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WELCOME TO OUR TEAM
We would like to wish you every success during your employment whether you recently joined us or whether you are an existing employee. We hope that your experience of working here will be positive and rewarding.
This Employee Handbook is designed both to introduce you to our organisation and to be of continuing use during your employment.
We ask that you study carefully the contents of this Employee Handbook as, in addition to setting out our rules and regulations, it also contains information on some of the main employee benefits that may be available to you and the policies and procedures relating to your employment. If you require any clarification or additional information please refer to the Director.
Please note that we provide equal opportunities and are committed to the principle of equality in accordance with legislative provisions. We expect your support in implementing these policies. We will not condone any unlawful discriminatory act or attitude in the course of your employment or in your dealings with our clients, suppliers, contract workers, members of the public or with fellow employees. Acts of unlawful discrimination, harassment or victimisation will result in disciplinary action.
General amendments to the Employee Handbook will be issued from time to time.
You join us on an initial probationary period of three months. During this period your work performance and general suitability will be assessed and, if it is satisfactory, your employment will continue. However, if your work performance is not up to the required standard, or you are considered to be generally unsuitable, we may either take remedial action (which may include the extension of your probationary period) or terminate your employment at any time.
We reserve the right not to apply our full contractual capability and disciplinary procedures during your probationary period.
At the commencement of your employment you will receive training for your specific job, and as your employment progresses your skills may be extended to encompass new job activities within the business. It is a condition of your employment that you participate in any training deemed necessary by us for you to reach the required levels of attainment standards.
At the start of your employment with our Company you are required to complete an induction programme, during which all our policies and procedures (including Health and Safety) will be explained to you. Information relating to these will be given to you at the induction.
Amendments may be made to your job description from time to time in relation to our changing needs and your own ability.
We have a staff appraisal scheme in place for the purpose of monitoring staff performance levels with a view to maximising the effectiveness of individuals, details of which are available separately.
It is an express condition of employment that you are prepared, whenever necessary, to transfer to alternative departments or duties within our business. During holiday periods, etc. it may be necessary for you to take over some duties normally performed by colleagues. This flexibility is essential for operational efficiency as the type and volume of work is always subject to change.
Although you are usually employed at one particular site, it is a condition of your employment that you are prepared, whenever applicable, to transfer to any other of our sites. This mobility is essential to the smooth running of our business.
The Company has a policy of encouraging its employees to undertake training in order to further their career and/or development within the organisation along with maintaining existing qualifications where appropriate. This will include assisting with costs of the training. However, in the event of termination of employment, for whatever reason, the Company will seek reimbursement of the costs in line with the Training Agreement. Further details are available separately.
1) Payment
2) Overpayments
If you are overpaid for any reason, the total amount of the overpayment will normally be deducted from your next payment but if this would cause hardship, arrangements may be made for the overpayment to be recovered over a longer period.
3) Income Tax and National Insurance
At the end of each tax year you will be given a form P60 showing the total pay you have received from us during that year and the amount of deductions for Income Tax and National Insurance. You may also be given a form P11D showing non-salary benefits. You should keep these documents in a safe place as you may need to produce them for tax purposes.
4) Pay Reviews
Pay is reviewed annually; however, there is no guarantee of an automatic increase in your pay as a result of any review.
1) You must attend for work punctually at the specified time(s) and you are required to comply strictly with any time recording procedures relating to your work.
2) All absences must be notified in accordance with the sickness reporting procedures laid down in this Employee Handbook.
3) If you arrive for work more than one hour late without having previously notified us, other arrangements may have been made to cover your duties and you may be sent off the premises for the remainder of the shift without pay.
4) Lateness or absence may result in disciplinary action and/or loss of appropriate payment.
If there is a temporary shortage of work for any reason, we will try to maintain your continuity of employment even if this necessitates placing you on short time working, or alternatively, lay off. If you are placed on short time working, your pay will be reduced according to time actually worked. If you are placed on lay off, you will receive no pay other than statutory guarantee pay.
We operate a contributory pension scheme which you will be auto-enrolled into (subject to the conditions of the scheme). The scheme enables you to save for your retirement using your own money, together with tax relief and contributions from the Company. Further details are available separately.
1) Your annual holiday entitlement is shown in your individual Statement of Main Terms of Employment (Form SMT).
2) It is our policy to encourage you to take all of your holiday entitlement in the current holiday year. We do not permit holidays to be carried forward and no payment in lieu will be made in respect of untaken holidays other than in the event of termination of your employment.
3) You must complete the holiday request form and have it signed by the Director before you make any firm holiday arrangements.
4) Holiday dates will normally be allocated on a "first come - first served" basis whilst ensuring that operational efficiency and appropriate staffing levels are maintained throughout the year.
