One of our employees committed an offence at work two days after a previous warning expired for a similar misdemeanour. Is it lawful to take the old warnings into account? It’s only two days after the expiry of the warning but the hearing might not be able to be held for a couple of weeks, so it will really be 14-16 days after expiry before we can make any decision.
Posted in : First Tuesday Q&A NI on 1 November 2016 Issues covered:Whether or not an employer can take account of an expired warning will depend on the employee in question’s contract of employment, the warning letter issued by the employer, and on the company’s disciplinary procedure. If any of these materials stipulate expired warnings cannot be taken into account it will not be lawful for the employer to do so. If these materials allow for past warnings to be considered or if it is not expressly stipulated, then employers may consider expired warnings. However, expired warnings may only be considered when this is not the principal reason for any subsequent dismissal. In other words, when the circumstances justified dismissal anyway.
Employers may (and
Already a subscriber?
Click here to login and access the full article.
Log in now to read the full articleDon't miss out, start your free trial today!
Are you fully aware of the benefits of Legal-Island's Employment Law Update Service? We help hundreds of people like you understand how the latest changes in employment law impact on your business.
Help understand the ramifications of each important case from NI, GB and Europe
24/7 access to all the content in the Legal Island Vault for research case law and HR issues
Ensure your organisation’s policies and procedures are fully compliant with NI law
Receive free preliminary advice on workplace issues from the employment team at Worthingtons Solicitors
Back to Q&A's This article is correct at 01/11/2016
Disclaimer:
The information in this article is provided as part of Legal-Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article.