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Our Guide to Chairing a Disciplinary Hearing ensures confident and fair hearings, helping managers navigate disciplinary processes effectively.
Introductions
The person leading the hearing (the chair) will introduce the hearing, and explain its purpose and how it will be conducted. The purpose of the hearing will normally be to establish the facts and determine, on conclusion of the hearing, whether the organisation has proper grounds to take disciplinary action against the employee and, if so, the level of such disciplinary action.
The parties present at the hearing will introduce themselves and confirm their respective roles in the hearing.
The chair will state that the hearing is being conducted as part of the organisation's disciplinary procedure, and confirm that a written record of the hearing will be made.
Witnesses
The chair will state whether any witnesses have been asked to give evidence at the hearing, and if so, who they are.
The right to be accompanied
The employee will be entitled to be accompanied, if he/she wishes, by a fellow worker or trade union official of his/her choice.
Background
The chair will explain fully the organisation's case, i.e. the employee's alleged or suspected misconduct or
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This guide provides a framework to help an employer navigate the considerations that must be addressed when chairing a disciplinary hearing.
A competent and well-run disciplinary hearing is essential for any reasonable misconduct dismissal.
As such, anybody tasked with chairing a disciplinary hearing must ensure that the hearing is handled in a fair way.
Employment Rights Act 1996: Provides guidelines on conducting fair disciplinary hearings and ensuring employees' right to be heard.
Equality Act 2010: Ensures equal treatment during disciplinary processes, preventing discrimination based on protected characteristics.
ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures: Offers best practices for handling disciplinary hearings and promoting procedural fairness.
Data Protection Act 2018: Ensures proper handling and privacy of employee data during disciplinary hearings.
Yes. This template has been designed for organisations of all sizes, including small businesses, charities and growing employers. It follows UK employment law best practice and can be adapted to suit your organisation.
Our templates are developed with UK employment legislation, Acas guidance and HR best practice in mind and are reviewed and updated as relevant requirements change. However, every employment situation is different, so the template should be adapted to the circumstances and checked against the employee's contract and your organisation's procedures before use.
Yes, we highlight the areas of the document that you need to update with your own details, and where you need to make decisions to suit your situation. This saves you time and ensures that you meet best practice.
Yes. Once purchased, you'll be able to download it instantly. Templates are provided in editable format (such as .doc or .xls) so you can customise them easily, and in PDF format for easy sharing.
If you're looking for broader support, we also offer toolkits and library bundles that include the Managers guide to chairing a disciplinary hearing, along with other HR templates and policies for fully managing your situation. These may be more cost-effective if you need deeper advice.
AI can produce a document quickly, but effective HR documentation needs to be more than well-written words. It needs to reflect relevant UK employment law, HR best practice, practical considerations and the circumstances in which it will be used. These resources have been professionally developed around that wider HR context, drawing on extensive practical experience, rather than simply generating a generic document from a prompt.
Darryl Horn, Chartered HR Director
Darryl is a Chartered HR professional with over 25 years' experience in senior HR and employee relations roles.
He has extensive practical experience of managing disciplinary processes and founded hrdocbox to provide businesses with practical, professionally developed HR resources grounded in UK employment law and best practice.
"Darryl provides support and advice with excellent judgement, and has a strong understanding of people, policies and UK employment legislation."
"He is someone I trust; consistent, dependable, and committed to doing things properly."
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