Delay

The Acas Code says that a disciplinary meeting should be held without unreasonable delay while allowing the employee reasonable time to prepare the case.

An unreasonable delay before a disciplinary hearing can make a dismissal unfair and/or a breach of the employment contract (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v Cruden [1986] IRLR 83). The sorts of factors likely to contribute to a delay being “unreasonable” are set out in Chapter 4.

If a member needs to delay the meeting because of a failure by the management to provide copies of statements or other evidence, this should be spelled out in a letter to the employer.