5) You should give at least four weeks’ notice of your intention to take holidays of a week or more and one week’s notice is required for odd single days.
6) You may not normally take more than two working weeks consecutively.
7) You may not normally take annual leave in August and September.
8) Your holiday pay will be at your normal basic pay unless shown otherwise on your Statement of Main Terms.
Due to the nature of our work, public/bank holidays are not recognised and are treated as normal working days.
1) You must notify us by telephone on the first day of incapacity at the earliest possible opportunity and by no later than 9.00 am. Text messages and e-mails are not an acceptable method of notification. Other than in exceptional circumstances notification should be made personally, to the Director.
2) You should try to give some indication of your expected return date and notify us as soon as possible if this date changes. The notification procedures should be followed on each day of absence unless you are covered by a medical certificate.
3) If your incapacity extends to more than seven calendar days you are required to notify us of your continued incapacity once a week thereafter, unless otherwise agreed.
1) Medical certificates are not issued for short-term incapacity. In these cases of incapacity (up to and including seven calendar days) you must sign a self-certification absence form on your return to work.
2) If your sickness has been (or you know that it will be) for longer than seven days (whether or not they are working days) you should see your doctor and make sure he/she gives you a medical certificate and forward this to us without delay. Subsequently you must supply us with consecutive medical certificates to cover the whole of your absence.
1) You are entitled to statutory sick pay (SSP) if you are absent for four or more consecutive days because of sickness or injury provided you meet the statutory qualifying conditions. SSP is treated like wages and is subject to normal deductions.
2) Qualifying days are the only days for which you are entitled to SSP. These days are normally your working days unless otherwise notified to you. The first three qualifying days of absence are waiting days for which SSP is not payable. Where a second or subsequent period of incapacity (of four days or more) occurs within 56 days of a previous period of incapacity, waiting days are not served again.
3) Where the circumstances of your incapacity are such that you receive or are awarded any sum by way of compensation or damages in respect of the incapacity from a third party, then any payments which we may have made to you because of the absence (including SSP) shall be repaid by you to us up to an amount not exceeding the amount of the compensation or damages paid by the third party and up to, but not exceeding, any amount paid by us.
1) You should notify the Director as soon as you know on which day you will be returning to work, if this differs from a date of return previously notified.
2) If you have been suffering from an infectious or contagious disease or illness such as rubella or hepatitis you must not report for work without clearance from your own doctor.
3) On return to work after any period of sickness/injury absence (including absence covered by a medical certificate), you are also required to complete a self-certification absence form and hand this to the Director.
4) Upon returning to work after any period of sickness/injury absence, you may be required to attend a “return to work” interview to discuss the state of your health and fitness for work. Information arising from such an interview will be treated with strictest confidence.
1) Submission of a medical certificate or sickness self-certification absence form, although giving us the reason for your absence may not always be regarded by us as sufficient justification for accepting your absence. Sickness is just one of a number of reasons for absence and although it is understandable that if you are sick you may need time off, continual or repeated absence through sickness may not be acceptable to us.
2) In deciding whether your absence is acceptable or not we will take into account the reasons and extent of all your absences, including any absence caused by sickness/injury. We cannot operate with an excessive level of absence as all absence, for whatever reason, reduces our efficiency.
3) We will take a serious view if you take sickness/injury leave which is not genuine, and it will result in disciplinary action being taken.
4) If we consider it necessary, we may ask your permission to contact your doctor and/or for you to be independently medically examined.
1) Although we do not have the contractual right to carry out searches of employees and their property (including vehicles) whilst they are on our premises or business, we would ask all employees to assist us in this matter should we feel that such a search is necessary.
2) Where practicable, searches will be carried out in the presence of a colleague of your choice who is available on the premises at the time of the search. This will also apply at the time that any further questioning takes place.
3) We reserve the right to call in the police at any stage.
1) All information that:
shall be confidential, and (save in the course of our business or as required by law) you shall not at any time, whether before or after the termination of your employment, disclose such information to any person without our prior written consent.
2) You are to exercise reasonable care to keep safe all documentary or other material containing confidential information, and shall at the time of termination of your employment with us, or at any other time upon demand, return to us any such material in your possession.
3) You must make yourself aware of our policies on data protection in relation to personal data and ensure compliance with them at all times.
All written material, whether held on paper, electronically or magnetically which was made or acquired by you during the course of your employment with us, is our property and, where appropriate, our copyright. At the time of termination of your employment with us, or at any other time upon demand, you shall return to us any such material in your possession.
Any statements to reporters from newspapers, radio, television, etc. in relation to our business will be given only by the Director.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the current Data Protection Act regulate our use of your personal data. As an employer it is our responsibility to ensure that the personal data we process in relation to you is done so in accordance with the required principles. Any data held shall be processed fairly and lawfully and in accordance with the rights of data subjects.
