Disciplinary hearings

This blog is really about handling employment tribunal proceedings. But it’s much preferable not to get into a position in which you feel you have to sue your employer in the first place. Mostly that means not getting dismissed.

Disciplinary hearings are stressful and unpleasant. But a disciplinary hearing – even on a charge of gross misconduct – does not necessarily mean dismissal. A lot can depend on how you handle it.

A disciplinary meeting is a situation in which you are bound to feel threatened, defensive and powerless. If you let those feelings take charge of how you behave, you are likely to make a bad situation worse. Employees often react to accusations of wrongdoing by angrily – even aggressively – denying everything, and accusing their accusers of lying or conspiracy. Obviously if the charges against you are unfounded, you have to deny them. But think about why it might look as if they are true. Do your best to understand where your employer is coming from, and deal with their concerns calmly and rationally. If you are at fault to some extent, but not as much as is being alleged, admit what you know is justified – your denials of what is not will carry more weight that way.

If the charges against you are true, in a way your task is easier. If what you have done is very bad, or your employer was already looking for an excuse to sack you, you’ll probably be dismissed anyway. But if the situation is at all marginal, your best hope is to admit what you’ve done wrong, admit that it is as serious as it is, apologise, and give your employer cogent reasons why they should believe you won’t do the same again. The worst thing you can do is try to duck responsibility, transfer the blame to someone else, or claim that even though you did it, it didn’t matter much. That will almost certainly get you sacked.