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View full libraryIf you are considering conducting a disciplinary investigation, use this guide to help you carry it out it legally and effectively.
If you are managing a disciplinary process, the toolkit brings together practical HR templates covering investigations, hearings, warnings, appeals and outcomes.
A disciplinary investigation is where your organisation needs to look further into the conduct of an employee, or to ascertain the facts surrounding an incident or allegation, prior to taking disciplinary action.
It is not always the case that a disciplinary investigation will result in a disciplinary hearing. The aim of the investigation is to establish whether there the employee has a case to answer.Specific examples of when a disciplinary investigation would be needed include, but are not limited to:
Generally, an investigation would be used where there is a question-mark over the facts surrounding a workplace allegation against an employee of some form of misconduct or inappropriate or unlawful behaviour.Even where an employee has already admitted that they have done something wrong, in many cases it will still be necessary to conduct an investigation in order fully to understand the circumstances and ensure that everyone involved is treated fairly. It can also assist the employer in deciding its next steps, and provide valuable evidence, both against the employee and in mitigation, for a disciplinary hearing.
The risks of mis-managing a disciplinary investigation
The minimum standard that the law expects employers to adhere to in carrying out a disciplinary investigation is the ACAS Code on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. The Code sets out practical advice on how to conduct a disciplinary investigation and an Employment Tribunal will expect to see an employer following it in most cases.As an employer, you must follow a fair procedure in deciding whether to hold a disciplinary hearing and, ultimately, to dismiss your employee.
If you do not carry out a reasonable investigation, this could give cause for tribunal claims, for example, if an investigation precipitated the dismissal of an employee, who then makes a claim for unfair dismissal.If a claim is made against you, an employment tribunal will also look at if you have unreasonably failed to follow the ACAS Code on disciplinary and grievance procedures. If the tribunal does find that you unreasonably failed to comply with a provision of the Code then it can increase the amount of the compensatory award made against you by 25%.
How to conduct a workplace investigation
What are the key components of a fair and lawful investigation?
Role
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The purpose of the guide to conducting a disciplinary investigation is to provide a structured approach for employers or HR professionals to follow when investigating a potential employee misconduct or violation of company policies. The guide serves as a framework to ensure that the investigation is conducted in a fair, thorough, and impartial manner, and that all parties involved are treated with respect and dignity.
Additionally, a guide helps ensure that all relevant facts are gathered, documented, and analysed, and that the investigation complies with legal and regulatory requirements.
A well-conducted investigation can help protect the organisation from legal liabilities, and can also help to maintain a positive work environment and employee morale.
Related HR resources and workflow
Explore the HR resources that may be relevant before and / or after using the Managers guide to conducting a disciplinary investigation, helping you understand the wider process, maintain appropriate documentation and follow a consistent approach.
Our Investigation Plan Template provides a clear structure for conducting fair, thorough, and compliant workplace investigations, ensuring consistency and efficiency.
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 conducting a disciplinary investigation, 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.
The guide was useful for keeping managers aligned on the approach. We found it useful at the point of need rather than as a general reference. It was easy to dip into without having to read everything from beginning to end.
We found the structure particularly helpful when someone was dealing with the process for the first time. We kept the Managers guide to conducting a disciplinary investigation available as a reference for managers. It gave us something sensible to refer back to when the same issue came up again.
How this content is developed and reviewed
The Managers guide to conducting a disciplinary investigation is developed using a practical HR methodology that considers current UK employment legislation, ACAS guidance, CIPD good practice and the real-world HR process it supports. Templates and supporting information are regularly reviewed and updated, with additional reviews triggered by significant changes to legislation, guidance or established HR practice, helping ensure each document remains practical, relevant and suitable for UK employers.
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 HR processes and founded hrdocbox to provide businesses with practical, professionally developed HR resources grounded in UK employment law and best practice.
HRDocBox has been creating practical UK HR documents since 2009.
"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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