DISCIPLINARY POLICY AND PROCEDURE

April 2015

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CONTENTS Paragraph

Title

SECTION 1 1 2 3 4 5 6

DISCIPLINE - POLICY STATEMENT Purpose Scope Employee’s Covered Principles of Natural Justice Record Management Right to Representation

SECTION 2 1 2 3 4 5

DISCIPLINE - PROCEDURE Disciplinary Rules Investigation Dealing with Special Situations Suspension Disciplinary Hearing - General Principles - Procedure - Protocol Disciplinary sanctions Gross Misconduct Demotion/Transfer to another Location Confirmation Letter Rights of Appeal Responsibilities Flowchart Appendix – Disciplinary rules

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 SECTION 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

TEMPLATE LETTERS Suspension from duty Invite to Investigatory Interview No further action after Investigatory Invite to Disciplinary hearing Outcome of disciplinary – Sanction Issued Outcome of disciplinary – Dismissal Cooling Off Letters- (Resignation during Disciplinary action) Invite to appeal hearing Outcome of appeal hearing

Appendix 1

Informal discussion Log

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Page

3 4 4 4 5 5

6 6 7 7 9

10 12 12 13 13 14 15

18 19 20 21 22 23 25 26 27 29

DISCIPLINE Policy Statement 1.

PURPOSE OF THE POLICY

1.1

Northwards aims to continuously improve the standards of service and to deal with employees in a fair and consistent way, taking account of service and individual needs. Whilst it is acknowledged that the majority of employees consistently conform to required standards, it is necessary that a disciplinary procedure is available and understood so that all employees know their employment rights and obligations. Disciplinary rules and procedures are necessary for promoting employee relations as well as fairness and consistency in the treatment of individuals. This policy enables Northwards to influence the conduct of employees as well as deal with breaches of rules and procedures to enable the organisation to function effectively. Northwards disciplinary policy ensures fair and consistent management and effective arrangements for dealing with disciplinary matters and that common standards are observed for all employees. This policy covers unsatisfactory conduct at work and unsatisfactory work performance if this is wilful or caused by carelessness. This policy ensures we comply with legislation and is in line with the ACAS code of practice This Disciplinary Policy aims to:

1.2

1.3

1.4 1.5

      

Promote high standards of behaviour on the part of all employees; Ensure consistent and fair treatment to all; Promote efficient and safe performance of work by regulating employee conduct; Promote and maintain effective employee relations. Help and encourage employees to achieve and maintain the appropriate standards of conduct that Northwards expects of all its employees; Provide a framework for dealing with incidents of misconduct and gross misconduct. Reinforce that Management are responsible for maintaining discipline and setting standards of performance within the organisation. Therefore the disciplinary policy and procedure is not to be viewed as a substitute for best practice when resolving workplace problems.

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2.

SCOPE OF THE DISCIPLINARY POLICY

2.1

The Disciplinary Policy deals with all issues involving alleged misconduct and gross misconduct. It will also be applied in cases of unsatisfactory attendance such as persistent, short-term, repetitive absence, as outlined in Northwards absence policy.

2.2

It does not, however, apply in the following situations: 

Termination of a temporary/fixed-term contract (i.e. a contract undertaken for a specified time or task) where the agreed period of employment comes to an end and no further employment is available;



Unsatisfactory work performance during a probationary period (these issues are addressed under our Probation Policy);



Where an employee’s work or omission is such as to call into question his or her competence or capability (these issues are addressed under the Capability Procedure).



Non-attendance due to long-term sickness which will be dealt with under the ‘Managing Attendance Policy and Procedure’.



Dismissal in the event of redundancy which will be dealt with under the appropriate arrangements.

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EMPLOYEES COVERED

3.1

This Disciplinary Policy and Procedure applies to all Northwards employees except those in their probationary period of service (covered by the Probation Policy) This policy should not discriminate on the grounds of sex, transgender, marital or civil partnership status, racial group, sexual orientation religion, belief or age.

3.2

4

PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL JUSTICE

4.1

When applying the Disciplinary Procedure, managers must demonstrate regard for the requirements of natural justice. This means that employees should be:    

informed, in writing in advance of any formal disciplinary hearing of the allegations that are made against them together, with any supporting evidence and Given the opportunity of challenging the allegations and evidence before decisions are reached. given the right to appeal against any disciplinary sanction imposed; Advised of the right to be accompanied at all stages of the procedure. 4

4.2

The disciplinary procedure should also be applied in a timely fashion.