We will process data in line with our privacy notices in relation to both job applicants and employees.
You have several rights in relation to your data. More information about these rights is available in our “Policy on your rights in relation to your data”. We commit to ensuring that your rights are upheld in accordance with the law and have appropriate mechanisms for dealing with such.
We may ask for your consent for processing certain types of personal data. In these circumstances, you will be fully informed as to the personal data we wish to process and the reason for the processing. You may choose to provide or withhold your consent. Once consent is provided, you are able to withdraw consent at any time.
You are required to comply with all company policies and procedures in relation to processing data. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.
An invention or discovery made by you will normally belong to you. However, an invention or discovery made by you will become our property if it was made:
In order to prevent the introduction of virus contamination into the software system the following must be observed:
In order to control the use of the Company’s computer equipment and reduce the risk of contamination the following will apply:
1) Introduction
The purpose of the Internet and E-mail policy is to provide a framework to ensure that there is continuity of procedures in the usage of internet and e-mail within the Company. The internet and e-mail system have established themselves as an important communications facility within the Company and have provided us with contact with professional and academic sources throughout the world. Therefore, to ensure that we are able to utilise the system to its optimum we have devised a policy that provides maximum use of the facility whilst ensuring compliance with the legislation throughout.
2) Internet
Where appropriate, duly authorised staff are encouraged to make use of the Internet as part of their official and professional activities. Attention must be paid to ensuring that published information has relevance to normal professional activities before material is released in the Company name. Where personal views are expressed a disclaimer stating that this is the case should be clearly added to all correspondence. The intellectual property right and copyright must not be compromised when publishing on the Internet. The availability and variety of information on the Internet has meant that it can be used to obtain material reasonably considered to be offensive. The use of the Internet to access and/or distribute any kind of offensive material, or material that is not work-related, leaves an individual liable to disciplinary action which could lead to dismissal.
3) Procedures – Acceptable/Unacceptable Use
You are reminded that such activities (iii. and iv.) may constitute a criminal offence.
4) E-mail
The use of the e-mail system is encouraged as its appropriate use facilitates efficiency. Used correctly it is a facility that is of assistance to employees. Inappropriate use however causes many problems including distractions, time wasting and legal claims. The procedure sets out the Company's position on the correct use of the e-mail system.
5) Procedures - Authorised Use
a) unauthorised or inappropriate use of the e-mail system may result in disciplinary action which could include summary dismissal.
b) the e-mail system is available for communication and matters directly concerned with the legitimate business of the Company. Employees using the e-mail system should give particular attention to the following points:
c) The Company will not tolerate the use of the e-mail system for unofficial or inappropriate purposes, including:
6) Monitoring
We reserve the right to monitor all e-mail/internet activity by you for the purposes of ensuring compliance with our policies and procedures and of ensuring compliance with the relevant regulatory requirements. This includes monitoring of any additional accounts you may be requested to set up for the purposes of performing your work tasks, which are subject to the same rules as your work email account. Information acquired through such monitoring may be used as evidence in disciplinary proceedings. Monitoring your usage will mean processing your personal data. You may read more about the data we hold on you, why we hold it and the lawful basis that applies in the employee privacy notice.
Any work related issue or material that could identify an individual who is a client or work colleague, which could adversely affect the Company, a client or our relationship with any client must not be placed on a social networking site. This means that work related matters must not be placed on any such site at any time either during or outside of working hours and includes access via any computer equipment or mobile device.
Any work content or material, or contacts or connections list, created by you during the course of your employment, on any of your authorised social networking sites (ownership of which vests in the Company) shall remain, at all times, the property of the Company. Accordingly, upon termination of your employment, you shall hand over to the Company, the access rights to your accounts, together with any work content or material, and any contacts or connections list.
If you are an allocated key holder, you must ensure that all procedures and guidelines are followed when securing the building prior to leaving. The keys and any security measure such as alarm codes must be kept safe at all times. You must not give the keys or alarm code to any third party unless authorisation is obtained from the Director. Any loss or damage caused as a result of your failure to follow procedures or your negligence in ensuring the safekeeping of the keys and alarm code will result in disciplinary action which could lead to your summary dismissal. We also reserve the right to deduct the cost of any loss, repair or replacement from any monies owing to you.
Any breaches or security issues including the loss or theft of keys must be reported immediately to the Director.
To satisfy the requirements of our insurers and to protect us from fire and theft, you must secure all properties and premises when unattended. The last person to leave the premises must ensure lights and appropriate electrical equipment are switched off, windows and doors are secure and alarms are set accordingly.
