What Happens If You Get a Disciplinary Wrong

Running a disciplinary is one of those situations most business owners dread. And the honest truth is, it is not having the conversation that tends to get employers into trouble. It is everything that happens around it.

The wrong word. The missed step. The decision was made too quickly or too slowly. The lack of documentation. Any one of those things can turn a manageable situation into an employment tribunal claim, which is expensive, time-consuming, and stressful in ways most business owners seriously underestimate until it happens to them.

So, what actually goes wrong? And what does it cost when it does?

The Most Common Disciplinary Mistakes Business Owners Make

Most disciplinary mistakes do not come from bad intentions. They come from not knowing the rules, acting on instinct, or simply trying to deal with a difficult situation as quickly as possible. Here are the ones we see most often.

Not following a fair process

UK employment law requires you to follow the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary procedures. That means a proper investigation before anything else, a written invitation to a disciplinary hearing with enough notice, the right to be accompanied, and a chance for the employee to put their side of the story across before any decision is made.

Skipping any of those steps does not just feel unfair to the employee. It gives an employment tribunal reason to find against you, even if the original conduct you were dealing with was completely justified.

Using the wrong procedure from the start

Before you go anywhere near a formal process, it is worth making sure you are using the right one. Disciplinary deals with conduct, when an employee will not do something. Capability deals with performance, when an employee cannot do something. They look similar on the surface, but require completely different processes and carry different legal implications.

If you run a disciplinary process for what is actually a capability issue, or the other way around, you are starting from the wrong place, and that mistake can unravel everything that follows. We cover the differences in more detail in our article on capability versus disciplinary.

Acting without investigating first

When something goes wrong at work, the temptation is to act. You have seen what happened, you know who is responsible, and you want it sorted. The problem is that jumping straight to a hearing without a proper investigation beforehand is one of the fastest ways to end up on the wrong side of a tribunal.

A fair investigation means gathering evidence, speaking to any witnesses, and giving the employee a genuine opportunity to explain themselves before any formal process begins. Without it, the whole procedure is compromised.

Not keeping records

Everything in a disciplinary process needs to be documented. The investigation. The invitation letter. The hearing itself. The outcome. The right of appeal. If it is not written down, in the eyes of a tribunal, it effectively did not happen.

We speak to business owners who handled a situation months or even years ago, thought it was resolved, and are now facing a claim with almost nothing to show for the process they followed. That is an incredibly difficult position to be in.

Dismissing without the right foundations in place

If you dismiss an employee without a clear disciplinary policy, a compliant employment contract, and a documented process behind you, you are walking into a tribunal with very little to stand on.

This is exactly why we always tell business owners that the time to get your HR foundations right is before you ever need them. Not during a crisis, when the pressure is on, and the decisions you make are likely to be rushed.

What Does a Tribunal Actually Cost?

It is easy to think of an employment tribunal as something that happens to other businesses. Until it happens to yours.

Even if you win, a tribunal claim will cost you in management time, legal fees, stress, and disruption to the business. If you lose, you could face a compensation award running into tens of thousands of pounds, along with the reputational damage that comes with a public ruling against you.

There is also the ACAS uplift to consider. If a tribunal finds that you failed to follow the ACAS Code of Practice, they can increase any compensation award by up to 25%. That is a significant penalty for a procedural failure that, with the right support, could have been avoided entirely.

We have worked with business owners who have been through the tribunal process and come out the other side. Almost without exception, they say the same thing. They wish they had picked up the phone before they started.

What a Good Disciplinary Process Actually Looks Like

A well-run disciplinary process is not complicated, but it does require you to follow the right steps in the right order, with the right paperwork behind you. Miss one, and the whole thing becomes vulnerable.

Every fair process covers the same ground.

1. Conduct a thorough investigation before any formal process begins.
2. Send a written invitation to a disciplinary hearing, setting out the allegations clearly and giving the employee enough time to prepare.
3. Hold the hearing, listen to the employee's response, and consider all the evidence before making any decision.
4. Communicate the outcome in writing, including the right to appeal.
5. Handle any appeal consistently and fairly.

Every step needs to be documented. And throughout the process, you need a clear disciplinary policy that sets out what constitutes misconduct, the stages of the procedure, and the potential outcomes.

If you do not have a disciplinary policy in place, or you are not confident it is up to date and legally compliant, that is something worth sorting out now. You can find out more about our policies and procedures service on our HR services page.

Why Your Employment Contract and Policies Matter More Than You Think

A disciplinary process does not happen in isolation. It sits on top of everything else you have in place, or do not have in place.

If your employment contracts do not clearly set out what is expected of employees and what constitutes misconduct, it becomes much harder to argue that an employee knew what the rules were. If your employee handbook does not reference the disciplinary procedure, the same problem applies.

This is why getting the foundations right matters so much. We often tell clients that HR is not a burden, it is the infrastructure your business runs on. Without it, you are always one difficult situation away from real exposure. You can read more about what should be in your employee handbook and why it matters on our HR services pages.

Do Not Try to Handle It Alone

Most business owners who come to us mid-disciplinary say the same thing. They started it thinking it would be straightforward, and it quickly became anything but.

Disciplinary situations are high-stakes. They involve people's livelihoods, emotions run high on both sides, and the legal framework is unforgiving of mistakes. That is not a criticism of anyone who has found themselves in that position. It is just the reality of employment law, which is a minefield unless you live and breathe it every day.

The real cost is not just financial. It is the hours spent preparing for a hearing instead of running your business, the stress of not knowing how it will end, and the damage to team morale when a situation drags on. Getting the right support in early almost always makes the whole thing shorter, less stressful, and more likely to land in your favour.

If you are dealing with a disciplinary situation right now, or you want to make sure your processes and policies are in good shape before something comes up, take a look at our disciplinary and performance management service or give us a call on 01980 622167.

Pick up the phone before you take the next step

A quick call before you start a disciplinary process can save you a very long and costly road afterwards. Book a free discovery call, and we will tell you exactly where you stand.

Book your free discovery call at jmassociates.org/15-minute-call

Related Reading

Capability vs Disciplinary, Understanding the Differences

Disciplinary and Performance Management Service

Policies and Procedures

Employment Contracts for Small Business

Employee Handbooks