Employment policies
Name of employer: East Side Youth Centre Ltd.
Employer's address: Hatters Lane, High Wycombe HP13 7NQ
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1. Collective agreements with trade unions
There are no collective agreements with trade unions or other employee groups affecting this employment.
2. Sickness absence
If you cannot work because of illness, you must inform the office manager as early as possible on the first day and each subsequent day when you are unable to work.
Self-certification is allowed for a maximum of 4 days after which a Doctor's Certificate must be provided.
You are entitled to contractual sick pay at your normal rate of pay for a maximum of 10 days during your first year of employment. This is subject to the requirements to notify the employer and provide evidence of incapacity. Thereafter, you may be entitled to statutory sick pay.
3. Disciplinary procedure
It is the Management Committee's policy that the following procedure should be followed when an employee is being disciplined or dismissed. The procedure provides that in normal cases a series of warnings will be given before discipline or dismissal is contemplated. The stages of the procedure that apply when discipline or dismissal is being contemplated comply with the statutory dismissal and grievance procedures.
Matters which may be dealt with under this disciplinary and dismissal procedure include discipline and dismissal for the following reasons:
misconduct
sub-standard performance
harassment or victimisation
misuse of Youth Centre facilities including computer facilities (e.g. e-mail and the Internet)
poor timekeeping
unauthorised absences
Minor cases of misconduct and most cases of poor performance may be dealt with by informal advice, coaching and counselling. An informal oral warning may be given, which does not count as part of the formal (or statutory) disciplinary procedure. No formal record of this type of warning will be kept.
If there is no improvement or the matter is serious enough, you will be invited to a disciplinary meeting at which the matter can be properly discussed. You will be allowed to bring a work colleague, friend or Trade Union representative to the meeting. The outcome of the meeting will be communicated to you. There are the following possible outcomes:
Oral warning
In the case of minor infringements you may be given a formal oral warning. A note of the oral warning will be kept on your file but will be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after a specified period (e.g. six months). You have the right to appeal against a formal oral warning.
Written warning
If the infringement is more serious or there is no improvement in conduct after a formal oral warning you will be given a formal written warning giving details of the complaint, the improvement or change in behaviour required, the timescale allowed for this, the right of appeal and the fact that a final written warning may be given if there is no sustained satisfactory improvement or change. A copy of the written warning will be kept on file but will be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after a specified period (e.g. 12 months).
Final written warning
Where there is a failure to improve or change behaviour during the currency of a prior formal written warning, or where the infringement is sufficiently serious, you may be given a final written warning. This will give details of the complaint, warn that failure to improve will lead to dismissal and refer to the right of appeal. The final written warning will be kept on file but will normally be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after a specified period (e.g. 12 months).
Dismissal
If your conduct or performance still fails to improve the final step will be to contemplate dismissal. If your employer is contemplating dismissing you he must follow the "Standard Disciplinary and Dismissal Procedure" which is a statutory requirement. Failure to do so will usually result in a finding of automatically unfair dismissal.
The Standard Disciplinary and Dismissal Procedure
Step 1: Employer gives employee a written statement and calls a hearing
The employer will set out in writing your alleged conduct, characteristics or other circumstances which lead him/her to contemplate dismissing or taking disciplinary action against you. The employer will inform you, in the written statement of the basis on which he has made the allegations against you. If possible the employer will provide you with copies of any relevant evidence against you. The employer will invite you to a hearing to discuss the matter.
Step 2: Meeting is held and employer informs employee of the outcome
The meeting will take place before any action, other than suspension on full pay, is taken. The meeting will be held without undue delay but only when you have had a reasonable opportunity to consider your response to the employer's written statement and any further verbal explanation the employer has provided. You must take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting. After the meeting the employer will inform you of his/her decision and notify you of your right to appeal against the decision if you are not satisfied with it. You must appeal to complete the statutory procedure.
Step 3: Appeal against the disciplinary decision if necessary
If you wish to appeal you must inform the Management Committee in writing within a reasonable time. If you do this the employer will invite you to attend a further meeting. You must take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting. If practicable a more senior manager not previously involved in the disciplinary procedure will hear the appeal. The appeal hearing may take place before or after dismissal or disciplinary action has taken effect. After the appeal hearing the employer will inform you of his/her final decision and will confirm it in writing as soon as practicable.
