Does a young employee have the right to bring a representative to a disciplinary hearing?

One of many interesting questions we were asked at our business briefing this morning was:

Q: Does a young employee have the right to bring a representative to a disciplinary hearing?

A. All employees, not just young ones, have the right to be accompanied at a disciplinary hearing by a fellow employee or an accredited trade union official.

However, we would always advise our clients to act in a reasonable manner.  If the employee is immature or has other challenges we would recommend that they be allowed to bring along whoever they wish, within reason.  Hopefully a junior employee will bring along a parent or guardian – in our experience an adult voice of reason can actually help in this situation.  In addition, where the outcome of the disciplinary hearing could have an impact on an employee’s professional career, such as a veterinary nurse, they should be allowed to be accompanied by a legal representative if they wish.

Do you have employee issues?

Performance management is always a topic of discussion at our roadshow of events. To find the next event in your area, visit our events page.