Disciplinary Meeting Checklist
- So far as possible, separate the role of investigator, disciplinary hearing decision maker and appeal hearing decision maker.
- Consider suspension of employee (on full pay) pending investigations.
- Investigate fully and promptly.
- Give employee reasonable notice in writing of meeting, full details of complaint, copies of any witness statements/other relevant documentation, advise it is a disciplinary matter and detail all possible outcomes.
- Invite employee in writing to bring fellow employee/trade union representative to meeting.
- Put allegations in full to employee and provide employee with opportunity to respond.
- Take full minutes of all investigatory and disciplinary meetings.
- Adjourn before giving a decision.
- Confirm decision in writing.
- Always advise employee of right of appeal and how it should be exercised.
- Employee must be invited to appeal hearing if appeal requested.
- Always ensure you follow the ACAS code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.
Unfair dismissal awards can now exceed £139,000. Always ensure a fair procedure is followed.
Redundancy Checklist
- Consider whether Form HR1 requires to be submitted (if 20 or more redundancies).
- Follow the collective consultation requirements (if 20 or more redundancies).
- Consider whether employee representatives require to be elected/consulted.
- Consult with employees on business reasons for redundancies.
- Follow any written redundancy procedure.
- Identify a redundancy pool.
- Adopt fair selection criteria.
- Consult with employees regarding avoiding/reducing redundancies and procedure to be adopted.
- Advise employees of their score and how it was arrived at.
- Consider the possibility of ‘bumping’ and seek the views of the employee.
- Consider alternative employment.
- Follow a fair procedure, including a right of appeal.
- Document all of the above.
If you fail to do any of the above, then any dismissal may be unfair. Additional steps may be required depending on the circumstances.
The following is a link to a redundancy payment calculator:
www.gov.uk/calculate-employee-redundancy-pay
Statutory Redundancy Pay
Calculate pay using the statutory redundancy payment calculator - use calculator.
Tribunal Awards
| EMPLOYMENT RIGHT | MAXIMUM AWARD |
|
Unfair dismissal (For dismissals from 6 April 2025) |
|
| Basic award | £21,570 |
| Compensatory award* | £118,223 |
| A week's pay | £719 |
| Additional award | 26 to 52 weeks' pay |
| Dismissals for health and safety reasons | No limit |
| Dismissal for making protected disclosure (whistleblowing) | No limit |
| Discrimination | |
| Sex, race, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion/belief, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership and pregnancy/maternity |
No limit |
| Breach of contract | £25,000 |
*There is also a 12 months’ pay cap on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal. The cap on the compensatory award is the lower of £118,223 or 12 months’ pay (based on the claimant’s gross salary prior to the dismissal including employer pension contributions, but excluding benefits-in-kind and discretionary bonuses).
Dismissals for whistleblowing or related to certain health and safety reasons remain uncapped as do dismissals where there has been unlawful discrimination.
National Minimum Wage
(From April 2025)
| National living wage (21 and over) | £12.21 per hour |
| 18 to 20 | £10.00 per hour |
| Under 18 and Apprentice rate | £7.55 per hour |
- A worker who is under 18 must be at least of school leaving age to get the National Minimum Wage.
- Apprentice rate applies to apprentices under 19 or 19 and over in the first year of their apprenticeship.
- Rates will change in April 2026.
Family Friendly Leave
| Maternity leave | 39 weeks / 13 weeks unpaid |
| Paternity leave | 2 weeks paid |
| Adoption leave | 39 weeks paid / 13 weeks unpaid |
| Shared parental leave | 37 weeks paid / 13 weeks unpaid |
| Parental leave | 18 weeks paid |
| Parental bereavement leave | 2 weeks paid |
| Carer's leave | 1 week unpaid |
| Neonatal leave | 12 weeks paid |
- Figures shown are the maximum statutory entitlement.
- Contractual entitlement may be more generous.
- Certain leave is subject to employee meeting qualifying criteria.
- Paid leave is subject to certain qualifying criteria and statutory limits.
- Shared Parental Leave (SPL) is available to eligible parents of babies or children placed for adoption. If the parent reduces their maternity/adoption leave entitlement, then they and/or their partner may take any remaining weeks as SPL.
See: www.gov.uk/browse/working/time-off for further details.
Statutory Holiday Entitlement
Minimum holiday entitlement for a full-time employee is 28 days (inclusive of public holidays).
Statutory Notice
- Employee entitled to 1 week’s notice for each year of service up to a maximum of 12 weeks. If contractual notice is more generous, then it prevails.
- Employer entitled to only 1 week’s notice of termination by employee unless contract specifies a longer period.
Employment Law Training
Preparing for the Employment Rights Bill: Ten Practical Steps
This practical half day course is aimed at HR and business leaders and will explain the ten practical steps that employers can take now in order to prepare for the new legislation. This training course will be tailored specifically to your organisation.
Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
There is now a duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Making sure your policies and procedures are fit for purpose and training is up to date is crucial, as is carrying out a risk assessment to tackle highrisk areas in your organisation. We can provide tailored support to help you comply with your obligations and reduce the risk of claims.
Please contact Innes Clark for further details of these and our other training courses.
Employment Law Guide & Timeline
For a brief guide to employment law, see here.
For a timeline of changes to employment law, see here.
Useful Websites
- Employment Tribunal Service www.gov.uk/employment-tribunals
- Healthy Working Lives www.healthyworkinglives.scot
- GOV.UK www.gov.uk/browse/employing-people
- HM Revenue & Customs www.hmrc.gov.uk
- Health & Safety Executive www.hse.gov.uk
- ACAS www.acas.org.uk
- Information Commissioner’s Office www.ico.org.uk
- Equality & Human Rights Commission www.equalityhumanrights.com
- CIPD www.cipd.co.uk
Keep Up to Date on Employment Law Issues
Our monthly e-mail updates provide practical information highlighting changes in employment procedures and law as well as details of the employment webinars we run throughout the year. Sign up to our newsletter.
