Employment Rights Act 1996: Primary legislation governing employment rights and fair dismissal procedures in England and Wales. Key focus on sections relating to disciplinary procedures and employee rights during such processes.
Equality Act 2010: Legislation ensuring that disciplinary actions are not discriminatory based on protected characteristics such as age, gender, race, disability, religion, or sexual orientation.
ACAS Code of Practice: While not legislation, this is a statutory code providing essential guidance on fair disciplinary procedures. Employment tribunals take this into account when assessing cases.
GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018: Regulations governing how personal data should be handled and processed during disciplinary proceedings, including record-keeping and data privacy requirements.
Employment Tribunal Case Law: Relevant precedents set by employment tribunal decisions regarding disciplinary procedures and warnings, which help interpret how legislation should be applied.
Warning Duration Requirements: Specifications for clearly stating how long the final warning will remain active on the employee's record, typically 12 months but may vary based on company policy.
Right of Appeal Requirements: Legal requirement to include information about the employee's right to appeal the disciplinary decision, including the process and timeframe for doing so.
Performance Improvement Requirements: Need to clearly specify required improvements, timeframes, and consequences of failure to improve, as required by employment law and best practice.
