The most common sanctions arising from a disciplinary process are warnings, which can be from a verbal warning to a first written, second written and final written warning, through to a dismissal. The latter can arise directly as a result of a gross misconduct or from the progressive steps taken over a period of time as part of an on-going disciplinary process which have finally led to a dismissal.
What many organisations do not realise or do not utilise are a range of other sanctions which are available to them to use.
SI 146/2000 – the Code of Practice on Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures – sets out some other possible sanctions which may be utilised by an employer, as follows:
- Suspension without pay
- Transfer to another task or section of the enterprise
- Demotion, or
- Some other appropriate disciplinary action short of dismissal
The above are in addition to the well utilised options of:
- Oral warning
- Written warning, which could be a first written, second written or final written warning, or
- Dismissal
Should you wish to consider using the full range of options, it would be necessary to ensure that the organisations disciplinary and dismissal policy and procedure includes the above range. Most disciplinary procedures will include the narrower range of warnings and dismissal but may not include the full range. Even though you could rely on SI 146/2000 if using the full range of options available, it would nevertheless be important to include all of them in the organisation’s own disciplinary policy.
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Next Steps
If you are an employer and have any questions about Investigations, Hearings or Appeals, please contact your CollierBroderick HR Advisor, call us on 01 8666426, contact us, or email us on [email protected]
