Can an employee bring a witness to a disciplinary meeting?
There is no statutory entitlement for an employee to call witnesses at a disciplinary hearing. The employer should allow the employee to obtain and submit a written statement from a witness who does not attend the hearing, if the witness is willing to provide one.
Do employees have the right to be accompanied at an investigation meeting?
In a disciplinary investigation meeting, there is no legal right to be accompanied but it’s good practice for employers to allow it.
Who can I take as a witness to a disciplinary hearing?
By law, an employee or worker can bring a relevant person (‘companion’) with them to a disciplinary hearing….The right to be accompanied
- a work colleague.
- a workplace trade union representative who’s certified or trained in acting as a companion.
- an official employed by a trade union.
Can a witness be forced to attend a disciplinary hearing?
Employees who are witnesses could – further to obligations owed to the employer – be compelled to attend if absolutely critical to the disciplinary process.
How do you prepare a witness for a disciplinary hearing?
Preparation should include the witnesses understanding of the allegations against the accused employee, that their evidence is relevant, what issues are involved, the questions that the witnesses would need to answer at the hearing and the process that would be followed in leading the evidence.
What does a witness do in a disciplinary hearing?
Witnesses can give important evidence that might help decide the outcome of a disciplinary or grievance case. If there’s anyone with information about the discipline or grievance issue (a ‘witness’), the person investigating can ask them to write it down (a ‘witness statement’).
Can an employee bring a ” witness ” to a disciplinary meeting?
In a union setting, an employee generally has the right to union representation in any meeting where such employee has a reasonable belief that the meeting may lead to discipline. If this is denied, a third party may vacate the discipline. In the case of a union president, he has union representation by definition.
What does witness mean in the Employee Rights Act?
Does “witness” mean a person who might be accused of something or simply a person who may have information on the issue or just a friendly observer? There is no one answer concerning employees’ rights to “protect their interests” because of the wide spectrum of meetings in which employees are involved.
Can a witness record a workplace investigation meeting?
For more on recording investigation meetings, see the Acas guide to conducting workplace investigations. When getting information from a witness, it’s a good idea to get their consent to be able to share it if necessary.
Can a suspended employee have a witness at an investigatory meeting?
This should be required reading for all HR staff. The law under the NLRB is that the employee has the right to have a witness at an investigatory meeting. If the meeting is only for discipline to be given, no witness allowed. So if it is just to tell the employee, your suspended, your terminated, no right to a witness.
Do you have a right to a formal meeting with your employer?
If you are to have a meeting with your employer about any complaint or concern, you should establish whether the meeting is technically Informal or Formal. This is because at a Formal Meeting you have certain rights – including a right to be accompanied.
For more on recording investigation meetings, see the Acas guide to conducting workplace investigations. When getting information from a witness, it’s a good idea to get their consent to be able to share it if necessary.
Does “witness” mean a person who might be accused of something or simply a person who may have information on the issue or just a friendly observer? There is no one answer concerning employees’ rights to “protect their interests” because of the wide spectrum of meetings in which employees are involved.
Can a company record a meeting with an employee?
In the case of routine meetings, it would simply be too cumbersome to allow employees to bring in an extra person. And tape recording routine meetings is not usually realistic, unless the company does the taping to facilitate communication or preserve a record of the meeting.