Location: Northern Ireland
Rep.of Ireland
Location: Northern Ireland
Rep.of Ireland
Home / Articles First Tuesday Q&A NI

Our policy does not permit a solicitor to attend a disciplinary hearing. Only a colleague or trade union representative may attend. Is this lawful?

Posted in : First Tuesday Q&A NI on 7 February 2017
Chris Fullerton
Arthur Cox NI
Issues covered:

There is no general right under Northern Irish law for an employee to have a legal representative at a disciplinary hearing, however, some employees (for example, NHS hospital doctors) may have a right under their contracts of employment (as was the case in Kulkarni v Milton Keynes Hospital Foundation NHS Trust [2009] IRLR 829 (CA)).

Further, if the employee is disabled it may be a reasonable adjustment to allow them to be accompanied by someone other than a colleague or union representative. This companion could be a solicitor; however, employers should be cautious allowing this due to the precedent it may create.

In addition to this, employees may be able to establish a right to legal

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Back to Q&A's This article is correct at 07/02/2017
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.

Chris Fullerton
Arthur Cox NI

The main content of this article was provided by Chris Fullerton. Contact telephone number is 028 9023 0007 or email Chris.Fullerton@arthurcox.com

View all articles by Chris Fullerton