Employee Policies

This section sets out Employee Policies and Procedures. They do not form part of the terms and conditions of employment and may be varied at the discretion of the Federation. Employees will be notified of such variations.

Logging Holidays

When an employee wishes to book annual leave, they must request it from their line manager via People HR and the leave must be logged (again on People HR) to ensure that all holiday taken is recorded. If there are particular times where holiday cannot be taken, staff must be informed in advance so they can plan accordingly.

Time off for sickness

If an employee is unwell and unable to attend work, they must inform their line manager before 9.00am on the morning they are unable to attend and every subsequent morning they are absent due to illness.

An employee can self-certify sickness for up to seven days, using the Federation’s Self-Certification form. If they are absent for more than seven days due to illness, they will need to provide a doctor’s note covering the period of absence.

If you feel that an employee has been absent frequently due to health reasons it is important to discuss this with them but to be mindful that health-related issues may be due to a disability and you cannot discriminate against them.

Grievance Procedure

The object of the grievance procedure is to enable employees who consider they have a grievance or complaint arising from their employment with the Federation to have it dealt with at the nearest appropriate level within as short a time as possible.
In this first instance, the employees are encouraged to resolve any grievance informally with their line manager but if for any reason this is not possible, a formal written grievance should be raised.
Anyone wishing to use this formal procedure can do so freely and without prejudice to his/her position in the organisation. It applies to all employees, irrespective of job or grade.
The formal grievance must be set out in writing and sent to your line manager who will attempt to deal with the matter after making such consultations as are necessary. You will be invited to agree to a meeting to discuss the grievance and may be accompanied by a work colleague or a trade union representative. You must take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting.
If the complaint or grievance relates to your line manager, the grievance can be raised with the next level of management.
A decision will be given within ten days unless extended by mutual consent and you will be notified of your right to appeal against the decision.
If the matter is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may within five days of that decision appeal against the decision to the next level of management in writing. The appeal must include the grounds of appeal.
The person designated to consider the appeal will make arrangements for a grievance appeal hearing at which you will have the right to be accompanied and to make submissions for consideration. The Chair of that meeting will give a decision within ten days unless extended by mutual consent.
This decision is final and the grievance procedure is exhausted following this stage.

Modified Procedure

The following procedure applies in relation to a grievance where:

you have ceased to be employed by the Federation; and
your line manager:
1. was unaware of the grievance before your employment ceased, or
2. was so aware but the standard grievance procedure was not commenced or was not completed before the last day of your employment; and
you and your line manager have agreed in writing that the modified procedure should apply.

Statement of grievance

1.You must:

set out in writing:-
1. the grievance, and
2. the basis for it, and
send the statement or a copy of it to your line manager.

Response

Your line manager will set out the Federation’s response in writing and send the statement or a copy of it to you.

The above procedures incorporate obligations imposed by statute.

Disciplinary and Dismissal Procedures

Principles

The Federation requires the highest standards of discipline from its employees, together with satisfactory standards of work. The following procedures apply to any misconduct or failure to meet standards of performance or attendance. They will only apply to employees who have completed one year’s continuous employment.

They also apply where the Federation is contemplating termination by reason of redundancy, termination of a fixed-term contract and on retirement provided the employee has more than one year’s service and is not more than 65 years’ old.

The procedures do not create any contractual obligations on the part of the Federation. They incorporate the disciplinary and dismissal procedures required by statute and the Federation will comply with these statutory requirements at all times. In terms of the non-statutory provisions of these procedures, the Federation reserves the right to depart from these as appropriate.

The purpose of these procedures is to help and encourage the achievement and maintenance of appropriate standards of conduct, attendance and job performance and to ensure consistent and fair treatment for all employees.

However, if your standard of work or conduct falls and, after warnings, remains below the level which is acceptable, you may be dismissed.

Rules for Suspension of Staff

In certain circumstances, it may be appropriate to suspend an employee on full pay whilst the Federation carries out an investigation into the alleged misconduct. Such circumstances may include, for example:

where the investigation relates to conduct or actions which may be viewed as gross misconduct and might result in dismissal; and/or
where circumstances mean the employee’s presence at work could seriously hinder the investigation.

Suspension will not normally be for more than 10 days.

Standard Disciplinary and Dismissal Procedure

No disciplinary action (including dismissal) will be taken until the circumstances have been fully investigated.

If the investigation concludes that there is a case to answer you will be advised in writing of the nature of the complaint or circumstances that may lead to your dismissal or other disciplinary actions in the form of a Step 1 letter. The Step 1 letter will require your attendance at a meeting (the Step 2 meeting) where you will be given the opportunity to state your case before a decision is made.

You may, if you wish, be accompanied by a fellow employee of your choice or a trade union representative at any Step 2 meeting.

The Step 2 meeting will be held within 7 days from the date of the Step 1 letter. If this is not practicable, you will be notified of an alternative date for the meeting.

Following the Step 2 meeting, the Company will advise you in writing of its decision within 7 days or, if this is not practicable, within a reasonable period.

The above procedure will also apply to cases of termination of employment as set out above.

