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Law Queries
Right to be accompanied
Q. Recently, I was called to a disciplinary hearing and given an informal warning following a customer complaint. I didn’t have much time to prepare — my manager told me in the morning the hearing was that afternoon. When I said I wanted to bring a union rep, she said there was no need for this because the meeting was informal and I didn’t need to worry about it.
A. You have a right to be accompanied to a disciplinary hearing under section 10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999. You can bring a claim against your employer in an employment tribunal for a breach of this section.
The claim must be issued within three months, and the tribunal can award up to two weeks’ pay.
Whether a meeting counts as a disciplinary meeting or not depends on what happens — or what could happen — at the meeting, and not what the employer decides to call it.
Since you were given a warning at the meeting, it’s likely this would be viewed as a disciplinary hearing, and that your employer’s refusal to allow you a rep was a breach of your statutory right to be accompanied.