disciplinary policy & procedure - West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS ...

Following dismissal an employee will be required to return all property belonging to the Trust as
soon as is reasonably practicable.
14. REQUIREMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATION
Registration is a requirement of certain NHS employment, and where employees fail to renew their
registration, disciplinary action, including dismissal, may be considered. The onus is on the
employee to renew their registration, which should then be recorded by the employer. Mitigating
circumstances regarding the reason for non-renewal should always be considered. For further
information, please refer to the Policy for the Trust wide Management of Registration Verification
for Permanently Employed Nurses, Midwives and Operating Department Practitioners.
In all cases involving dismissal of professional staff, the Trust will inform the relevant professional
body. It will then be a matter for them to consider if further action is required.
Where disciplinary action by a professional body results in a member of staff's name being erased
by the appropriate professional register, then this will provide sufficient reason for termination of
his/her contract, irrespective of any previous disciplinary action or decision taken by the Trust.
15. APPEALS PROCEDURE
Every employee has the right to appeal against any disciplinary sanction reached at a hearing and
will be reminded of this right at the conclusion of the hearing. The person hearing the appeal will
not have been involved in the initial decision to take disciplinary action.
The appeal will normally constitute a re-hearing of the case, except where the appeal grounds
relate solely to the severity of the sanction.
Written notice of appeals must be sent to the Director of Workforce within 21 days of the date of
the letter confirming disciplinary action and clearly state the reason for the appeal.
The Director of Workforce will arrange for the appeal hearing to be set up and all parties to be
notified of the date, time and location. The appeal hearing should normally be heard within 8
weeks of the letter requesting the appeal being received.
A member of Human Resources will sit on the panel, and advise the panel on the application of
procedures and current legislation, which is pertinent to the case.
Before any appeal hearing the following documents should be sent to Human Resources no later
than 7 days before the hearing date. The HR representative will then arrange for copies to be
circulated to both sides involved in the appeal as well as the members of the Appeal Panel. No
material, which did not form part of the evidence at the disciplinary hearing, will be introduced at an
Appeal Hearing unless by joint agreement of the parties concerned:
Managers Statement -This statement should present the circumstances of the case and the
action taken to date, including reasons why the original sanction was given, and list the key
documents to be presented at the hearing as well as who will be called to give evidence to
the hearing as a witness.
Employee’s Statement - This statement may be prepared in conjunction with the
representative and will state the reasons why the appeal is being made. This should list
the key documents to be presented at the appeal as will as any persons who may be called
to give evidence at the hearing as witnesses.
Witnesses
It is the responsibility of the parties concerned to arrange for the attendance of their witnesses. In
the case of witnesses who are employees of the Trust, time off work with pay will be granted for
them to attend. Witnesses will only be present at the hearing whilst giving evidence.
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