Appeal (Step 3)

If you wish to appeal against a disciplinary or dismissal decision affecting you, you must inform your Line Manager in writing, within 7 days of the decision you wish to appeal against giving the grounds of your appeal.

If the disciplinary action which is the subject of the appeal is your dismissal the decision to dismiss will stand unless it is reversed on appeal.

The appeal will be heard by someone who will not been involved in the initial proceedings and will take place within 7 days after you notify the Federation of your wish to appeal.

You will be invited to an Appeal Meeting. The Appeal will review but cannot increase any disciplinary penalty.

You may if you wish be accompanied by a fellow employee of your choice or a trade union representative.

The decision of the person hearing the appeal will be given within 7 days or, if this is not practicable, within a reasonable period. There is no further right of internal appeal.

Summary Dismissal Procedure

Summary dismissal without notice may take place if an act of gross misconduct is committed. Gross misconduct is any deliberate act by an employee that is detrimental to the good conduct of the organisation.

In cases of gross misconduct, you will normally be dismissed without notice or pay in lieu of notice pay. In exceptional circumstances, or if there are any genuine mitigating circumstances, alternative disciplinary action may be taken.

A non-exhaustive list of examples of gross misconduct is set out below:

dishonesty
falsification of records
failure to comply with relevant statutory or regulatory requirements
serious insubordination
violent, abusive or intimidating conduct
deliberate damage to Federation property
sexual, racial or other harassment
unauthorised use or disclosure of confidential information
attending work under the influence of alcohol or non-medically prescribed drugs
reckless or serious misuse of a company vehicle
rudeness to members
any action likely to bring the Federation into disrepute
accepting a gift which could be construed as a bribe
breach of Health and Safety rules which endanger the health and safety of others
conviction for any serious criminal offence while an employee of the Federation
misuse of the computer system in breach of the Computer Policy

In most cases of gross misconduct, the standard Disciplinary and Dismissal Procedure will apply.

However, in some cases and at the Federation’s sole discretion, you may be summarily dismissed without having had a Step 2 meeting. In these circumstances, the Federation will:

set out in writing:
1. your misconduct which has led to the dismissal,
2. the evidence in the Federations possession at the time of the dismissal that you were guilty of the alleged misconduct, and

iii. your right to appeal against dismissal; and

send the statement or a copy of it to you.

If you wish to appeal, you must inform your Line Manager of your grounds of appeal in writing within 7 days of you receiving the decision.

You will then be invited to attend an Appeal Meeting and you must take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting.

After the Appeal Meeting, the Chair of the meeting will inform you of the final decision.

Disciplinary Sanctions

Except for acts of gross misconduct, the following sanctions will apply.

For minor breaches of discipline, or failure to achieve satisfactory standards, a formal verbal warning will be given, normally by your Line Manager. This will be removed after 6 months in the absence of further offences.

For more serious offences, or in the event of further minor transgressions, a warning will be given in writing. This warning will normally be given either by your Line Manager. This will be removed after 12 months in the absence of further offences.

In the event of further repetition of the misconduct or a failure to comply with a requested improvement, or in the case of misconduct or failure to comply with standards which do not amount to gross misconduct but which warrant a final warning, a final written warning will be issued by your Line Manager. This warning will specify that the consequences of a failure to comply will normally be dismissal. This will be removed after 12 months in the absence of further offences.

In the event of any further misconduct or failure to achieve satisfactory standards or in the case of misconduct not amounting to gross misconduct but warranting dismissal, dismissal may result.

Alternative Sanctions Short of Dismissal

In appropriate cases, the Federation may consider some other sanction short of dismissal, such as demotion; transfer to another department or job; period of suspension without pay; loss of seniority; reduction in pay or loss of future pay increment or bonus or loss of overtime. These sanctions may be used in conjunction with a written warning.

Computer Policy

The Federation operates a fair and flexible approach to internet and email usage.

As with all company practices, we expect users to apply their common sense in sending and receiving electronic (email)email messages and in their use.

Internet / online / IT services and, the tools used for their access, and the computer system generally, are (all referred to as “the Systems”).

The Systems are established, maintained, and provided by the Federation for employees to run the business operations efficiently and effectively. As such and as such the Systems are company property. Though the Federation generally respects the privacy of its employees, it reserves the right to monitor the Systems for the purposes of its business including monitoring whether the use of the internet and /or email is legitimate, to find lost messages or to retrieve messages lost due to computer failure, to assist in the investigations of wrongful acts, to provide evidence of contractual matters or to comply with any legal or regulatory obligation. The Federation will not routinely monitor messages

The ultimate responsibility for assuring correct use of the email, Internet access and online systems belongs with every user.

You are required to adhere to the following:

You can access the Internet at any time to obtain information on subjects relating to your duties.
Employees may not use Internet, or online services for: personal financial gain; political, religious, or charitable campaigning; soliciting for outside organisations or commercial ventures; selling Internet or other carrier access time.
Employees should not access/download/forward inappropriate material, such as pornography, from the Internet, which may contain any comment that may insult a person’s age, sex or sexual orientation, religious or political belief, national origin, ethnicity or disability.
Employees should take care not to infringe copyright when downloading material or forwarding it to others.

Misuse of this Internet/e-mail policy will be considered as Gross Misconduct.