4.3

Northwards is committed to broadening these principles in all aspects of Equality and Diversity, including harassment on the grounds of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, age, religion, trade union membership and family care responsibilities (this is not an exhaustive list).

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RECORD MANAGEMENT

5.1

Records should be kept on all breaches of disciplinary rules, along with employee’s defence or mitigation, the actions taken and the reasons for it, whether an appeal was lodged, its outcome and any subsequent developments. These will be in the form of minutes, statements, interviews and all written correspondence in relation to the case, Employee Relations will hold such case files centrally. These constitute confidential information and should be retained in accordance with the disciplinary procedure and any other related statutory acts such as the Data Protection Act.

5.2

Each disciplinary warning remains ‘live’ for a period of 6 months, following which, provided there has been no further act of misconduct within the period of the warning, the warning will be considered to be removed and will not be taken into account for future considerations of normal disciplinary action, suitability for promotion or any other employment decision. Any additional disciplinary warnings accrued during the ‘live’ period will run concurrently and the expiry date for each warning will be applied separately.

5.3

Information relating to any formal proceedings along with relevant documentation will be retained on an employee’s file for as long as they are employed by Northwards. Whilst such documentation generally will not form part of any subsequent disciplinary action if it is time-expired, it can be used to demonstrate patterns of behaviour. Identified patterns of behaviour may therefore influence the level of any subsequent disciplinary sanction.

5.4

Once Human Resource have been advised that a case is progressing to formal proceedings, the Employee Relations Team will build a case file. They will be responsible for supporting the manager to operate the procedure in a timely manner.

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RIGHT OF REPRESENTATION

6.1

During formal proceedings the employee shall be entitled to be accompanied by a chosen representative at any investigatory interview, disciplinary hearing, capability hearing and any subsequent appeal hearing.

6.2.1 A representative is defined as a Trade Union official, a friend or a colleague. We do not allow any legal representatives to be present in a formal proceeding.

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6.2.2 In addition, where action is being considered by a Line Manager which could result in a warning being issued, at a later date the employee will have the right to be accompanied. 6.2.3 The representative will have the opportunity to ask questions, respond to any views during a formal proceeding, sum up on behalf of the employee and confer, they do not however, have the right to answer questions on the employees behalf.

DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE 1.

DISCIPLINARY RULES

1.1.

The list of matters which Northwards Housing deems as disciplinary offences are detailed in Appendix 1. This list of rules is not exhaustive and may be amended from time to time. Breaches of the disciplinary rules contained in Section 1 of the Appendix will normally be classed as gross misconduct and may result in summary dismissal if found to be proven. Breaches of the disciplinary rules contained in Section 2 of the Appendix will normally be classed as misconduct and, if proven, may in the first instance result in disciplinary sanctions at Stages 1, 2 or 3 of the Disciplinary Procedure. Repeated breaches of the disciplinary rules contained in Section 2 may result in an employee’s dismissal.

1.2.

1.3.

2

INFORMAL ACTION

2.1

Cases of minor misconduct or unsatisfactory performance are usually best dealt with informally. A quiet word is often all that is required to improve an employee’s conduct or performance. The informal approach may be particularly helpful, where problems can be dealt with quickly and confidentially. It may also highlight if any additional training or coaching is required

2.2

Managers are encouraged to adopt the informal approach in the first instance. Managers will discuss the issue with the employee in private.

2.3

Where improvement is required Managers will make sure the employee understands what needs to be done, how their performance or conduct will be reviewed, and over what period. This can be done by completing an informal discussion document (appendix 1)

2.4

There will, however, be situations where matters are more serious or where an informal approach has been tried but is not working.

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2.5

3

If informal action does not bring about an improvement, or the misconduct or unsatisfactory performance is considered to be too serious to be classed as minor, Northwards will provide employees with a clear signal of their dissatisfaction by taking formal action

INVESTIGATION

3.1

When an employee’s conduct is called into question an informal fact finding meeting may be conducted to establish the facts of the matter and the circumstances around the misconduct. This will usual be conducted by the employees manager and will establish if there is a case to progress.

