Disciplinary appeals - Discipline at work

The opportunity to appeal against a disciplinary decision is essential to natural justice. Employees may choose to raise appeals on a number of grounds which could include the perceived unfairness of the judgement, the severity of the penalty, new evidence coming to light or procedural irregularities. These grounds need to be considered when deciding the extent of any new investigation or re-hearing in order to remedy previous defects in the disciplinary process.

Appeals should be dealt with as promptly as possible. A time limit should be set within which appeals should be lodged. This time limit may vary between organisations but five working days for lodging an appeal is usually appropriate. A time limit should also be set for hearing the appeal.

Wherever possible the appeal should be heard by an appropriate individual, usually a senior manager, not previously involved in the disciplinary procedure. In small organisations it may not be possible to find such an individual and in these circumstances the person dealing with the appeal should act as impartially as possible. Independent arbitration is sometimes an appropriate means of resolving disciplinary issues and where the parties concerned agree it may constitute the appeals stage of procedure.

Individuals should be informed of the arrangements for appeal hearings and also of their statutory or other right to be accompanied at these hearings (see section three). Where new evidence arises during the appeal the employee, or their representative, should be given the opportunity to comment before any action is taken. It may be more appropriate to adjourn the appeal to investigate or consider such points.

The employee should be informed of the results of the appeal and the reasons for the decision as soon as possible and this should be confirmed in writing. If the decision constitutes the final stage of the organisation’s appeals procedure this should be made clear to the employee.