Closed circuit television cameras are used on our premises for security purposes. We reserve the right to use any evidence obtained in this manner in any disciplinary issue.
1) We maintain a policy of "minimum waste" which is essential to the cost-effective and efficient running of our organisation.
2) You are able to promote this policy by taking extra care during your normal duties by avoiding unnecessary or extravagant use of services, time, energy, etc. The following points are illustrations of this:
3) The following provision is an express written term of your contract of employment:
4) In the event of failure to pay, we have the contractual right to deduct such costs from your pay.
As you are liable to come into contact with clients and members of the public, it is important that you present a professional image with regard to appearance and standards of dress. You should adhere to our smart/casual dress code at all times. Jeans and trainers are not permitted.
Your highest attention to your own personal hygiene is requested at all times, as you work in close proximity with our clients and customers.
Both from the point of view of safety and of appearance, work areas must be kept clean and tidy at all times.
1) You should make yourself familiar with our Health and Safety Policy and your own health and safety duties and responsibilities, as shown separately.
2) You must not take any action that could threaten the health or safety of yourself, other employees, clients or members of the public.
3) You should report all accidents and injuries at work, no matter how minor, in the accident book.
4) You must ensure that you are aware of our fire and evacuation procedures and the action you should take in the event of such an emergency.
Under legislation we, as your employer, have a duty to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety and welfare at work of all our employees and similarly you have a responsibility to yourself and your colleagues. The use of alcohol and drugs may impair the safe and efficient running of the business and/or the health and safety of our employees.
If your performance or attendance at work is affected as a result of alcohol or drugs, or we believe you have been involved in any drug related action/offence, you may be subject to disciplinary action and, dependent on the circumstances, this may lead to your dismissal.
Smoking on the premises is not permitted. You may only smoke on authorised breaks. This includes e-cigarettes.
1) Any exposed cut or burn must be covered with a first-aid dressing.
2) If you are suffering from an infectious or contagious disease or illness such as rubella or hepatitis you must not report for work without clearance from your own doctor.
3) Contact with any person suffering from an infectious or contagious disease must be reported before commencing work.
If you arrive for work and, in our opinion, you are not fit to work, we reserve the right to exercise our duty of care if we believe that you may not be able to undertake your duties in a safe manner or may pose a safety risk to others, and send you away for the remainder of the day with or without pay and, dependent on the circumstances, you may be liable to disciplinary action.
You must notify us of any change of name, address, telephone number, etc., so that we can maintain accurate information on our records and make contact with you in an emergency, if necessary, outside normal working hours.
You are expected to devote the whole of your time and attention during working hours to our business. If you propose taking up employment with an employer or pursuing separate business interests or any similar venture, you must discuss the proposal with the Director in order to establish the likely impact of these activities on both yourself and the Company. You will be asked to give full details of the proposal and consideration will be given to:
You will be notified in writing of the Company’s decision. The Company may refuse to consent to your request. If you work without consent this could result in the termination of your employment.
If you are unhappy with the decision you may appeal using the Grievance Procedure.
Circumstances may arise where you need time off for medical/dental appointments, or for other reasons. Where possible, such appointments should be made outside normal working hours. If this is not possible, time off required for these purposes may be granted at the discretion of the Director and will normally be without pay.
You may be entitled to maternity/paternity/adoption leave and pay in accordance with the current statutory provisions. If you (or your partner) become pregnant or are notified of a match date for adoption purposes you should notify the Director at an early stage so that your entitlements and obligations can be explained to you.
If you are entitled to take parental leave or shared parental leave in respect of the current statutory provisions, you should discuss your needs with the Director who will identify your entitlements and look at the proposed leave periods dependent upon your child’s/children’s particular circumstances and the operational aspects of the business.
You may be entitled to take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off during working hours to take action that is necessary to provide help to your dependants. Should this be necessary you should discuss your situation with the Director who, if appropriate, will agree the necessary time off.
Reactions to bereavement may vary greatly according to individual circumstances and the setting of fixed rules for time off is therefore inappropriate. You should discuss your circumstances with the Director and agree appropriate time off.
We will reimburse you for any reasonable expenses incurred whilst travelling on our business. The rules relating to travelling expenses will be issued separately. You must provide receipts for any expenditure.
We do not accept liability for any loss of, or damage to, property that you bring onto the premises. You are requested not to bring personal items of value onto the premises and, in particular, not to leave any items overnight. Articles of lost property should be handed to the Director who will retain them whilst attempts are made to discover the owner.
Where parking facilities have been made available to you on our premises you must ensure that you observe all of our traffic requirements e.g. speed limits, etc. To avoid congestion, all vehicles must be parked only in the designated parking areas. No liability is accepted for damage to private vehicles, however it may be caused.