3.2

Before any decision is made to hold a disciplinary hearing a full investigation will be carried out by an appropriate manager (who will be a more senior grade than the individual being investigated, unless otherwise agreed by all parties concerned). The investigation may include taking statement of facts, interviewing witnesses and reviewing all other information/documentation considered relevant to the issue. Asking for statements is discouraged where possible.

3.3

Interviewing witnesses demonstrates open dialogue of how facts are established. Formal notes taken throughout the investigation helps us to ensure that the investigation is thorough, and adequate facts are present and correct in order to decide if formal proceedings will result to a disciplinary hearing.

3.4

The Employee Relations Manager from Human Resources will also be present throughout the investigations and will take notes throughout. At the end of all interviews the notes must be signed by all parties to confirm that the notes reflect the facts which were presented.

3.5

The Investigating Officer is responsible for undertaking a thorough investigation by gathering facts around the alleged conduct. An officer will meet with as many witnesses as is appropriate and practicable, which will include holding an investigatory interview with the employee against whom allegations are being made. Witnesses have a right to be accompanied at interview (however, this should not slow down the investigation unduly).

3.6

The employee should be invited to the investigatory interview in writing giving details of the allegation/complaint.

3.7

During the investigatory interview the employee will have the right to be accompanied by his/her trade union representative or friend/colleague. There is no right for the employee to bring anyone else to the interview (for example a solicitor)

3.8

If following investigation, the Investigating Officer believes that a disciplinary rule has been breached then he/she will initiate disciplinary hearing which will be heard by a different officer (normally a more senior grade, unless otherwise

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agreed by all parties concerned), to the investigating officer. Arrangements for Disciplinary Hearings are set out in paragraph 5. 3.9

However, it may be that the Investigating Officer believes either there is no case to answer or they deem action other that disciplinary proceedings is to be agreed.

3.10

Confirmation detailing a brief summary and the outcome of the investigatory interview will be sent to the employee in writing within 2 working days.

4 DEALING WITH SPECIAL SITUATIONS 4.1

Criminal Offences or other external proceedings In cases where the police are investigating a matter or court case is pending, the application of the disciplinary procedure may not have to wait the outcome of such external investigations or proceedings. The burden of proof in internal disciplinary proceedings has to be established on “a balance of probabilities” (i.e. it is more likely than less likely that an event has occurred) - whereas in criminal cases the evidence has to be proven “beyond reasonable doubt” i.e. with certainty). However criminal offences or convictions outside employment should not be considered as automatic reasons for dismissal. The main consideration should be whether the offence is one that makes employees unsuitable for their type of work or brings Northwards into disrepute.

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5.2

Suspension from duty with contractual pay is a precautionary measure and a neutral act which the Investigating Officer may apply in the following circumstances: 

Where it is believed that the continued presence of the employee might prejudice enquiries or influence witnesses.



Where there has been physical violence, or where voices have been raised or tempers have been frayed, it is often wise to remove the parties from the premises as quickly as possible while the matter is investigated.



In these circumstances the Investigating Officer should consider whether it would be possible and appropriate for the employee to be temporarily redeployed to another area field of work during the investigation.

Where there is a possibility that the allegations, if proven, may constitute gross misconduct. Gross misconduct is generally defined as misconduct serious enough to destroy the employment contract between the employer and employee and to make any further working relationship and trust impossible. The allegation and the severity must be outlined in detail to the employee.

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5.3

In the circumstances described above, the employee’s right to be accompanied by his/her trade union representative or ‘friend’, should not delay the suspension where opportune representation cannot be arranged. Notes must be taken during the suspension meeting.

5.4

Immediately following suspension, the Investigating Officer will prepare a letter to the individual concerned outlining the reason for the suspension; the terms of the suspension and the consequences of breaching those conditions; as well as details of any appropriate administrative arrangements that have been made at that time. In all cases this letter will advise the employee that they must be available to attend meetings and hearings associated with the investigation and/or disciplinary process, and may not visit their workplace without the express prior consent of the Investigating Officer. A standard template suspension letter is available (please see template letters)

5.5

Employees, on being suspended, will be advised that any attempt to pressurise, coerce or intimidate colleagues, witnesses, service users and/or other work contacts may potentially be viewed as a further disciplinary matter.

