Disciplinary & Grievance Policy

At Gelateria Danieli Ltd (the Company), it is hoped that workplace concerns can usually be discussed and resolved informally wherever appropriate. However, as a safeguard, the Company has formal disciplinary and grievance procedures in place.

Disciplinary Policy

The Company seeks to maintain high standards of conduct and performance. The disciplinary procedure enables the Company to act where conduct or performance is unsatisfactory. The Company will seek to ensure that any employee who is subject to disciplinary action receives fair and consistent treatment.

General principles

  1. Any complaint made against an employee will be fully investigated as appropriate, and no disciplinary action will be taken until they have been fully informed of the nature of the complaint and given the opportunity to respond.
  2. An employee will, always, be given the right to be accompanied by a work colleague of their choice, or a trade union representative (where applicable), at any disciplinary or appeal meeting.
  3. Where a breach of conduct or performance is not regarded as being particularly serious and is shown to have been caused by the capabilities, competence or behaviour of an employee, it is open to the Company to deal with this matter informally in the first instance, allowing improvement, and, if necessary, training, rather than reverting immediately to the formal disciplinary procedure.
  4. Any decision on which way to proceed is, however, at the Company’s discretion and will depend on the circumstances of the case.
  5. If there is no improvement after a suitable period has been allowed, or training given, the matter may have to be dealt with more formally. Where appropriate, this will be done through the disciplinary procedure.

Disciplinary Rules and Categories of Conduct

It is not practical to set out all the instances of conduct or performance which may lead to disciplinary action. It should be understood, however, that the disciplinary procedure may be invoked as a result of:

  • Any failure to observe the rules set out in this handbook or the individual contract of employment.
  • Any other instance of conduct or performance which the Company believes can only be properly dealt with under the disciplinary procedure.

It is also impractical to state which category of disciplinary action will be applied to any given degree of behaviour or performance. However, an employee’s conduct will fall under one of the following categories:

  • Unsatisfactory performance
  • Misconduct
  • Gross misconduct

Examples of gross misconduct

Employees are liable for dismissal without notice following a disciplinary hearing if they are considered to have acted in any of the following ways.

Please note that these are examples and this list is not exhaustive.

  • Deliberate or serious breaches of conduct, standards, rules, regulations and policies.
  • Theft of money or property, whether from the business, a fellow employee, or a third party associated with the business. This includes unauthorised possession of Company property.
  • Any act of dishonesty relating to the employee’s employment or the Company’s business.
  • Disqualification from driving, where a driving licence is a necessity for carrying out the job.
  • Being under the influence of alcohol and/or intoxicants, drugs, or other substances, or the misuse of prescribed medication, where this affects the employee’s ability to carry out their duties safely or properly.
  • Fighting or physical assault of an employee or third-party during employment.
  • Threatening or abusive behaviour, rudeness or discourtesy to other staff, customers, or third parties on site.
  • Gross indecency or seriously inappropriate behaviour.
  • Wilful refusal to carry out a specific legitimate instruction.
  • Deliberate or serious breach of health and safety rules.
  • Conviction of an offence which is not, in the opinion of the Company, trivial and which has or had the potential to harm the Company or the employee’s ability to perform their duties.
  • Carrying out private work on the Company premises and/or in working time.
  • Gross negligence which causes, or has the potential to cause, unacceptable loss, damage or injury.
  • Deliberate damage, destruction or sabotage of Company property or any property belonging to a fellow employee or a third party associated with the business.
  • Discriminatory conduct, harassment, or other action contravening the Company’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy.
  • Acting or working in a situation which constitutes a serious conflict of interest.
  • Deliberate or serious breach of computer, software, e-mail, internet or data protection rules and procedures.

Disciplinary Investigations

In the event of a matter arising which is considered necessary to invoke the disciplinary procedure, the Company will first seek to establish the facts of the case and, as far as is reasonably practical, this will be done before memories and recollections fade. Other employees who may be involved in this investigation will be required to co-operate fully with the procedure.

On certain occasions, it may be prudent or necessary to suspend an employee on full pay pending the conclusion of any investigation and subsequent hearing. It must be noted that suspension is not in itself disciplinary action and is only seen as a temporary measure intended to assist in the proper conduct of the disciplinary process. It is not a pre-judgment of that process.

