Discipline Policy

01 October 2010
Contents

Contents 2
Introduction 3
Principles 3
Gross misconduct 3
General misconduct 4
Informal action 5
The disciplinary procedure 5
Stage one – formal oral warning 5
Stage two – first written warning 5
Stage three – final written warning 5
Stage four – dismissal 6
Action short of dismissal 6
The Statutory Disciplinary Procedure 6
The disciplinary interview 6
Suspension 7
Appeals 7
Roles and responsibilities 8

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Introduction
NEST (National Employment Savings Trust) Corporation’s expects that all staff
conduct themselves in a way that reflects well on the organisation. We also expect
high standards of behaviour are maintained throughout your employment.

Where problems arise, we aim to encourage an individual’s conduct to improve

through a combination of coaching and informally resolving matters.

We do recognise, however, that there may be circumstances when formal steps and
action are required. This policy sets out the principles and procedures that will
apply in the event that the disciplinary procedure is invoked.

Principles
The principles underpinning this policy are:

 a fair and systematic approach to enforcing standards of conduct for all

employees
 disciplinary action is not be taken until the matter has been fully investigated,
and at every stage employees will have the opportunity to hear the case against
them and state their own case
 employees will be offered the right and opportunity to be accompanied by a
fellow employees
 if there are concerns about disciplinary action, employees will be given the
opportunity to raise concerns through an appeal or through the grievance
procedure
 employees will not be dismissed for a first breach of discipline except in the
case of gross misconduct, when the penalty will normally be dismissal without
notice and without pay in lieu of notice
 the disciplinary procedure is not necessarily progressive and NEST Corporation
reserves the right to initiate the process at any stage, including dismissal, or to
jump stages if the conduct warrants it
 the procedures are designed to encourage improvement in conduct or
attendance where problems arise.

Gross misconduct
This is misconduct so serious that an employee who commits it renders him/herself
liable to instant dismissal without notice or pay in lieu of notice.

The following are examples of gross misconduct. The list is not exhaustive and
there are other gross misconduct offences that may fall into this category.
You commit gross misconduct if you:

 falsify records including making false statements before starting employment

which are discovered to be false
 disclose confidential information
 commit fraud, theft or attempted theft on NEST Corporation premises or while
representing NEST Corporation
 deliberately damage to NEST Corporation property or property occupied by
NEST Corporation

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 are under the influence of alcohol, drugs or other proscribed substances and
therefore unable to perform normal duties at work or at any other premises
while on NEST Corporation business
 commit harassment, bullying, verbal abuse, or discrimination in breach of NEST
Corporation’s equality and diversity policies
 commit offences or actions committed at any time which could seriously
damage NEST Corporation’s reputation or render the employee unsuitable for
continued employment
 commit physical assault, disorderly or indecent conduct or threatening to use
physical violence
 commit serious acts of insubordination
 unauthorised enter computer records
 seriously abuse of the email/internet/IT systems
 breach security
 commit a criminal offence that affects your ability or suitability for continued
employment or undermines NEST Corporation’s confidence in you as an
employee
 misuse the Whistleblowing Policy by deliberately raising false and/or malicious
allegations.

General misconduct
This is misconduct where the employee who commits it renders him/herself liable
to a range of disciplinary sanctions up to instant dismissal.

The following are examples of general misconduct. The list is not exhaustive and
there are other misconduct offences which may fall into this category.
You commit general misconduct if you:

 fail to disclose involvement in criminal or civil proceedings, including County

Court Judgements
 fail to work in a co-operative manner with colleagues or conduct which impairs
the efficiency of management or other colleagues
 breach NEST Corporation employment policies, Staff Code of Conduct and terms
and conditions of employment, falling short of gross misconduct
 commit offences or actions that could be of embarrassment to NEST
Corporation
 are late or absent
 have poor standards of personal hygiene
 use the email/internet/IT/telephone systems excessively
 trade on official premises
 fail to declare a conflict of interest
 commit a criminal offence that may affect ability or suitability for continued
employment.

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Informal action
Many issues and cases of minor misconduct can be resolved through advice,
counselling and coaching.

Sometimes line managers can tell individuals that their behaviour is unacceptable
without invoking the formal disciplinary procedure. The approach should be one
where problems are discussed with the aim of encouraging and helping individuals
to improve.

The disciplinary procedure

Stage one – formal oral warning
If the conduct does not meet acceptable standards, the employee will be
interviewed by the line manager.

The employee will be told why the interview is necessary and will be entitled to
state his/her case.

If appropriate, the employee will be given a formal oral warning and told that
continued or repeated misconduct may result in further disciplinary action.

A note of the warning will be placed on the personal file but will be disregarded
after six months, subject to satisfactory conduct. The warning will advise of the
right of appeal.