5.6

Subsequent changes to the facts around the suspension, including alterations to the allegations, will be outlined to the employee in writing. It is recognised that suspension from work, whilst not an assumption of guilt, can over time place a strain on both the employee concerned and their workplace. The period of suspension therefore will be managed so as to cause the minimum of disruption to both parties, and should be concluded as quickly as possible.

5.7

Managers will be required to consult the Head of HR for approval to extend suspensions beyond an eight week period. Notwithstanding the requirement to undertake a full and fair investigation suspension should not carry on longer than necessary.

5.8

Where any employee has been suspended and following an investigation, the Investigating Officer believes that the issue is not a disciplinary matter and/or no longer falls within the circumstances described in 4.2 - 4.4 above, then he/she will lift the suspension at the earliest opportunity, and the individual will return to work. Where it is deemed not to be a disciplinary matter, the lifting of the suspension will be confirmed in writing and any reference to the suspension will be removed from the individual’s personal file.

5.9

There may be occasions were an employee repeatedly is unable or unwilling to attend any interviews or hearings. This may be for various reasons, including genuine illness or a refusal to face up to the issue. The Investigatory or Hearing Officer will consider all the facts and come to a reasonable decision on how to proceed. Where an employee continues to be unavailable to attend formal proceedings, managers may conclude that a decision will be made on the evidence available. The employee should be informed where this is to be the case.

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6 DISCIPLINARY HEARING 6.1

General Principles

6.1.1 The Investigating Officer will conduct the investigatory interview with Employee Relations to establish the facts, and decide if to progress to a disciplinary hearing. Employee Relations will support management by coordinating the disciplinary hearing. The investigating officer will be requested to attend the disciplinary hearing to present the facts of the allegation. 6.1.2 All of the evidence and information that the presenting officer intends to refer to in the hearing will be sent under cover of a letter to the employee, confirming the date, time and place of the hearing; the name and title of the Hearing Officer and a statement of the final form of the allegations being made against the employee. 6.1.3 The Presenting Officer will, no later than 10 working days before the hearing, provide to the employee and any nominated representative names of management witnesses and copies of any documentation to be used during the proceedings. The employee/their nominated representative will reciprocate no later than three working days before the date of the hearing. These deadlines are to be adhered to unless otherwise agreed by all parties concerned. 6.1.4 All the documents from both sides will be made available to the Hearing Officer on the day of the hearing by the Employee Relations team, who will be present at the hearing. 6.1.5 The hearing will be conducted by a manager of a more senior grade to the Investigating/Presenting Officer, unless otherwise agreed by all parties. 6.2

Procedure at the Disciplinary Hearing

6.2.1 The Hearing Manager will be responsible to conduct the Disciplinary Hearing. The Hearing Manager will outline the process and set out any ground rules. For clarification purposes the Hearing Manager may ask questions of any party at any time during the hearing. 6.2.2 The Hearing Manager will ensure that the following order of procedure is applied.      

Investigating Officer presents the case and calls witnesses; Employee (or his/her representative) questions Investigating Officer and witnesses. Hearing Officer questions Investigating Officer and witnesses. Employee (or his/her representative) presents his/her case. Investigating Officer questions employee (and his/her representative) and witnesses. Hearing Manager questions employee (and his/her representative) and witnesses.

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 

Investigating Officer sums up. Employee (or his/her representative) sums up.