The Company will advise the employee who the investigation manager will be. The investigation could involve one or more meetings with those involved to establish facts. In certain cases, for example absence or performance management, this will consist of ascertaining as much as is reasonably possible, the reason and the facts surrounding the matter.

The manager conducting the investigation will not normally be involved in determining the outcome of the disciplinary hearing, save to the extent that such a manager may present supporting facts and material at the disciplinary hearing or by written response to queries raised by the manager conducting the disciplinary hearing. Such queries and responses will be disclosed to the employee, who will be allowed to respond.

All employees will be given reasonable notice of any investigation meeting. This will be provided in writing wherever possible and will confirm the following:

  • The date and time of the meeting.
  • The purpose of the meeting.
  • Other relevant participants to the meeting.

Disciplinary Hearing

If, following the initial investigation, it is considered that there is a case to answer, then a disciplinary hearing will be arranged as soon as possible. It should be noted that at the hearing the employee may be accompanied by a work colleague of their own choice or a trade union representative (where applicable).

The Company does not normally consider legal representation or representation by an external body or person to be appropriate in what is essentially an internal process, unless required by law or as a reasonable adjustment.

Step 1. Informing the employee of the problem

The Company will notify the employee in writing, giving reasonable notice (at least 48 hours’ notice), and will detail the following:

  • The purpose of the hearing.
  • The date and time of the hearing.
  • The right to be accompanied.
  • The attendees at the meeting.
  • Brief details of the allegations or offences to be discussed. Where possible, full notes of meetings and statements will be issued.
  • Potential outcomes of the meeting so that the employee understands what potential actions could be taken by the disciplinary manager.
  • The consequences of not attending.

Before the disciplinary meeting, the employee should advise the disciplinary manager of the identity of their accompanying person.

Step 2. Holding a meeting to discuss the problem

The manager holding the disciplinary hearing may also have a management representative of their choice at the meeting.

After the hearing, a written record of the meeting should be maintained and circulated to those who were present.

The nature of the disciplinary matter will be explained to the employee, in as much detail as possible, by the manager conducting the hearing. The employee will have every opportunity to respond, present their case in full, call any witnesses they feel are appropriate, and present any written evidence. If an employee needs further time to prepare their case, it is open to the manager conducting the case to postpone or adjourn until a later date or time. It should be noted that, in the normal course of events, this will only be granted in reasonable circumstances. If the employee’s version of events so requires, the Company will undertake further investigation as may be considered appropriate to establish the credibility of the employee’s explanation, and the result of these investigations will be put to the employee before any final decision is made.

After the hearing, if the employee accepts that matters raised against them are correct, or if a decision is made against them, then before any penalty is imposed the employee will be allowed to put forward any mitigating circumstances that they may feel are relevant.

At the time, there may be a verbal explanation of the decision. However, a clear explanation of the outcome will be confirmed in writing to the employee. The right of appeal against either the findings and/or the penalty imposed will also be explained.

The Company will determine the outcome on the balance of probabilities.

Step 3. Decision outcome and action

Written confirmation of the outcome will be sent to the employee as detailed above.

The level of the disciplinary sanction will depend upon the seriousness of the offence.

Warnings

All warnings will be confirmed in writing and sent to the employee. A copy will be retained on file for the period of currency and will contain details of the matters raised during the disciplinary hearing, a summary of all interviews, and the conclusions reached.

Warnings for matters connected with capability, attendance, or performance will indicate a period for improvement and may concern certain recommendations for further training or counselling.

Warnings for conduct and/or unsatisfactory attendance may require that there is either an immediate improvement, or there is no repetition, or both.

Any further disciplinary process which takes place after a previous warning is likely to result in a more serious penalty being imposed, even if the second offence is different from the previous one, particularly where there is evidence that the first warning has not been heeded.

Warnings will confirm the employee’s right of appeal. Any written warning will include the following:

  • Reasons for the action.
  • Any improvements required, where this can be stated.
  • Implications of further misconduct/capability issues.
  • The right of appeal, and to whom and within what timescale.
  • The duration of the warning.

Duration of warnings

A written warning/final written warning will be disregarded after 12 months. However, the Company reserves the right to reasonably increase the above period if the offence committed is particularly serious, or if it is an offence which has been repeated where the outcome was not dismissal.

