How to Run a Disciplinary Hearing

Disciplinary meetings often feel hard because they're uncomfortable. But avoiding the issue is not the answer either. Disciplinary isn't about punishment - it's about clarity, accountability and driving improvement.

What is a Disciplinary Hearing

Disciplinary hearings are formal conversations that you have with an employee about a specific issue - usually conduct related. They are a key step in ensuring a fair disciplinary process:

• Investigation

• Hearing

• Appeal

It's a great opportunity to re-set boundaries and expectations of what is and is not acceptable behaviour.

The disciplinary hearing should not be a surprise to the employee. You should have already told them they are under investigation and formally invited them to the hearing.

The purpose of the hearing is to discuss the evidence gathered in the investigation and anything additional the employee wants to put forward. It's not your opportunity to give them a lecture or vent about how annoyed you are at them.

Preparation is Key

A fair disciplinary process is key to avoiding claims or problems later, and that fairness is determined by the procedure you have followed i.e. Investigation, hearing, appeal.

So before the hearing is even booked you should have:

• Told the employee they are under investigation

• Told the employee the allegations against them

• Conducted an investigation

• Formally invited them to the hearing and provided them with copies of the investigation report and evidence.

• Provided them with a copy of your disciplinary policy

• Outlined the potential outcomes of the hearing

• Outlined the employee's right to be accompanied.

Setting the Tone

At the start of the meeting, cover off these points before you jump into the investigation and the evidence:

• Welcome the employee and thank them for attending.

• Confirm they know everyone in the room and introduce anyone they don't know.

• Confirm the employee received their invite letter and copies of the investigation pack.

• Confirm the employee's right to be accompanied.

• If they have not brought anyone with them, confirm they are happy to go ahead alone.

• If they have brought someone with them, confirm who the person is and confirm their role as representative is to support, ask questions and summarise points.

• Confirm your policy on recording of meetings and whether notes will be taken by a person or AI.

• Confirm that if they need to take a break at any point, they can just ask.

• Confirm that you will adjourn the meeting once you have discussed everything to make your decision and will either give them the outcome today or at a later date in writing.

• Ask if they have any questions before proceeding.

This immediately calms you all and helps you settle ready for a conversation.

Clearly Present the Issue

Remind the employee of the allegations against them and discuss the evidence around the allegations.

Ask questions to clarify the employee's understanding of what has happened versus what should have happened.

Stick to facts - don't make assumptions or character judgements. E.G. Instead of "You're unreliable" say "You were late to work on 3 occasions: Date 1, Date 2 and Date 3. Tell me what happened"

You can reference prior conversations you have had about this issue or discuss the impact their behaviour has on the rest of the team/business.

Listen & Maintain Control

This needs to be a two way conversation, so ask questions and listen to the answer. We recommend having a note taker present so that you can focus on the conversation.

Ask questions to clarify facts and whether the employee understands what went wrong and why.

If emotions rise, stay calm and suggest a 5 minute break. Avoid getting pulled into a debate or justifying things excessively.

The purpose here is not to have a debate. It's to understand:

• What happened and why

• Does the employee understand why this was wrong?

• Has the company done everything they reasonably should have to ensure the employee was aware of their responsibilities?

Explaining the Outcome and Expectations

When you have discussed all the allegations and the evidence, take a break to review everything including what was said in the hearing. You might also want to use your adjournment to call your HR support for guidance.

When you reconvene the meeting you should state:

• Your decision e.g. formal warning/dismissal and how long the warning will remain on file

• What you considered in coming to your decision and why you believe this is a fair outcome.

• Set specific expectations for behaviour going forward and timelines for improvements

• Explain the consequences of failure to improve e.g. further disciplinary action.

• Confirm support that will be provided by the company if applicable.

• Confirm the right to appeal the decision.

It's critical that you are crystal clear on the outcome of the meeting. Any ambiguity undermines the entire process.

Pro Tip: If you are dismissing the employee avoid using the term "redundancy" as this is a whole different process. Instead say "we are terminating your employment."

Close the Meeting

After you have explained the outcome, check in to see whether they have any questions.

Let them know that you will confirm the outcome to them in writing (and make sure you do!)

Thank them for their time.

After the Meeting

It's essential that you tie off the whole process correctly.

• Tidy up your notes to ensure you can send them to the employee on request.

• Confirm the outcome & right to appeal in an outcome letter which you send to the employee in line with your disciplinary policy (ideally within a week of the meeting).

• Upload documentation to your HR System document any warnings given.

• Set reminders to monitor progress.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Most business owners fall into at least one of these traps when dealing with a disciplinary:

• Delay dealing with it

  • All this does is prevent you from really doing anything about the issue. Really, once 3 months has passed, you need to forget it and move on. The longer you leave it to start a disciplinary process, the less fair your process is.

• Softening the message out of discomfort

  • This creates confusion and ambiguity. If you use the wrong terminology e.g. "redundancy" instead of "dismissed" employees then expect to receive redundancy pay and the rights associated with redundancy.

• Over explaining or justifying

  • You don't need to justify wanting to maintain a standard of behaviour in your business. It's reasonable to expect staff to come to work on time and behave appropriately. You don't need to over explain yourself.

• Treating disciplinary as a one off event

  • Disciplinary is a process designed to drive improvement - it therefore needs to be something that happens often to remedy behaviours that need improvement.

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We get it - this stuff is uncomfortable and feels like loads of hard work, particularly if you're not familiar with it. But when it's done well, disciplinary procedures protect the team, the business and the individual. It's not about punishment, it's about saying hey, you can do better.

A clear conversation today is kinder than a messy termination tomorrow.

Here's how Lilac HR can help you with your disciplinaries:

• Template policies, letters and forms on the toolkit -https://lilachr.thrivecart.com/l/how-to-hr-toolkit/disciplinary-module_718443/

• PAYG HR Support - www.lilachr.co.uk/services/payg

• Retained HR Support - www.lilachr.co.uk/services