6.2.3 Employee Relations will take notes throughout the hearing

6.3

Other aspects of protocol at the Disciplinary Hearing

6.3.1 Where witnesses are required they will only attend that part of proceedings where they are giving their evidence and answering questions - they will not be present at any other part of the Hearing. 6.3.2 The Hearing Manager may adjourn the proceedings at any stage if this appears necessary or desirable. If adjourning for the purpose of enabling further information to be obtained the Hearing Manager will specify the nature of that information to be obtained and by what method. Any adjournment will normally be for a stated period. The time of adjournment and the time reconvened will be recorded on the formal notes by Employee Relations. 6.3.3 Following the summing up, both parties together with their representatives and any witnesses called, will withdraw. If it is necessary to recall one of the parties for further information or consider any further documents before a decision is taken, both parties shall be recalled. 6.3.4 A decision will be given by the Hearing Manager as soon as possible. Although this will normally be on the same day as the hearing, it may be necessary for the Hearing Manager to give considerable thought to the final decision and so delay delivering the outcome, but this will not be longer than 3 working days except in a limited number of cases, where the hearing officer specifies that an additional piece of information is required; in these circumstances, revised time scales will be agreed by all parties. Any further evidence or information will be shared with the employee and comments sought before the Hearing Officer makes their decision. 6.3.5 All decisions will be confirmed in writing detailing the main points made by each side, together with the reasons for arriving at the decision. This will be arranged by the Hearing Manager and a copy will be forwarded to the employee. A record of all employee sanctions is held centrally by Employee Relations in Human Resources. 6.3.6 A copy of the letter containing the warning will remain live in the employees file for the specified period of time (see section 6).

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POSSIBLE DISCIPLINARY SANCTIONS - OFFENCES OTHER THAN GROSS MISCONDUCT.

7.1

The following formal sanctions may be applied under the Disciplinary Procedure:

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 Stage 1 - (Verbal) Warning 6 months  Stage 2 - Written Warning 6 months  Stage 3 - Final Written Warning; 6 months  Dismissal (with notice) 7.2

Each disciplinary sanction remains ‘live’ for a period of 6 months, following which, provided there has been no further act of misconduct within the period of the sanction, the sanction will be considered to be removed and will not be taken into account for future considerations of normal disciplinary action, suitability for promotion or any other employment decision. Any additional disciplinary sanctions accrued during the ‘live’ period will run concurrently and the expiry date for each warning will be applied separately.

7.3

Breaches of the disciplinary rules short of gross misconduct will normally be classed as misconduct, the penalties for which will normally follow incrementally, i.e. Stage 1; Stage 2; Stage 3. There will be instances, however, where specific circumstances dictate a higher stage of disciplinary action, without proceeding through this sequence, this is dependant on the severity of the offence.

7.4

In cases where an individual is in receipt of a live final sanction for misconduct and then receives a further sanction as a result of non-attendance through sickness absence, this alone will not result in dismissal on notice under the principle of aggregated warnings; similarly where an employee has a live final warning for non-attendance and then receives a further disciplinary sanction as a result of misconduct, a dismissal would not be effected on the ‘totting-up’ approach.

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GROSS MISCONDUCT

8.1

Gross misconduct is regarded as an incident or incidents of misconduct so serious, that the action fundamentally breaches the contractual relationship between the employee and Northwards. Northwards is no longer accepting the employee’s continued employment therefore justifies that the organisation will no longer accept the employees continued employment.

8.2

In the case of any act committed which is considered by the Hearing Officer to constitute gross misconduct, and where due regard has been given to any mitigating circumstances put forward, the employee may be summarily dismissed (without notice and irrespective of whether the employee has any previous warnings) i.e. with effect from the time the decision of the Hearing Officer is given.

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DEMOTION/TRANSFER TO ANOTHER LOCATION

9.1

As part of the process of ensuring that a dismissal is fair in terms of employment law, there is a need to consider whether there is an alternative

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response which is short of dismissal from Northwards, in cases of gross misconduct. When it is concluded that the circumstances of the case may allow consideration of the potential to assign the employee to a different post it must be as an alternative to dismissal from Northwards (rather than a freestanding disciplinary sanction). 9.2

If transfer/demotion emerges as a possibility, it must be made clear to the employee that any reassignment or a variation to the employee’s contract must be based on the availability of a post which falls within the competence of the employee and is mindful of any circumstances peculiar to the disciplinary case; where such a post exists the reassignment/variation must be agreed by the employee. If no appropriate post can be identified or the alternative is not accepted then the original sanction of dismissal will apply.

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CONFIRMATION LETTERS

10.1

Template letters are a party of the disciplinary procedure and will be used for all correspondence. A letter confirming disciplinary action will contain the following information:

10.1.1

The date on which the hearing took place and the name and title of the Hearing Manager.