Dismissal

Dismissal for gross misconduct offences may result in immediate termination of employment without notice or pay in lieu of notice.

Dismissal for misconduct may result in termination of employment with contractual notice or pay in lieu of notice where appropriate.

Disciplinary Appeal Procedure

At the end of the disciplinary hearing, the employee will be informed, both verbally and in writing, of their right of appeal, including the name of the person to whom the appeal should be made.

If the employee wishes to appeal, they must do so in writing to the nominated person. The notice should normally be received within 5 working days from the day on which the written confirmation was received.

The notice of appeal should state which of the following the employee is appealing against:

  • The conduct of the disciplinary hearing.
  • The finding of the disciplinary hearing.
  • The sanction imposed.
  • A combination of these factors.

It should also outline the supporting reasons for the appeal.

The aim of the appeal system is to ensure that employees have the facility for a complete reappraisal of the facts and procedures and a reconsideration of the seriousness of the earlier decision.

The appeal hearing

The appeal hearing will be conducted by a person who has not previously been involved in the disciplinary process so that the original disciplinary hearing can be examined. This is to establish if the original hearing allowed for a full and thorough airing of the facts and evidence, whether the proper procedures were observed, and whether the findings were fair and reasonable. It also examines if the penalty imposed properly reflected the gravity of the offence and if any mitigating factors were fully considered.

The format of the appeal hearing will be an opportunity for the employee to present their supporting reasons as to why they believe the disciplinary action taken was either unfair or too harsh. The employee may submit any appropriate evidence and call any appropriate witnesses.

At an appeal hearing the employee is entitled to be accompanied by a work colleague of their choice or by a trade union representative (where applicable). Legal representation will not normally be permitted unless required by law or as a reasonable adjustment.

At the beginning of the appeal hearing, the appeal manager will advise the employee that the appeal may result in one of the following:

  1. No change in the disciplinary sanction.
  2. The substitution of action that could reduce the disciplinary sanction.
  3. The identification of further matters for investigation.
  4. The employee’s appeal being upheld and the disciplinary action being overturned.

In limited cases, it might be appropriate for the appeal system to provide for a fresh hearing of the matter. The findings, decision, and outcome of the appeal hearing will be confirmed in writing.

There is no further right of appeal.

Grievances

Employees are encouraged, in the first instance and where appropriate, to raise concerns informally so that matters may be discussed openly and resolved wherever possible. If that does not resolve the matter, the Company has a formal grievance procedure in place.

Grievance Policy

Grievances are concerns, problems, or complaints that employees raise with their employer.

Complaints about discrimination, bullying, or harassment in the workplace will also be dealt with under the grievance procedure.

Principles

  • It is the intention of both parties that employees should be encouraged to have direct contact with management to resolve their problems.
  • The procedure for the resolution of a grievance and avoidance of disputes is available if the parties are unable to agree to a solution.
  • Should a matter be referred to this procedure for resolution, both parties should accept that it be progressed as quickly as possible.
  • If the employee’s immediate manager or supervisor is the subject of the grievance, then the matter should be referred to another senior manager.
  • For those employees whose first language is not English, or who have difficulty expressing themselves on paper, help or assistance should be sought from a work colleague or other employee representative.
  • All grievance issues will be thoroughly investigated by the Company.

Grievance Procedure

The standard procedure is like the steps laid out in the disciplinary procedure.

Step 1

The employee should inform the employer of their grievance in writing, setting out the basis for the grievance.

Step 2

If appropriate, the employer will investigate the background of the grievance and meet with the employee to discuss the matter at a reasonable time and location. The employee should take all reasonable steps to attend and have the right to be accompanied by a work colleague of their choice or a trade union representative (where applicable). Having conducted the meeting, the employer will write to the employee, setting out the basis for any decision reached and informing the employee of their right to appeal against the decision.

Step 3

Should the employee wish to appeal against the employer’s decision, the employee must notify the Company in writing, normally within 5 working days of the written notification of the outcome. An appeal will be arranged as soon as possible, to be heard, wherever possible, by a more senior manager than the individual who heard the original grievance. Following the appeal, the employee will be notified of the decision reached, the reasons for it, and the fact that the appeal hearing is the final stage in the process.

This policy will be reviewed annually, or sooner where required by changes in legislation or business circumstances.

last updated 16th july 2026

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