An employee has asked for their spouse to be their companion at a disciplinary hearing. Do I have to allow the spouse to attend?

You should first check your disciplinary policy to see what it says about who may accompany an employee to a disciplinary hearing.

If an employee is required or invited to attend a disciplinary (or grievance hearing), and makes a reasonable request to be accompanied, that employee has the right to be accompanied. The right to be accompanied applies to hearings which could result in:

• the employee receiving a formal warning. (Disciplinary hearings at which the worst possible outcome for the worker is an informal warning are not covered, although a warning will not be considered 'informal' for these purposes simply because you give it that label, e.g. any warning which is confirmed in writing