10.1.2

The offence(s) to which it relates and the conclusion of the Hearing Manager in relation to that (those) offence(s);

10.1.3

The disciplinary action being taken (first stage warning/second stage warning/final warning/dismissal with notice/summary dismissal/transfer/demotion);

10.1.4

In the case of warnings, the duration of the warning and the consequences of any further act of misconduct within the currency of the warning;

10.1.5

Right of appeal open to the employee.

10.1.6

In addition to confirming the outcome of a disciplinary hearing, the letter from the Hearing Manager to the employee will include written reasons for their arriving at this conclusion, and applying that particular sanction. This should give employees a basis to consider whether they wish to lodge an appeal against the decision, and enable them to state their grounds for contesting the disciplinary action.

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RIGHTS OF APPEAL

11.1

An employee has the following rights of appeal in the case of all disciplinary actions. 

Nominated 2nd tier Managers (or their representatives) will hear appeals against disciplinary sanctions short of dismissal. This will constitute a full rehearing of the case.



In cases of dismissal, summary or with notice, the appeal will be heard by the relevant Director of service. This will also constitute a full rehearing of the case.

11.2 All appeals must be made, in writing, to the relevant Director of service, within ten working days of receipt of the letter of confirmation. 11.3

The opportunity to appeal against a disciplinary decision is essential to natural justice. Employees may choose to raise appeals on a number of grounds which could include severity of the penalty, new evidence coming to light or procedural irregularities.

11.4 The range of decisions open to the Appeal Body will be as follows:  allow the appeal and quash the disciplinary sanction;  allow the appeal in part and substitute a lesser disciplinary sanction;  disallow the appeal and uphold the original disciplinary sanction; 11.5

The employee will be notified of the outcome of the appeal hearing, including as quickly as practicable and within a week.

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Managing Guide Lines- Managing The Disciplinary Procedure Step 1 If you have an issue with an employee’s conduct a fact finding session must be conducted to see if there is a case, or if it can be resolved informally (complete informal discussion form). Refer to disciplinary policy and try to establish what the allegation(s) constitute (i.e. conduct or gross misconduct) Step 2 If at this stage there is a case, you must contact Employee Relations who will attempt to co-ordinate and complete the process within a 21 days period. Employee Relations will arrange for the employee to be invited to an investigatory interview by letter, which will outline the allegation(s) of the meeting and the right to representation. Employee Relations will be present at this meeting and a case file will be set up. The letter will provide the right for the employee to be accompanied at the investigatory and will inform then who will attend Step 3 At this interview the employee will be asked to respond to the allegations stated on the letter. The purpose of the investigatory is to outline the allegations, listen to their response, establish the facts and decide if it should proceed to a disciplinary hearing. Step 4 If through investigating the facts you find that no further action is necessary, then Employee Relations will draft a letter to the employee that confirms the outcome. However, within this letter you can set out certain action points that the employee must adhere to in the future. The draft letter will be submitted to you by Employee relations for you to validate, confirm, sign and post to the employee Step 5 If through investigating the facts you have found that a breach of conduct has taken place and the allegations , remain you will proceed to disciplinary action. A hearing officer will be arranged to conduct the disciplinary hearing. This should be a Manager who is impartial to the case. Employee Relations will draft the invite the employee to the hearing giving 10 days notice with the right to representation and forward to the hearing officer to sign and send. The manager who conducted the investigatory interview will present the case to the hearing officer; Employee Relations will also be present. Step 6 At the hearing the presenting officer will outline the case to the hearing officer, Employee Relations will take minutes. The employee will then be given the opportunity to defend their case and present facts. Both parties will then be allowed to question and respond to any questions the hearing officer asks. The meeting will adjourn whilst the hearing officer makes their decision, it may be that further investigation is required. The meeting is then re-adjourned and the hearing officer states their decision. Employee Relations will draft the letter to confirm the outcome and forward to the hearing officer to sign and send to the employee. Step 7 If a warning is issued the employee has the right to appeal against the decision, should they wish to do so this must be in writing clearly stating the grounds for appeal within 10 days receipt of the outcome letter. The appeal is made to a director of service. Step 8 An appeal hearing will be arranged with the relevant head or director. This will be a full re-hearing of the case. The employee will be invited to the appeal hearing in writing with 10 days notice with the right to representation. There is no further right to appeal this decision. 15

Appendix 1

DISCIPLINARY RULES The purpose of this document is to make aware of the more common rules and standards applicable to them and the consequences of breaching those rules. The list is not exhaustive and may be revised from time to time. Section 1 - Gross Misconduct Breaches of the disciplinary rules contained in Section 1 will normally be classed as gross misconduct, which may result in summary dismissal i.e. without prior warning or notice. 1.

