Does a disciplinary hearing always lead to warning or dismissal?

[stressedandlonely]

I was told months ago I was under investigation but not suspension following an anonymous allegation at work.

I attended an interview and was asked questions, which I have now heard has been concluded and says though I have made some errors, 2 due to misunderstanding policy ( that ive had no formal training on) and 2 were admin errors.

It says they dont believe i was being fraudulent, just the above really.

Is it only going to hearing so they can give me warning or dismissal, coukd they have dropped it when they had investigation outcome?

Any advice gratefully accepted....2

[xmarksaspot]

Call Acas they have a fab helpline - seems strangd to have a disciplinary hearing a long time after an investigation you should take a witness with you to take notes are you in a union? If not a friend from work can come with you

How long have you worked there

The short answer is no its a hearing for someone COMPLETELY UNINVOLVED with the investigation to decide after they review evidence and speak to you but please dont go in without a friend you can appeal a descision too

Not an expert but hope that helps until one comes along

[LalyRawr]

In my workplace, no it doesn't.

We have four main outcomes of a disciplinary:

1. No case to answer. The investigation found you were not at fault, you have a disciplinary meeting just so they can tell you that.
   
   
2. 'Letter of concern'. It's not on your file, not a warning, but just a letter to say improve in xyz.
   
   
3. Warning. Be it verbal, written or final. You were found to be at fault.
   
   
4. Dismissal. Fr either one instance of gross misconduct or having already received verbal, written and final warning.
   
   But it is different on different workplaces.
   
   Is it possible you can speak to HR?

[stressedandlonely]

Thanks for your reply, I have worked for them for 8 years with no problems, it seems to have been raised maliciously then these few errors ( which to be honest if they looked at everyones in the company, there would be similar if not worse mistakes) were found during investigation.



h to

[flowery]

"its a hearing for someone COMPLETELY UNINVOLVED with the investigation to decide after they review evidence and speak to you"

Not in the slightest. There's no requirement for the person conducting the disciplinary hearing to not have been involved with the investigation, in fact that's often not practicable at all.

Anyway, the answer is no, it doesn't always mean a warning or dismissal, although realistically if your employer didn't think a warning/dismissal was warranted, they would probably not proceed with the hearing.

I'd be more concerned about why you've been under investigation for 'months' tbh. Why on earth has it taken so long?

[stressedandlonely]

Thank you, I have a union meeting next week to go through the findings and discuss....just getting myself a little wound up :(

[stressedandlonely]

It took so long due to people conducting investigation being off sick, then changed and then on holiday...

[stressedandlonely]

It took so long due to people conducting investigation being off sick, then changed and then on holiday...

[stressedandlonely]

It also took a while as there were a number of people under investigation in the department i think.

[stressedandlonely]

Is there anyone who has experienced a disciplinary hearing willing to post? I was wondering if I should go prepared with character references or anything that may help give an honest picture of me...

[flowery]

Character references unlikely to be useful really. What are the allegations? You mention wanting to demonstrate your honesty, but say that the investigation found that you'd made errors rather than anything fraudulent..

Prepare your defence properly and make sure you take your union rep with you. Your defence will be that they were genuine errors, and if you have evidence of previous good performance, appraisals etc, I would put that forward as well.

If they genuinely thought you were committing fraud, they would probably have suspended you.

[Ogg]

As always agree with flowery - if they really suspected fraud rather than a bit of haphazard performance you would be suspended - or they have a really rubbish HR department

[stressedandlonely]

Unfortunately, I dont have any appraisals or performance reviews as I haven't had one during the time I have worked there. The main point is that I have misunderstood a policy on a few points, one was raised by my manager and corrected, the others weren't spotted or mentioned to me at all, so I didnt realise I was doing it wrong...

[beals692]

If they believe that the issue is about your ability to do the job (e.g. you need more training on the policies you work with) rather than wilful misconduct, are you sure this is still being pursued as a disciplinary hearing rather than as a capability issue? I don't know what your company's HR policies are but some would have different policies and approaches where the issue is capability rather than deliberate misconduct. Has your employer provided you with a copy of the relevant policy/procedure?

If it's a disciplinary hearing, your union rep will be able to help you with preparing the case and can present it on your behalf. [Btw, the fact that you haven't had any appraisals or performance reviews may be evidence in your favour e.g. indicating that you haven't received the appropriate feedback and support on your training/development needs from managers which would have helped you to do the job properly).