7. A fair disciplinary hearing


The next stage is the disciplinary hearing. 


The Acas Code says a disciplinary meeting should be held without unreasonable delay, while allowing the employee reasonable time to prepare the case. Unreasonable delay can make a dismissal unfair and may be a breach of the employment contract (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v Cruden [1986] IRLR 83). The factors likely to contribute to a delay being unreasonable are set out in Chapter 4.