Disciplinary Investigation

Tiggy14

Can someone who is the accused in a disciplinary hearing refuse to sign their investigation meeting notes if the notes are presented to them for signing after the meeting. I am not saying straight after the meeting but say a week later?

Thanks

BorisThomson

No one can force you to sign anything. The investigating officer would be free to note that you refused to sign, and conclusions may (or may not) be drawn from that.

Comms69

Tiggy14 wrote: »

Can someone who is the accused in a disciplinary hearing refuse to sign their investigation meeting notes if the notes are presented to them for signing after the meeting. I am not saying straight after the meeting but say a week later?

Thanks

Yes, but it makes no difference. The investigating officer simply writes refused to sign.

Tiggy14

How would somebody be expected to recall that their notes are as presented a week after the investigation meeting? Is it best practice to request they are signed ASAP after the meeting?

BorisThomson

Tiggy14 wrote: »

How would somebody be expected to recall that their notes are as presented a week after the investigation meeting? Is it best practice to request they are signed ASAP after the meeting?

Best practice is not to put yourself in a position to be on a disciplinary!

You can request whatever you want to. It won't make any difference.

Comms69

Tiggy14 wrote: »

How would somebody be expected to recall that their notes are as presented a week after the investigation meeting? Is it best practice to request they are signed ASAP after the meeting?

Not necessarily. I would think it quite reasonable to recollect what was said a week ago at an investigatory meeting. Surely you were paying attention!


What you could do is highlight where you do not agree and ask for that to be noted.


Notes and minutes are often not ready for several days

Tiggy14

Thanks for the info, with regards to the investigator should this in best practice be somebody without any previous involvement? I understand if the company is small this might not work but would it be adviseable for someone unconnected to investigate for a company with 1,000 employees

Comms69

Tiggy14 wrote: »

Thanks for the info, with regards to the investigator should this in best practice be somebody without any previous involvement? I understand if the company is small this might not work but would it be adviseable for someone unconnected to investigate for a company with 1,000 employees

It's not a requirement, so it's up to the employer.


Yes it's advisable, but only to protect the employer from any future claims.


Perhaps you can share what you did or didn't do, what has happened so far, and how long you've worked there?

ohreally

Tiggy14 wrote: »

Thanks for the info, with regards to the investigator should this in best practice be somebody without any previous involvement?

I'd be concerned if the investigation officer became judge, jury and executioner.

Why not set out your stall and explain the circumstances?

Always_Alba

Have you had a copy of the companies disciplinary procedure?. If not, get a copy asap and check the correct procedure is being followed.
You can also get advice from the ACAS website.

Re the notes, do you feel they reflect that you were able to explain your side and / or version of events?. As previous, if you think something is wrong, you should ask for a correction note or addition to be made. However, if you simply refuse to sign because you can't remember, this will not help your case.

If you want to keep your job then cooperation can be seen in a good light.

More advice can be given if you can provide further details (as mentioned by a former poster)

Detroit

Tiggy14 wrote: »

How would somebody be expected to recall that their notes are as presented a week after the investigation meeting? Is it best practice to request they are signed ASAP after the meeting?

Is a good idea for you, or the person accompanying you, to take their own notes. I realize this may not be helpful after the event, but for future reference.

In these circumstances, you would be looking to ensure the notes of what you said were an accurate reflection of your responses to the investigators questions.

Any discrepancies should be fairly obvious as you would be likely to remember how you responded to the questions, provided you gave a truthful account.