All mail received by us will be opened, including that addressed to employees. Private mail, therefore, should not be sent care of our address. No private mail may be posted at our expense except in those cases where a formal re-charge arrangement has been made.
You should discourage your friends and relatives from either calling on you in person or by telephone except in an emergency. Personal telephone calls, both incoming and outgoing are only allowed in the case of emergency. Permission to make outgoing personal calls should be sought from the Director. Personal mobile phones should be switched on silent and only used in authorised breaks during working hours.
The Company mobile phones are to be used for business purposes only except in the case of an emergency. Therefore any personal use deemed by the Company to be excessive may be recharged back to you. This is an express written term of your contract of employment. Internet usage on Company mobile phones is subject to the same provisions set out in our E-mail and Internet Policy. The Company reserves the right to monitor all communications made on Company mobile phones in order to ensure compliance with our policies and procedures.
You are not allowed to buy or sell goods on your own behalf on our premises or during your working hours.
Unless specific authorisation is given by the Director no collections of any kind are allowed on our premises.
Our business involves the provision of services to clients and some of our employees are employed to perform work on behalf of those clients, sometimes on the client’s own premises. Due to this relationship, our clients may, on rare occasions, require that such an employee be removed from a job in accordance with their contract with us. In such circumstances we will investigate the reasons for such requests. However, if our client maintains their stance we will then take all reasonable steps to ensure that alternative work is provided. If this is not possible we may have no alternative but to terminate such an individual’s employment. This procedure is separate from any concurrent disciplinary matter that may need to be addressed.
You should behave with civility towards fellow employees, and no rudeness will be permitted towards clients or members of the public. Objectionable or insulting behaviour, or bad language will render you liable to disciplinary action.
You should use your best endeavours to promote the interests of the business and shall, during normal working hours, devote the whole of your time, attention and abilities to the business and its affairs.
Any involvement in activities which could be construed as being in competition with us is not allowed.
Whilst visiting or working at any of our clients premises, it is imperative that you familiarise yourself and comply with all of their rules and requirements including (but not limited to) security, health and safety, smoking, parking, etc. Failure to comply with site rules could result in your removal from site and disciplinary action being taken in accordance with our disciplinary procedures.
We reserve the right to allow third parties to chair any meeting, for example disciplinary, capability, grievance, this is not an exhaustive list. We will seek your consent at the relevant time to share relevant ‘special categories of data’ where it is necessary for the purposes of that hearing.
We reserve the right to record any formal meetings whether conducted by us or a third party, a copy of the recording can be made available on request.
Under certain circumstances, employees are protected from suffering any detriment or termination of employment if they make disclosures about organisations for whom they work.
1) Certain disclosures are prescribed by law as “qualifying disclosures”. A “qualifying disclosure” means a disclosure of information that the employee genuinely and reasonably believes is in the public interest and shows that the Company has committed a “relevant failure” by:
2) These acts can be in the past, present or future, so that, for example, a disclosure qualifies if it relates to environmental damage that has happened, is happening, or is likely to happen. The Company will take any concerns that you may raise relating to the above matters very seriously.
3) The Employment Rights Act 1996 provides protection for workers who ‘blow the whistle’ where they reasonably believe that some form of illegality, injustice or breach of health and safety has occurred or is likely to occur. The disclosure has to be “in the public interest”. We encourage you to use the procedure to raise any such concerns.
1) In the first instance you should report any concerns you may have to the Director who will treat the matter with complete confidence. If you are not satisfied with the explanation or reason given to you, you should raise the matter with the appropriate official organisation or regulatory body.
2) If you do not report your concerns to the Director you should take them direct to the appropriate organisation or body.
Bullying, harassment or any other detrimental treatment afforded to a colleague who has made a qualifying disclosure is unacceptable. Anyone found to have acted in such a manner will be subject to disciplinary action.
We recognise that during your employment with us your capability to carry out your duties may deteriorate. This can be for a number of reasons, the most common ones being that either the job changes over a period of time and you fail to keep pace with the changes, or you change (most commonly because of health reasons) and you can no longer cope with the work.
1) If the nature of your job changes or if we have general concerns about your ability to perform your job we will try to ensure that you understand the level of performance expected of you and that you receive adequate training and supervision. Concerns regarding your capability will normally first be discussed in an informal manner and you will be given time to improve.
2) If your standard of performance is still not adequate you will be warned in writing that a failure to improve and to maintain the performance required could lead to your dismissal. We will also consider the possibility of a transfer to more suitable work if possible.
3) If there is still no improvement after a reasonable time and we cannot transfer you to more suitable work, or if your level of performance has a serious or substantial effect on our organisation or reputation, you will be issued with a final warning that you will be dismissed unless the required standard of performance is achieved and maintained.
