A recent case highlights again the importance of following proper processes when dealing with employees.  The case involved a farmer and a farm worker.  The farm worker lived on the farm in close proximity with the farmer’s family, and often shared meals with them. 

He was sent packing from the farm at midnight one evening, after the farmer’s young son had started to behave unusually, by repeatedly grabbing his father’s testicles.  When the farmer asked his son about this, he told the farmer that the farm worker had done this to him.

The farmer argued that because the situation was so unusual, and radically different from what the parties could have expected when they entered the employment agreement, the agreement stopped being effective when the event occurred.

However the Court of Appeal held that, despite the difficult situation, the agreement was effective and the farmer should have followed the proper process to dismiss the worker.  They said it was, “…at least conceivable that some resolution may have been able to be reached”, if proper process had been followed.  Because of this, they sent the case back to the Employment Court to decide whether the dismissal was justified, using the ordinary test.

Therefore, no matter how strange or difficult a situation, it is important the proper process for disciplinary action is always followed.
The correct process includes informing the employee of the allegations made against them, providing them with an opportunity to comment, considering their response, and, if necessary, going through a process of formal disciplinary meetings to determine which disciplinary action should be taken.

The employee must be given written notice about these meetings, should be informed they can have a support person present, and also of what the consequences will be if the allegations are proved. It should be stressed that the allegation is only that, and that no conclusions have been reached.

Such meetings provide the employer with an opportunity to gain the employee’s input about how the matter should be resolved.  The employee should be advised of any decisions made as a result of these meetings in writing.  In addition, any specific requirements in the employee’s employment agreement should be followed.

For our free step-by-step guide on how to follow proper process, encompassing the above, see the downloads section of our website, or, if you would like further advice, call Alan Knowsley.