Criminal proceedings and disciplinary processes

The Court of Appeal has held that a doctor could be disciplined by an NHS trust before a police investigation had been conducted, but the trust was not entitled to withhold his pay (North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust v Gregg [2019] EWCA Civ 387.)


Consultant anaesthetist Dr Gregg was suspended following the death of a patient in his care. The trust began disciplinary proceedings against him, which it put on hold after the police began an investigation of unlawful death. The trust suspended Gregg without pay. Gregg brought a claim in the High Court, which granted an injunction after finding the trust in breach of contract by withholding Gregg’s pay and carrying out disciplinary proceedings before the police investigation had been heard. 


The trust appealed to the Court of Appeal. It overturned the injunction in part, holding that the trust was entitled to continue with the disciplinary proceedings but couldn’t suspend his pay.

www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2019/387.html