Workers have the right to be accompanied at a formal disciplinary or grievance hearing, but can the companion be a solicitor? Under the statutory right in s.10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999, the companion is limited to a trade union official or a work colleague (although, of course, the organisation’s policy may allow other categories of companion, such as a partner or friend). Many employers will therefore be concerned to learn that, in a recent case - R v Governors of X School - the High Court held that a teacher undergoing a disciplinary process was entitled to be represented by his solicitor.
We’ve just published a full report on the case on XpertHR, along with an analysis of where employers stand on legal representation at disciplinary hearings as a result of the case [subscription required to read articles in full].
I’ve also just run a search on XpertHR for some of the questions that our subscribers have asked in relation to accompaniment at disciplinary and grievance hearings, which we’ve since included in the FAQs section of the site:
- Must an employer permit a 16 or 17 year old to be accompanied by a parent at a disciplinary or grievance hearing?
- Where an employer recognises one union can a worker ask to be accompanied by an official of another union at a disciplinary or grievance hearing?
- Where an employee chooses to be accompanied at a disciplinary or grievance hearing by a union official, is the official required to be qualified or trained in this role?
- What is the companion’s role at a disciplinary or grievance hearing?
There are about 60 FAQs altogether on discipline and grievance, so if you can’t find what you’re looking for here, have a look at the full FAQs section.
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