Misuse of time clocks/cards for personal or financial gain (including the payment of wages/salary).

2.

Deliberate falsification of any records for personal or financial gain

3.

Conviction of a criminal offence directly related to or impinging upon the individual post, making continued employment with Northwards Housing untenable

4.

Dangerous or Offensive behavior, fighting/assault on another employee, client or member of the public (including violent or offensive language)

5.

Abuse of position of trust through borrowing from service users or developing inappropriate relationships with vulnerable service users.

6.

Theft from service users, the Organisation, or other employees.

7.

Failure to adhere to regulations and guidelines regarding the security of cash and/or equipment/property belonging to the organisation or service users for which the employee has responsibility.

8.

Serious incapability at work brought on by alcohol or illegal drugs.

9.

Causing loss, damage or injury through serious negligence.

10.

Intimidation/coercion of/or threatening others, service users or public.

11.

Serious acts of bullying, unlawful harassment or discrimination

12.

Knowingly making fraudulent claims for sick pay and receiving payments to which not entitled.

13.

Theft, fraud or corruption (including claimant fraud or council tax evasion involving).

14.

Willful damage to a Northwards Housing property

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15.

Acceptance of bribes or other corrupt practices.

16.

Accepting inappropriate or excessive gifts from service users or other working contacts.

17.

Improper/unauthorised disclosure of information to third parties for private advantage of self or others.

18.

Serious misuse of Northwards Housing’s computer facilities.

19.

Deliberately accessing internet sires containing pornographic, offensive or obscene material

19.

Serious misuse of Northwards name.

20.

Bringing Northwards name in to disrepute.

20.

Breakdown in mutual trust & confidence or serious breach of confidence.

21.

Refusal to follow reasonable management instruction, which is viewed as act of serious insubordination

22.

Serious breach of Health & Safety rules.

23.

Possession, supply or use of illicit drugs.

24.

Non compliance to the principles outlined in the Code of Conduct policy.

25.

A court request has been made on an employee rent arrears in a Northwards property.

26.

Gross negligence of work, self or others

27.

Any breach of the tenancy agreement for employees who live in a council property managed by Northwards Housing or who visit, or reside temporarily or longer term in a council property managed by Northwards Housing.

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Section 2 - Misconduct Breaches of the disciplinary rules contained in Section 2 will normally be classed as misconduct, the penalties for which will follow incrementally, as outlined in the Disciplinary Procedure. There will be instances, however where specific circumstances dictate a higher stage of disciplinary action, without proceeding through this sequence e.g. see Note in Section 1. 1. Unauthorised absence. 2. Unacceptable levels of attendance (including sickness absence & lateness). 3. Disorderly conduct or demonstrating inappropriate behaviour 4. Willful hindering of work - self or others. 5. Habitual and willful carelessness or recklessness. 6. Intentional and/or deliberate waste or abuse of materials and/or equipment, including telephones. 7. Abuse of normal break times (excluding flexitime - see flexitime regulations for action required). 8. Failure to maintain a reasonable level of work/output/productivity. 9. Accepting gifts from or inappropriate relationships with service users or other working contacts. 10. Consumption of alcohol during normal working hours (refer to Alcohol Policy) 11. Falsifying personnel or other records (but see Rule 2, Section 1). 12. Behaviour or attitudes which demonstrate acts of Bullying, Harassment or Discrimination. 13. Smoking in any company premises and/or in a company vehicle. 14. Refusal to follow reasonable management instruction or follow company policy and procedure. 15. Unauthorised and/or abuse of company e-mail, internet or intranet 16. Failure to abide by provisions of any formal company policy or procedure 17. Notice or persistent failure to pay rent or reduce arrears on a Northwards property. 18. Any breach of the tenancy agreement for employees who live in a council property managed by Northwards Housing or who visit, or reside temporarily or longer term in a council property managed by Northwards Housing.

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