was arranging the date as X was
seemingly not available for the dates we proposed. In the end we
told her the date and that we would go ahead whether she was there
or not. We then had a letter from X saying she would be accompanied
by her solicitor. X does of course have the right to be represented
but, only by either a work colleague or a trade union
representative. This therefore excludes solicitors, so we had to
write and tell her that she could not be accompanied by her
solicitor. In my experience the very worst person to accompany
someone is their 'mam'. I have seen one occasion when the persons
mam was also an employee so had to be allowed. On hearing what her
son had done during the hearing she started battering him in the
hearing!
The two non executives were quite nervous about the process as
along with most managers they had not been involved in many
disciplinaries and X had a certain reputation for being rather
blunt! Unfortunately they only had time for a short briefing and X
came in fighting. In the first few minutes she alleged bullying,
sex discrimination and that it was illegal not to allow her
solicitor to attend and this was a breach of her Human Rights!! All
of course complete rubbish but the two non executives both
experienced managers in their own fields looked as if they were
going to cry.
Once X saw the fear in the faces she gained in confidence and
presented a decent case. This was based on the severity of the
penalty and that despite 15 years service and no previous
disciplinary penalties she had been given a final written warning
for the first issue and this had ultimately led to her dismissal.
She did not deny the confrontation with A but thought that she
should only have a final written warning and not lose her job. If
the panel did not follow this course of action then her solicitor
had told her she had an excellent case for an employment tribunal.
The panel were concerned!! And asked for more time to make a
decision, always a bad sign.
Most appeals uphold the original decision although occasionally
you do get more information coming to light that merits either
further investigation or a different decision. In this case no new
information had come to light just a mixture of threats.
The panel were very concerned about her previus good record and
the threat of legal action.
I counselled them to ignore the threat of legal action. It is a
standard threat and should be simply ignored. I actually doubt very
much that X had taken legal advice possibly beyond that of Citizens
Advice Bureau. A favourite phrase normally used by employees is
that 'Acas said you cannot do this'. The phrase should be seen in
the same way as 'I will love you in the morning' and the cheque is
in the post'!! Having previously worked for Acas I know only too
well that people are economic with the truth whilst seeking
advice.
It was though true to say that X had worked for the organisation
for 15 years and without any disciplinary action prior to being
given a final written warning.
This is however completely acceptable. The Acas code of practice
says that no employee should be dismissed for a first offence
unless it is gross misconduct. It does not say that you cannot
issue a final written warning without any previous warnings. When X
and B were issued with final written warnings it could equally have
been a dismissal and would have made no sense to only give a first
warning.
The decision of the panel was to uphold the dismissal. This
brings the matter to an end, unless they make a claim to an
Employment tribunal. They have three months from the date of
dismissal to bring a claim, so watch this space!
Please remember I am now an expert in love triangles at
work!
Would you have done anything different? Let me know steve@myhrpeople.com