ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with cases where the employer wishes to dismiss an employee for misconduct. Any sensible employer will have clear guidance in both an employee's terms and conditions of service and its disciplinary procedure and other policies regarding what conduct is expected and what might be considered as misconduct. The ACAS Code provides practical guidance to employers on carrying out disciplinary procedures for misconduct fairly. According to the ACAS Code, investigations should be carried out without unreasonable delay and, where practicable, different people should carry out the investigation and disciplinary hearing. In most cases the Respondent's witnesses will be the disciplinary hearing officer and the officer who hears the appeal. It is not usual to call the investigation officer but, in circumstances where an investigation is the subject of criticism it may be necessary to call the investigator to the witness stand. Careful consideration should be given to whether accessing CCTV is necessary for the purposes of disciplinary investigation.
