Is notice required prior to an investigation meeting?

Merrylegs1969

Hi,

Am posting on behalf of a work colleague who has been accused of gross misconduct. Basically, we all work nights and, on this particular night, most of the management descended on the store at about midnight and she was pulled into a meeting, complete with note taker, after this meeting she was suspended and, following a further investigation meeting and disciplinary, subsequently dismissed.

Am trying to help her construct her appeal and, it's my belief, that she should have been notified of this initial meeting and what it was about however, I'm not sure. So any advice would be much appreciated.

justanopinion

There is no right to be notified in advance of an investigatory meeting. The purpose is to gain the facts and hear the employee's side of events. If it then results in a disciplinary, reasonable notice should be given (Used to be 48 hours at least, but Acas have removed this and just say reasonable now).

Yorkie1

Does your employer have a published disciplinary policy?

Have they followed it?

lili2008

How long has she worked there.

colino

There is no requirement for notice. Think about it, if someone was doing something seriously wrong in your business, would you want to warn them and let them conceal evidence or investigate straight away and stop it in its tracks?

Merrylegs1969

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies, she's worked there for just over two years. Since posting, I've found this on an Acas publication, so I take from that that she was entitled to be given notice:-

Investigating cases
When investigating a disciplinary
matter take care to deal with the
employee in a fair and reasonable
manner. The nature and extent of the
investigations will depend on the
seriousness of the matter and the
more serious it is then the more
thorough the investigation should be.
It is important to keep an open mind
and look for evidence which
supports the employee’s case as
well as evidence against.

It is not always necessary to hold an
investigatory meeting (often called a
fact finding meeting). If a meeting is
held, give the employee advance
warning and time to prepare.

http://www.acas.org.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=1043

What they did was pull her at midnight when there was no access to a union rep.

Sambucus_Nigra

Merrylegs1969 wrote: »

What they did was pull her at midnight when there was no access to a union rep.

ACAS is guidance, not law.

I refer you to colino's response.

This will not get you the decision overturned.

What was she accused of doing and had she actually done it?

bluenoseam

I think what Acas were likely trying to impart there is that you can be suspended without any prior notice pending investigation - as has been pointed out it would be incredibly daft to allow people under suspicion of gross misconduct time to start covering their tracks.

It would also depend on circumstances, if they're a permanent night shift worker, how many union reps do you know who're working at midnight? There's also the base issue, if the person involved did it or not, if the person did something which qualifies as gross misconduct there's no amount of procedural fluff which negates that fact - something to remember.

I do agree it seems very quick because from your post it looks like the suspension & disciplinary took place on the same night with little in terms of investigation. Which would either say to me that the evidence in the case was so great it was beyond reasonable doubt OR that there was an investigation prior and the findings were such that no amount of retort was likely to excuse the findings.

Merrylegs1969

Hi,

Haven't got a great deal of time at the moment but, will try to answer as best I can quickly.

She was suspended on the same night after the 'fact finding' meeting (their terminology) She was accused of smoking in the yard, which she held her hands up to. The issue though is that she was given permission by the person managing the shift.

I don't believe she'll get it overturned however, I believe it was a sledgehammer to crack a nut, 2 other people were also dismissed for the same offence. The issue is, knowing this company, they don't play by the rules and are a bit of a dirty tricks brigade. There's also another person, who has seemingly owned up to doing the same, who has escaped any disciplinary.

I believe that employment tribunals follow Acas guidelines though (could be wrong!) and thought that the lack of notice might form at least a part of her appeal.

Sambucus_Nigra

bluenoseam wrote: »

I do agree it seems very quick because from your post it looks like the suspension & disciplinary took place on the same night with little in terms of investigation. Which would either say to me that the evidence in the case was so great it was beyond reasonable doubt OR that there was an investigation prior and the findings were such that no amount of retort was likely to excuse the findings.

I read it as the management descended on the workplace, she was suspended and 'following a further investigation meeting' she was then taken through the disciplinary process and dismissed.

OP - can you clarify with some timescales please. Thanks

Sambucus_Nigra

a - is smoking in the yard clearly described as gross misconduct in the terms and conditions/handbook?
b - you might get them on inconsistent application of gross misconduct
c - it's more about them following their own procedure so you might want to look at that but they can suspend on the spot if they can justify it. That's the whole idea of suspension - to take the person away from the workplace whilst they investigate.