4) If such improvement is not forthcoming after a reasonable period of time, you will be dismissed with the appropriate notice.
1) Personal circumstances may arise which do not prevent you from attending for work but which prevent you from carrying out your normal duties (e.g. a lack of dexterity or general ill health). If such a situation arises, we will normally need to have details of your medical diagnosis and prognosis so that we have the benefit of expert advice. Under normal circumstances this can be most easily obtained by asking your own doctor for a medical report. Your permission is needed before we can obtain such a report and we will expect you to co-operate in this matter should the need arise. When we have obtained as much information as possible regarding your condition and after consultation with you, a decision will be made about your future employment with us in your current role or, where circumstances permit, in a more suitable role.
2) There may also be personal circumstances which prevent you from attending work, either for a prolonged period(s) or for frequent short absences. Under these circumstances we will need to know when we can expect your attendance record to reach an acceptable level. This may again mean asking your own doctor for a medical report or by making whatever investigations are appropriate in the circumstances. When we have obtained as much information as possible regarding your condition, and after consultation with you, a decision will be made about your future employment with us in your current role or, where circumstances permit, in a more suitable role.
We retain discretion in respect of the capability procedures to take account of your length of service and to vary the procedures accordingly. If you have a short amount of service, you may not be in receipt of any warnings before dismissal.
1) It is necessary to have a minimum number of rules in the interests of the whole organisation.
2) The rules set standards of performance and behaviour whilst the procedures are designed to help promote fairness and order in the treatment of individuals. It is our aim that the rules and procedures should emphasise and encourage improvement in the conduct of individuals, where they are failing to meet the required standards, and not be seen merely as a means of punishment. We reserve the right to amend these rules and procedures where appropriate.
3) Every effort will be made to ensure that any action taken under this procedure is fair, with you being given the opportunity to state your case and appeal against any decision that you consider to be unjust.
4) The following rules and procedures should ensure that:
It is not practicable to specify all disciplinary rules or offences that may result in disciplinary action, as they may vary depending on the nature of the work. In addition to the specific examples of unsatisfactory conduct, misconduct and gross misconduct shown in this handbook, a breach of other specific conditions, procedures, rules etc. that are contained within this handbook or that have otherwise been made known to you, will also result in this procedure being used to deal with such matters.
(These are examples only and not an exhaustive list.)
You will be liable to disciplinary action if you are found to have acted in any of the following ways:
1) Where one of the unsatisfactory conduct or misconduct rules has been broken and if, upon investigation, it is shown to be due to your extreme carelessness or has a serious or substantial effect upon our operation or reputation, you may be issued with a final written warning in the first instance.
2) You may receive a final written warning as the first course of action, if, in an alleged gross misconduct disciplinary matter, upon investigation, there is shown to be some level of mitigation resulting in it being treated as an offence just short of dismissal.
Occurrences of gross misconduct are very rare because the penalty is dismissal without notice and without any previous warning being issued. It is not possible to provide an exhaustive list of examples of gross misconduct. However, any behaviour or negligence resulting in a fundamental breach of contractual terms that irrevocably destroys the trust and confidence necessary to continue the employment relationship will constitute gross misconduct. Examples of offences that will normally be deemed as gross misconduct include serious instances of:
*For this purpose, the term ‘drugs’ is used to describe both illegal drugs and other psychoactive (mind-altering) substances which may or may not be illegal.
(The above examples are illustrative and do not form an exhaustive list.)
1) Disciplinary action taken against you will be based on the following procedure:
OFFENCE
FIRST OCCASION
SECOND OCCASION
THIRD OCCASION
FOURTH
OCCASION
UNSATISFACTORY
CONDUCT
Formal verbal warning
Written
warning
Final written warning
Dismissal
MISCONDUCT
Final written
SERIOUS MISCONDUCT
GROSS MISCONDUCT
2) We retain discretion in respect of the disciplinary procedures to take account of your length of service and to vary the procedures accordingly. If you have a short amount of service you may not be in receipt of any warnings before dismissal.
3) If a disciplinary penalty is imposed it will be in line with the procedure outlined above, which may encompass a formal verbal warning, written warning, final written warning, or dismissal, and full details will be given to you.
4) In all cases warnings will be issued for misconduct, irrespective of the precise matters concerned, and any further breach of the rules in relation to similar or entirely independent matters of misconduct will be treated as further disciplinary matters and allow the continuation of the disciplinary process through to dismissal if the warnings are not heeded.
The operation of the disciplinary procedure contained in the previous section, is based on the following authority for the various levels of disciplinary action. However, the list does not prevent a higher or lower level of seniority, in the event of the appropriate level not being available, or suitable, progressing any action at whatever stage of the disciplinary process.
the Director
Written warning
1) Formal verbal warning
A formal verbal warning will normally be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after a three month period.
