Disciplinary and Performance Issues for business

Your employees are your greatest asset, but unfortunately it is a fact of working life that things go wrong – performance can decline or employees may misbehave or fail to comply with your work rules.  Dealing with these issues can burn up valuable management time. 

We will work with you to see if it is possible to nip any problems in the bud, at an early stage.  If it is not, we will ensure you follow a fair procedure and manage the situation to reach the best outcome for you and your business.

Each disciplinary or performance issue is unique, taking into account the human element involved.  We concentrate on achieving the outcome that you need, so that you reach your goal, safely, whilst handling the issue sensitively and tactfully.

Gotelee’s team of specialist employment solicitors have successfully helped employers in all manner of disciplinary and performance issues.  We train line managers on how to deal with these difficult situations.  As a result, you manage your risk much more effectively.

Our charges

As with everything we do, our charges are very reasonable and tailored to the work that you would like us to do.  In the vast majority of cases, we will agree a fixed fee for your work, so that you can safely budget, with no fear of receiving an unexpected bill from us. We also offer a Fixed Price HR Retainer.  This allows you real time expert employment advice from our team, all year round, at a price you can afford.

FAQs

My request for a solicitor accompaniment is not permitted, what can I do?

Workers have a statutory right to be accompanied at a disciplinary hearing by a work colleague or Trade Union representative.

Where the allegations are extremely serious and the outcome could lead to the employee being unable to work in their chosen profession in the future, the Human Rights Act may apply and the employee may be entitled to legal representation. You should take advice from our team of specialist employment solicitors before refusing a request.

Disclaimer: This information is provided for general guidance only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. You must consult our employment solicitors if you require advice on your situation or circumstances.

We have dismissed an employee. What do we have to pay?

Unless you have fair grounds to dismiss the employee for gross misconduct, the employee will be entitled to be paid for their notice period. The minimum notice you must give is one week for each year of service, capped at 12 weeks, or the contractual notice period if this is greater. If you do not want the employee to work out their notice, you may be able to pay them in lieu of notice. You should take advice before making that decision, because if the contract of employment does not allow you to do this, taking this step could invalidate any restrictive covenants in the contract and leave you exposed.

The employee will also be entitled to be paid in lieu of any accrued but untaken holiday entitlement, calculated to their last day of employment. Care also needs to be taken if the employee is entitled to bonus or commission and this will be governed by what the contract of employment says.

If you are dismissing an employee on grounds of redundancy, then provided the employee has two or more year’s service, you will also have to pay a statutory redundancy payment. This is calculated against a formula based on their age and length of service. There may also be a right to an enhanced redundancy payment if the business has such a scheme in place.

Disclaimer: This information is provided for general guidance only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. You must consult our employment solicitors if you require advice on your situation or circumstances.

Related Pages

• Fixed Price HR Retainer