How to deal with sickness absence during disciplinary process
It’s not uncommon for employees to get themselves signed off sick during the disciplinary process and frequently this is with stress and anxiety. On the one hand, the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures says you need to hold the disciplinary hearing “without unreasonable delay”, plus you should ensure disciplinary matters are dealt with in a timely manner whilst the facts are still fresh in everyone’s minds. On the other hand, the employee may genuinely not be well enough to attend the hearing. However, the effects of a disciplinary process on the employee’s mental health may be greater if that process is prolonged, so it may be in their best interests for the matter to be dealt with.
If you find that you’ve already had to postpone a disciplinary hearing at least once due to the employee’s illness and it looks like they’re going to remain off sick for a prolonged period, your starting point is to consider obtaining medical advice, with their consent, on their fitness to attend the hearing. This may be obtained from either their GP or an independent doctor. It doesn’t necessarily follow that an employee who’s unfit for work is also unfit to attend a hearing.
The next step is to consider offering the employee alternative options to allow the disciplinary hearing to go ahead. These include: (1) holding it at a neutral venue or at their home; (2) holding it remotely, either by video or telephone call; (3) allowing them to send a representative to act on their behalf - you could limit this to those covered by the statutory right to be accompanied (work colleagues and trade union officials/reps) or you could extend it to cover family members; and (4) inviting them to submit a detailed written statement to explain their case and answer the allegations.
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