2) Written warning
A written warning will normally be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after a six month period.
3) Final written warning
A final written warning will normally be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after a twelve month period.
1) If you are in a supervisory or Managerial position then demotion to a lower status at the appropriate rate may be considered as an alternative to dismissal except in cases of gross misconduct.
2) In exceptional circumstances, suspension from work without pay for up to five days as an alternative to dismissal (except dismissal for gross misconduct) may be considered by the person authorised to dismiss.
3) Gross misconduct offences will result in dismissal without notice.
4) You have the right to appeal against any disciplinary action.
1) You have the right to lodge an appeal in respect of any capability/disciplinary action taken against you.
2) If you wish to exercise this right you should apply either verbally or in writing to the person indicated in your individual Statement of Main Terms of Employment.
3) It may be necessary, because of the size of our organisation, for the appeal to be heard by the person who took the original action and it is therefore important that your appeal gives details of why the penalty imposed is too severe, inappropriate or unfair in the circumstances.
4) If you are appealing on the grounds that you have not committed the offence, it may be necessary for the person conducting the appeal to have a complete re-hearing so that there can be a reappraisal of all matters before a decision is made to grant or refuse the appeal.
5) You may be accompanied at the appeal hearing by a fellow employee of your choice and the result of the appeal will be made known to you in writing, normally within five working days after the hearing. This is the final stage of the appeal process.
1) It is important that if you feel dissatisfied with any matter relating to your employment you should have an effective means by which such a grievance can be aired and, where appropriate, resolved.
2) Nothing in this procedure is intended to prevent you from informally raising any matter you may wish to mention. Informal discussion can frequently solve problems without the need for a written record. However, if you wish to raise a formal grievance you should normally do so in writing from the outset.
3) You have the right to be accompanied at any stage of the procedure by a fellow employee who may act as a witness or speak on your behalf to explain the situation more clearly.
4) If you feel aggrieved at any matter relating to your work (except personal harassment, for which there is a separate procedure following this section), you should first raise the matter with the person specified in your Statement of Main Terms of Employment, explaining fully the nature and extent of your grievance. You will then be invited to a meeting at a reasonable time and location at which your grievance will be investigated fully. You must take all reasonable steps to attend this meeting. You will be notified of the decision, in writing, normally within ten working days of the meeting, including your right of appeal.
5) If you wish to appeal you must inform the Director within five working days. You will then be invited to a further meeting, which you must take all reasonable steps to attend. As far as reasonably practicable, the Company will be represented by a more Senior Manager than attended the first meeting (unless the most Senior Manager attended that meeting).
6) Following the appeal meeting you will be informed of the final decision, normally within ten working days, which will be confirmed in writing.
1) Harassment or victimisation on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation is unacceptable.
2) Personal harassment takes many forms ranging from tasteless jokes and abusive remarks to pestering for sexual favours, threatening behaviour and actual physical abuse. Whatever form it takes, personal harassment is always taken seriously and is totally unacceptable.
3) We recognise that personal harassment can exist in the workplace, as well as outside, and that this can seriously affect employees' working lives by interfering with their job performance or by creating a stressful, intimidating and unpleasant working environment.
1) We deplore all forms of personal harassment and seek to ensure that the working environment is sympathetic to all our employees.
2) We have published these procedures to inform employees of the type of behaviour that is unacceptable and provide employees who are the victims of personal harassment with a means of redress.
3) We recognise that we have a duty to implement this policy and all employees are expected to comply with it.
Personal harassment takes many forms and employees may not always realise that their behaviour constitutes harassment. Personal harassment is unwanted behaviour by one employee towards another and examples of harassment include:
These examples are not exhaustive and disciplinary action at the appropriate level will be taken against employees committing any form of personal harassment.
1) Informal complaint
We recognise that complaints of personal harassment, and particularly of sexual harassment, can sometimes be of a sensitive or intimate nature and that it may not be appropriate for you to raise the issue through our normal grievance procedure. In these circumstances you are encouraged to raise such issues with a senior colleague of your choice (whether or not that person has a direct supervisory responsibility for you) as a confidential helper. This person cannot be the Director who will be responsible for investigating the matter if it becomes a formal complaint.
If you are the victim of minor harassment you should make it clear to the harasser on an informal basis that their behaviour is unwelcome and ask the harasser to stop. If you feel unable to do this verbally then you should hand a written request to the harasser, and your confidential helper can assist you in this.
