What happens to an employee’s continuity of service if he or she is dismissed but reinstated on appeal?
Where an employee is dismissed but reinstated on appeal, should he or she be paid for the time between the dismissal and the successful appeal?
What should an employer take into account in deciding if, and what, disciplinary action is merited?
Is an employer obliged to impose the same disciplinary action where two employees break the same rule?
When an employee is issued with a formal warning, should the employee be required to sign and return a copy of the warning letter?
Can the time period for which a warning is active be "paused" when a woman goes on maternity leave and then "resumed" afterwards?
If an employee is absent without authorisation can the employer make a deduction from his or her pay?
A worker must be ready and willing to perform
his or her duties in order to be entitled to receive payment. However, the law
is clear that there may be circumstances where the employee is ready and
willing to perform his or her services but is unable to do so due to factors
beyond his or her control. Sickness and injury are the most obvious examples. In
these circumstances the employee should be paid normal pay, whether that is
company sick pay or statutory sick pay. An employer should not automatically
make a deduction from wages simply because the employee is absent without
authority. The employer should investigate the reason for the employee's
absence. Deductions from pay should be made only where it is absolutely clear
that the employee has deliberately refused to work without any justification. In
most cases the employee is likely to have a reason why he or she has not
attended work and, in practical terms, where the reason appears unacceptable to
the employer, the most common route would be for it to follow the disciplinary
procedure. However, where it is clear that the employee has deliberately
refused to work without good reason and where there is nothing in the contract
to the contrary, the employer may make a deduction in respect of the period where
no work was carried out. Employers should also ensure that they act
consistently when dealing with employees who are absent without authority, so
as to avoid the risk of discrimination claims.
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Can an employer lawfully dismiss an employee whose absence is not authorised?
Can expired warnings be taken into account when deciding an appropriate penalty during subsequent disciplinary proceedings?
Where an employee is given a warning for a particular conduct issue, but then commits a different type of misconduct, can the employer move to the next stage of the disciplinary procedure to address that issue or must it start a separate procedure?
Do employers have the right to dismiss employees without notice?
Where an employer stipulates a probationary period for new employees must it wait until the end of this period before dismissing an unsatisfactory probationer?
If an employee resigns after disciplinary proceedings have been commenced should the employer continue the disciplinary procedure?
If an employer failed to follow its procedures for employees on probation would a dismissed probationer have any redress?
What are the possible consequences of failing to follow the Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures?
Should an employer deal with an employee's poor performance through its disciplinary or capability procedure?
Is an employee entitled to be accompanied at a meeting to discuss poor performance?
What is a reasonable review period when setting targets for an employee who is underperforming?
For how long should warnings for poor performance remain "live"?
Do employers need to consider alternative work before dismissing an employee who is underperforming?