Gross misconduct
If after investigation it is confirmed that you have committed one of the following offences (the list is not exhaustive), you will normally be dismissed:
theft
fraud and deliberate falsification of records
physical violence
serious bullying or harassment
deliberate damage to property
serious insubordination
misuse of an organisation's property or name
bringing the employer into serious disrepute
serious incapability whilst on duty brought on by alcohol or illegal drugs
serious negligence which causes or might cause unacceptable loss, damage or injury
serious infringement of health and safety rules
serious breach of confidence (subject to the Public Interest (Disclosure) Act 1998).
While the alleged gross misconduct is being investigated, you may be suspended, during which time you will be paid. Any decision to dismiss will be taken by your employer only after a full investigation.
The Standard Disciplinary and Dismissal Procedure applies to dismissals for gross misconduct.
Modified Dismissal Procedure
In a few cases of gross misconduct the employer may be justified in dismissing immediately without conducting an investigation. In these cases a two-step "Modified Dismissal Procedure" will be followed, otherwise the dismissal will be automatically unfair.
Step 1: Employer gives written statement
The employer must give you a written statement setting out the conduct that has resulted in the dismissal and informing you of the right to appeal against the decision to dismiss. You must appeal to complete the statutory procedure.
Step 2: Appeal against the disciplinary decision
If you wish to appeal you must inform the Management Committee. A meeting must be held (in accordance with the general principles set out above). The employer must inform you of his decision following the meeting.
General Principles
The following principles apply to the Standard Dismissal and Disciplinary Procedure and the Modified Dismissal Procedure set out above:
The people who have authority to discipline you in accordance with this procedure are the Management Committee members.
You have the right to be accompanied to any meeting by a Trade Union representative, friend or a fellow employee.
Each step in the procedure will be taken without unreasonable delay and hearings will be held at reasonable times and locations.
Meetings will be conducted in a manner that enables both employer and employee to explain their cases.
Records will be kept detailing the nature of any breach of disciplinary rules or unsatisfactory performance, your defence or mitigation, the action taken and the reasons for it, whether an appeal was lodged, its outcome and any subsequent developments. These records will be kept confidential.
4. Grievance procedure
It is the Management Committee's policy to ensure that any employee with a grievance has access to a procedure, which can lead to a speedy resolution of the grievance in a fair manner.
Most routine complaints and grievances are best resolved informally in discussion with your immediate line manager.
Where the grievance cannot be resolved informally it will be dealt with under the following procedure that complies with the statutory standard three-step grievance procedure.
The Standard Grievance Procedure
Step 1: Employee gives written statement of grievance
You must put your grievance in a written statement of grievance and send a copy to the Management Committee. Where the grievance is against the line manager the matter should be raised with a more senior manager if there is one.
Step 2: Meeting is held and employer informs employee of the outcome
The employer will invite you to attend a meeting to discuss the grievance. The meeting will only take place once you have informed the employer of the basis for the grievance you have set out in your written statement, and the employer has had a reasonable opportunity to consider what response to make. You must take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting.
After the meeting the employer must inform you of the decision taken in response to the grievance and notify you of your right to appeal if you are not satisfied with the employer's decision. You must appeal to complete the statutory procedure.
Step 3: Appeal if necessary
If you wish to appeal you must inform the employer. The employer will then invite you to attend another meeting. You must take all reasonable steps to attend. If reasonably practicable, a more senior manager who has not been involved in the grievance procedure so far will deal with the appeal. After the meeting the employer must inform you of the decision taken.
The Modified Grievance Procedure
The Modified Grievance Procedure will apply in relation to your grievance only if:
you no longer work for the employer
you have agreed with your employer in writing that it will apply
you raised it before you left, but the standard procedure wasn't completed, or you didn't raise it until after you left
There are two steps within the Modified Grievance Procedure:
Step 1: Employee gives written statement of grievance
You must put your grievance in a written statement and send a copy to the employer.
Step 2: Employer gives written response
The employer must write back to you giving his response to the points you have raised.
Principles Applicable to the Standard and Modified Grievance Procedure
Each step in the grievance procedure should be carried out without unreasonable delay. The times and locations of meetings should be reasonable.
Meetings must be conducted in a way that allows both parties to explain their case.
Records should be kept detailing the nature of the grievance raised, the employer's response, any action taken and the reasons for it. These records should be kept confidential.
You have the right to be accompanied to the hearing by a Trade Union representative, friend or a fellow employee.
There are some cases in which the statutory procedure does not have to be followed or does not have to be followed in full, for example where your grievance is about the fact the employer intends to dismiss you. In these cases, the employer will not necessarily follow the statutory procedures set out above.
If you want to seek resolution of a grievance you must contact the Management Committee.
