Over the next three months’ blogs I hope to take you through the disciplinary process. It will take that time because of the number of steps involved. This month we will deal with the investigation stage.

I have had to deal with various disciplinary issues in my pub management career (breach of policy, suspected theft, persistent lateness and poor performance, to name but a few).

The ACAS code of conduct sets out best practice on how to run a disciplinary. Although not strictly compulsory, if you were to get to a tribunal you would need to satisfy the judge that you had followed the principles as far as you could.

Unless you are part of a big chain, the likelihood is that there are not enough senior people in your company to deal with a disciplinary in strict compliance with the ACAS code. This is because the code recommends that the person who investigates the matter should pass it on to a different and independent person to run the disciplinary hearing. After the hearing, any appeal should be chaired by another independent and, if possible, more senior colleague.

This can often be wholly unrealistic in small organisations such as the pub trade, where matters tend to be investigated very swiftly, there and then, with the employee.

At one stage whilst running a pub, I operated a policy that entitled employees, at the end of their shift, to a drink at the cost of the business. In my naivety I did not document this policy in sufficient detail, but left it to the supervisor or the manager of the day to interpret and implement. It came to light that people were taking advantage of the concession by requesting large measures of various drinks when they finished work. The cost to the pub was consequently far too high.

In a management meeting we discussed the policy and came to the conclusion that greater detail and clearer parameters needed to be included in the staff induction process. In addition to this setting out what was, and was not, acceptable managers were to implement and cascade the message down to all relevant staff.

Despite the implementation of these steps, I noticed one evening that two employees were drinking large glasses of wine at the end of their shift. I could see with my own eyes that there had been a breach of policy. The obvious question then was, “what do I do now?”

In more complex organisations, such matters could well be passed on to an independent investigator. This person would normally take a statement from you, and you would become a witness. As a small company, however, this may not be a viable option. In my case the most practical way forward was for me to conduct an investigation there and then. I had seen the incident and it was therefore appropriate for me to question the two individuals.

This may only be the first step of the investigation. Depending on what explanation is provided to you, further work may need to be done. In my example, I was told by the supervisor that she was not present when the wine was poured. At the time I took this at face value, but felt it prudent at a later stage to check the pub’s CCTV footage. This did not support her account of events, as it showed her standing nearby whilst the wine was served. Suddenly another serious issue raised its head - a possible breach of trust and confidence (more in later blogs).

In general terms, any investigation should include:

• a discussion with the person accused or suspected of the misconduct
• an interview with the person making the complaint (if there is one)
• interviews with anybody named as witnesses
• gathering paper evidence such as till receipts, policy documents, minutes of meetings where policies had been discussed and formulated (the latter is particularly useful if individuals claim they were unaware of a policy but were present at the relevant meeting)
• any other enquiries that you feel may be of benefit to either side

It is important to note that any investigation must be neutral and a search for the truth. It is the point in time at which you are not certain whether there is any disciplinary case to answer, and you are trying to find evidence either way to help you decide. It is also the point in time when you may consider suspending somebody from work. If, for example, I had a complaint that an employee had sexually harassed a co worker I would suspend the accused employee (so long as I had a contractual clause allowing me to suspend) in order to investigate the complaint.

It is vital that any evidence gathered during the investigation is documented. This will enable you to conduct a more thorough disciplinary hearing. You should also make note of why you have made the decision to either discipline, or let the matter go.

At the conclusion of the investigation you need to write to the employee to invite them to a disciplinary hearing, or inform them that there is no further action being taken. My top tip for investigations is to keep a good paper trail and to send this paper trail to the employee in advance of any disciplinary hearing.


Mel Parsons is the licensee of The Tap & Barrel in Plymouth and managing director of specialist employment law firm, Insight Legal. Through her blogs she aims to provide an insight into issues she has faced with as a publican. However they are not designed as advice on how you should handle cases as each case is unique