The Company aims to ensure that there will be a fair, systematic, and non-discriminatory approach to the enforcement of standards of conduct affecting all members of staff employed by the Company. All disciplinary and grievance matters will be handled in a professional and non-bias manner.
In some cases, the Company may adopt an informal approach to conduct and performance issues by conducting counseling sessions with the individual. Counseling is not considered to be disciplinary in nature; it should be seen as preventative. During your counseling session, your Manager will discuss certain aspects of your conduct and performance that fall below the levels expected by the Company, and together you will be able to identify solutions to improve levels of performance in these areas and produce corrective action plans; these plans may involve additional training and/or further clarification of goals and
objectives. Following the counseling session, your Manager will monitor and review your performance over a specific time scale. If evidence shows there has been no improvement, the Company may have to consider formal disciplinary action.
Issues that have not been resolved via counseling sessions, or circumstances relating to misconduct issues will normally be dealt with by initiating the formal disciplinary procedure.
This will normally be dealt with by the stages listed below. In the cases of serious or gross misconduct, the outcome may be a final written warning or dismissal depending on the severity of the incident. The Company reserves the right of summary dismissal.
The Human Resources Department should be consulted at all stages of the disciplinary procedure and will be available to offer advice on how to proceed and the documentation required.
The Company reserves the right to implement the procedure at any stage as set out below taking into account the alleged misconduct of an employee. At each stage of the procedure, there will be a meeting between the employee concerned and the appropriate member(s) of the management team, to review all the relevant factors.
Where time limits are referred to in the course of this procedure they may be varied by consent between the employee and the Company.
The Company allows employees to be accompanied at any disciplinary hearing by a fellow worker or trade union official of their choice.
Matters that the Company views as amounting to disciplinary offences include (but are not limited to): unsatisfactory timekeeping and/or attendance unauthorised absence or failure to follow the absence procedure
minor damage to Company property