Stage two – first written warning

If the offence is a serious one, the misconduct is a continuation or is repeated, or if
a further offence of a different nature occurs, the employee will be interviewed by
a Director/Head of Department or a person nominated by the Director/Head of
Department. The exact nature of complaint will be explained in full.

If the interviewer believes it to be justified, the employee will be given a written

warning. This will warn the employee that dismissal or some other specific action
will result if there is no satisfactory improvement within a specified period.

A copy will be placed on the personal file but will be disregarded for disciplinary
purposes after 12 months – although in exceptional cases the period may be longer
or the first written warning may not be disregarded – subject to satisfactory
conduct. The warning will advise of the right of appeal.

Stage three – final written warning

If misconduct is sufficiently serious or if, following a first written warning, there is
a further incident of misconduct, whether or not of the same nature or related,
within the period specified, the employee will be interviewed by the
Director/Head of Department.

The Director/Head of Department will decide on the action to be taken. If the

interviewer believes the complaint to be justified, the employee will be given a
final written warning.

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This will outline that if their conduct does not improved during a set period, their
dismissal, or some other specific action will result.

A copy will be placed on the personal file but will be disregarded for disciplinary
purposes after 24 months – although in exceptional cases the period may be longer
or the final written warning may not be disregarded – subject to satisfactory
conduct. The warning will advise of the right of appeal.

Stage four – dismissal

If the misconduct is sufficiently serious or if conduct is still unsatisfactory following
a final written warning and the employee still fails to reach the required
standard(s), the employee will be dismissed.

The decision to dismiss will be taken by the Director/Head of Department, who

should have taken advice from the Head of Human Resources. The letter of
dismissal will advise of the right of appeal.

Action short of dismissal

The Director/Head of Department may decide to impose some other action short of
dismissal. The actions include, but are not limited to:

 downgrading/demotion, without pay protection, and on revised terms and

conditions, if appropriate, from the next working day
 transfer to another team/department
 withholding or deferring receipt of bonus payments and/or pay rises.

Such action would be regarded as a final written warning even though it is issued at
Stage four within the procedure.

The Statutory Disciplinary Procedure

In the event of dismissal or action short of dismissal, the statutory disciplinary
procedure will be followed. This involves:

 a written letter to the employee setting out the allegation(s) and the basis
 an interview to consider and discuss the allegation
 the right of appeal including an appeal meeting
 the right to be accompanied.

The disciplinary interview

Before any warning or disciplinary action is taken, an interview will be held where
the employee will be given every opportunity to comment on the
complaint/allegation against them.

The employee will normally be given at least three working days notice, in writing,
of the interview and will be provided with written confirmation of the
complaints(s) and copies of any relevant papers.
A fellow employee may accompany the employee to the meeting. The employee
may confer with their chosen companion and s/he may address the meeting.
However, the companion must not answer any questions on the employee’s behalf.

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The Director/Head of Department may be accompanied by a member of the NEST
Corporation Management Team.

Employees must make all reasonable attempts to attend the disciplinary interview.
Failure to do so may result in the interview proceeding in the absence of the
employee.

Suspension
The employee may be suspended from work on full pay during the course of any
investigation into allegations/complaints of misconduct.

Suspension is not a disciplinary penalty and the duration will be kept to a minimum
amount of time.

NEST Corporation reserves the right to withhold pay at any stage during the period
of suspension if it believes that the employee is delaying the investigative process.

Appeals
The employee has the right to appeal against any decision to dismiss or any other
disciplinary action.

Appeals should be submitted in writing and within five working days of the
notification of the disciplinary sanction/dismissal. The letter should state the main
reasons for the disciplinary action to be reviewed, and be submitted to the Head of
HR.

The employee will normally be invited to attend an appeal hearing within 10

working days of the appeal being received.

Wherever possible, NEST Corporation will give the employee at least three working
days notice of an appeal hearing. The employee should make all reasonable
attempts to attend the hearing. Failure to do may result in the appeal proceeding
in the absence of the employee.

The appeal will be heard by two senior managers of NEST Corporation who will not
have been involved in the disciplinary process.

The outcome of the appeal will be confirmed to the employee in writing as soon as
possible after the appeal hearing. The decision of the appeal panel will be final
without any further right of appeal.

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Roles and responsibilities
Line Managers are responsible for ensuring that their staff are aware of, and
understand, what is expected of them.

In the event that staffs’ behaviour and/or conduct fall below expectations,
managers are responsible for initiating and taking action in accordance with the
principles and steps set out in this procedure.

HR staff are responsible for providing advice and information to managers on the
application of this procedure. If appropriate they can also participate at
disciplinary meetings as an adviser to the chair of the meeting.

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