Disciplinary records

Employees are entitled to a copy of the notes of any disciplinary, dismissal or grievance meeting, and of any supporting documentation relied on to make the decision. They should be given the chance to comment while the minutes are still in draft to ensure accuracy. These documents are “personal data” for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998, so they must be kept confidential and be adequate, relevant, accurate, secure and not excessive.

Legal professional privilege does not extend to communications to and from a firm of employment consultants (Walter Lilly & Co Limited v Mackay [2012] EWHC 649), (Prudential v Special Commissioner of Income Tax [2013] UKSC 1), so relevant advice from external consultants leading up to a dismissal should be disclosed in any tribunal claim.