2) Formal complaint
Where the informal approach fails or if the harassment is more serious, you should bring the matter to the attention of the Director as a formal written complaint and again your confidential helper can assist you in this. If possible, you should keep notes of the harassment so that the written complaint can include:
On receipt of a formal complaint we will take action to separate you from the alleged harasser to enable an uninterrupted investigation to take place. This may involve a temporary transfer of the alleged harasser to another work area or suspension with contractual pay until the matter has been resolved.
The person dealing with the complaint will invite you to attend a meeting, at a reasonable time and location, to discuss the matter and carry out a thorough investigation. You have the right to be accompanied at such a meeting by your confidential helper or another work colleague of your choice and you must take all reasonable steps to attend. Those involved in the investigation will be expected to act in confidence and any breach of confidence will be a disciplinary matter.
On conclusion of the investigation which will normally be within ten working days of the meeting with you, the decision of the investigator detailing the findings will be sent, in writing, to you.
You have the right to appeal against the findings of the investigator in accordance with the appeal provisions of the grievance procedure.
1) If the decision is that the allegation is well founded, the harasser will be liable to disciplinary action in accordance with our disciplinary procedure. An employee who receives a formal warning or who is dismissed for harassment may appeal by using our capability/disciplinary appeal procedure.
2) If you bring a complaint of harassment you will not be victimised for having brought the complaint. However if it is concluded that the complaint is both untrue and has been brought with malicious intent, disciplinary action will be taken against you.
1) We recognise that discrimination is unacceptable and although equality of opportunity has been a long standing feature of our employment practices and procedure, we have made the decision to adopt a formal equal opportunities policy. Breaches of the policy will lead to disciplinary proceedings and, if appropriate, disciplinary action.
2)The aim of the policy is to ensure no job applicant, employee or worker is discriminated against either directly or indirectly on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
3) We will ensure that the policy is circulated to any agencies responsible for our recruitment and a copy of the policy will be made available for all employees and made known to all applicants for employment.
4) The policy will be communicated to all private contractors reminding them of their responsibilities towards the equality of opportunity.
5) The policy will be implemented in accordance with the appropriate statutory requirements and full account will be taken of all available guidance and in particular any relevant Codes of Practice.
6) We will maintain a neutral working environment in which no employee or worker feels under threat or intimidated.
1) The recruitment and selection process is crucially important to any equal opportunities policy. We will endeavour through appropriate training to ensure that employees making selection and recruitment decisions will not discriminate, whether consciously or unconsciously, in making these decisions.
2) Promotion and advancement will be made on merit and all decisions relating to this will be made within the overall framework and principles of this policy.
3) Job descriptions, where used, will be revised to ensure that they are in line with our equal opportunities policy. Job requirements will be reflected accurately in any personnel specifications.
4) We will adopt a consistent, non-discriminatory approach to the advertising of vacancies.
5) We will not confine our recruitment to areas or media sources which provide only, or mainly, applicants of a particular group.
6) All applicants who apply for jobs with us will receive fair treatment and will be considered solely on their ability to do the job.
7) All employees involved in the recruitment process will periodically review their selection criteria to ensure that they are related to the job requirements and do not unlawfully discriminate.
8) Short listing and interviewing will be carried out by more than one person where possible.
9) Interview questions will be related to the requirements of the job and will not be of a discriminatory nature.
10) We will not disqualify any applicant because he/she is unable to complete an application form unassisted unless personal completion of the form is a valid test of the standard of English required for the safe and effective performance of the job.
11) Selection decisions will not be influenced by any perceived prejudices of other staff.
1) Senior staff will receive training in the application of this policy to ensure that they are aware of its contents and provisions.
2) All promotion will be in line with this policy.
1) We will maintain and review the employment records of all employees in order to monitor the progress of this policy.
2) Monitoring may involve:
3) The results of any monitoring procedure will be reviewed at regular intervals to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of this policy. Consideration will be given, if necessary, to adjusting this policy to afford greater equality of opportunities to all applicants and staff.
All resignations must be supplied in writing, stating the reason for resigning your post.
If you terminate your employment without giving or working the required period of notice, as indicated in your individual Statement of Main Terms of Employment, you will have an amount equal to any additional cost of covering your duties during the notice period not worked deducted from any termination pay due to you. This is an express written term of your contract of employment. You will also forfeit any contractual accrued holiday pay due to you over and above your statutory holiday pay, if you fail to give or work the required period of notice.
On the termination of your employment you must return all our property which is in your possession or for which you have responsibility. Failure to return such items will result in the cost of the items being deducted from any monies outstanding to you. This is an express written term of your contract of employment.
If either you or the Company serves notice on the other to terminate your employment the Company may require you to take “garden leave” for all or part of the remaining period of your employment.
NB.
During any period of garden leave you will continue to receive your full salary and any other contractual benefits.
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