DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE

 You are expected to maintain standards of conduct and performance appropriate to your job and in accordance with any general rules and work standards communicated to you during your employment.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Active aims to ensure that there will be a fair, consistent and systematic approach to the enforcement of standards of conduct and performance for all it employees. With this aim, Active has devised procedures for dealing with these conduct and performance issues which incorporate the recommendations given in the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) Code of Practice. There is also an appeals procedure which may be invoked by employees who disagree with actions taken under the disciplinary procedure.

RIGHTS TO BE ACCOMPANIED

You have the right to be accompanied at formal disciplinary hearings. You may nominate a single companion who is either:

A colleague from the work place; or,

A full-time official employed by a trade union, who is suitably certified by the union as having experience or training in accompanying employees at formal hearings of this nature.

You may choose an official from any trade union whether or not the union is recognised by Active.

Nominated colleagues or trade union officials are free to choose whether to accede to your request and no pressure should be brought to bear on an individual to do so.

We will provide reasonable paid time off for the nominated companion to attend hearings, consult with you and to become familiar with the details of your case.

The role of the companion is to support you at the hearing. Your companion has a statutory right to ask questions and to participate but not to answer questions on your behalf. Reasonable time will be allowed for you and your companion to confer privately during the course of the hearing.

OBJECTIVES

• The disciplinary procedure adopted by Active, has the following objectives:
• To ensure that all disciplinary issues are dealt with in a consistent and fair manner;
• To ensure that disciplinary action is only taken after a full investigation of all the facts;
• To ensure that you have appropriate written notice of the times of disciplinary hearings and the charges against you;
• To ensure that every stage of disciplinary action, you have the opportunity to state your case;
• To ensure that you have the right to be accompanied to the disciplinary hearing;
• To ensure that you receive appropriate written confirmation of any disciplinary action taken against you; and,
• To ensure that you are given the right of appeal.

PRE-DISCIPLINARY COUNSELLING AND SHORT SERVICE DISMISSAL

If your conduct or performance falls below the standards expected, we will discuss this with you in order to identify the cause of the problem and encourage you to improve.

Whilst the overall aim of these counselling discussions is to avoid the need to take formal disciplinary action, you should be aware that failure to make the agreed improvements in behaviour will result in the matter being pursued on a formal basis under the disciplinary procedure.

We do however, reserve the right in respect of disciplinary and capability issues, to take into account your length of service and vary the procedures accordingly. If you have a short amount of service, you may not receive any formal warnings before dismissal but you will retain the right to a hearing and you will have the right of appeal.

FORMAL DISCIPLINARY ACTION

The overall objective of the procedure is to help and encourage you to correct behaviour and return to observing the proper standards of conduct and performance. There are three stages to the disciplinary procedure and action may be started at any stage of the procedure, including final written warning, depending on the seriousness of the alleged misconduct. You should be aware that where your conduct or behaviour constitutes gross misconduct (see definition given later in this section), you may be liable to summary dismissal (without notice).

Stage 1 – Verbal Warning

You will be asked to attend a meeting with a Manager. This meeting will be called only after a thorough investigation of all the facts. You will be given prior written confirmation of the meeting and you will be able to nominate a companion to attend the meeting with you as outlined above. The letter you will receive will state clearly the nature of the alleged misconduct to be discussed. A suitable date and time for the meeting will be agreed with you so as to enable all parties to attend and to prepare in advance. You will be given a copy of this disciplinary procedure as part of your preparation.

During the meeting, the grounds on which disciplinary action is being considered will be stated, and you will be presented with any available evidence. You will be given the opportunity to answer any allegations made and to put forward any explanation and/or mitigating circumstances.

In the absence of a satisfactory explanation for the misconduct, you will be given a formal verbal warning under Stage 1 of the disciplinary procedure. You will be told of your rights to appeal and the procedure for appealing against the warning. The verbal warning will be recorded and retained on your personal file for a period of six months from the date of the warning. If you manage to achieve the required improvement during this period, we will confirm in writing that the warning has been removed from your record.

Stage 2 – First Written Warning

If your conduct does not improve within the time allowed, or if the first offence is sufficiently serious to merit it, a written warning may be considered. You will be asked to attend another meeting with a Manager. This meeting will be called only after a thorough investigation of all the facts. You will be given prior written notification of the meeting including a clear statement of the allegations against you. As before, you will able to nominate a companion to attend the meeting with you. A suitable date and time for the meeting will be agreed with you so as to enable all parties to attend and to prepare in advance. You will be given a copy of this disciplinary procedure as part of your preparation. During the meeting, the grounds on which disciplinary action is being considered will be stated, and you will be presented with any available evidence. You will be given the opportunity to answer any allegations made and put forward any explanation and/or mitigating circumstances. If there is no satisfactory explanation for the misconduct, you will be given a written warning. This warning will state clearly:

The standards of conduct required from you;

The time to be allowed for improvement before further action may be considered;

Any help, or support, where appropriate to help you achieve the improvement required;

The consequences of failure to improve, i.e. final written warning or dismissal;

Your right of appeal and the procedure available for appeal against the disciplinary decision;

This written warning will be retained on your personal file for nine months from the date of the warning. Where you achieve the required improvement over this time, we will confirm in writing that the warning has been removed from the file.

Stage 3 – Final Written Warning

If your conduct does not improve within the time allowed, or if the first offence is sufficiently serious to merit it, you may be issued with a final written warning.

The process followed will be exactly as described at stage 2. Failure to provide a satisfactory explanation for the misconduct will result in a final written warning. This warning will state clearly:

The standards of conduct required;

The time to be allowed for improvement before further action may be considered;

Any help or support, where appropriate, to help you achieve the improvement required;

The consequences of failure to improve(dismissal); and,

Your right of appeal and the procedure available for appeal against the disciplinary decision.

This final warning will be retained on your file for twelve months. Should you achieve the required improvement over this time, we will confirm in writing that the warning has been removed from your file.

Stage 4 – Dismissal

If your conduct does not improve within the time allowed, or if the first offence is sufficiently serious to merit it, dismissal may be considered. The process followed will be as described for Stage 2 and 3 of the procedure. However, in the absence of a satisfactory explanation for the misconduct, you will be dismissed. You will receive an appropriate notice or payment in lieu of working your notice. You will remain an employee for the company, until the end of the notice period.

Within ten days of the disciplinary meeting, you will receive confirmation in writing of the reasons for your dismissal from Active. The letter will also contain confirmation of your right of appeal and the procedure for appealing against the decision.

If your dismissal means that you are withdrawn from regulated activity because your conduct satisfies the harm test, you may be referred for inclusion on the relevant Barred List for children and/ or vulnerable adults, and your details referred to Care Quality Commission/ Ofsted and the relevant commissioning body.

Demotion

As an alternative to dismissal, Active may deem it appropriate to sanction a demotion.