exitagreementDisciplinary hearings: the procedure, the notice, and your rights at each step
Two public documents set the baseline for a disciplinary procedure in Great Britain. The Acas Code of Practice sets out the steps an employer is expected to follow. The Employment Relations Act 1999 gives you a legal right to bring a companion to the hearing. Much of what people expect to be fixed — how much notice, how long a warning lasts — is not a number in either of them. The one firm deadline the law sets is about your companion: if they cannot make the date, you can move the hearing, once, within five working days.
A failure to follow the Code does not, in itself, make a person or organisation liable to proceedings. However, employment tribunals will take the Code into account when considering relevant cases. Tribunals will also be able to adjust any awards made in relevant cases by up to 25 per cent for unreasonable failure to comply with any provision of the Code.Read the Code on acas.org.uk
So the Code is not a set of rules you can sue on by itself. It matters because a tribunal reads a later dismissal against it, and can move the money by up to a quarter either way. It covers misconduct and poor performance:
Disciplinary situations include misconduct and/ or poor performance. If employers have a separate capability procedure they may prefer to address performance issues under this procedure. If so, however, the basic principles of fairness set out in this Code should still be followed … The Code does not apply to redundancy dismissals or the non‑renewal of fixed-term contracts on their expiry.Read the Code on acas.org.uk
If the procedure you are in is about redundancy, the Code is not the measure. Redundancy selection.
The procedure in five stages
| # | Stage | What the Code expects | Paras | Firm rule in law |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Investigation | Establish the facts without unreasonable delay; where practicable, a different person investigates and hears a misconduct case. | 5–7 | No statutory right to a companion at an investigatory meeting. |
| 2 | The letter | The allegation, its possible consequences, copies of the evidence, the time and place, and your right to be accompanied. | 9–10 | None. |
| 3 | The hearing | The employer explains the case and the evidence; you answer it, ask questions and call witnesses. | 11–17 | Right to be accompanied, and to postpone if the companion cannot make the date (ERelA 1999 s.10). |
| 4 | The decision | In writing: no action, a warning, a final warning, other action, or dismissal. | 18–25 | A dismissal must be fair (ERA 1996 s.98). |
| 5 | The appeal | Heard without unreasonable delay, by someone not involved before where possible. | 26–29 | Right to be accompanied at the appeal too. |
Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures (2015); Employment Relations Act 1999 s.10; Employment Rights Act 1996 s.98. Suspension, if it happens, is not one of the stages — the Code says it is not disciplinary action.
Key points
- No fixed notice period for a hearing — “reasonable time to prepare” (para 11).
- One companion of your choice: a colleague, a trade union official, or a certified union representative.
- A postponement if the companion cannot make the employer’s date, to a reasonable time within five working days.
- Up to two weeks’ pay (at most £1,502) if the employer refuses the companion.
- The outcome in writing, with a right of appeal heard by someone new where possible.
Stage 1: the investigation
It is important to carry out necessary investigations of potential disciplinary matters without unreasonable delay to establish the facts of the case. In some cases this will require the holding of an investigatory meeting with the employee before proceeding to any disciplinary hearing.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
The Code adds that in misconduct cases, where practicable, different people should carry out the investigation and the hearing (para 6). An investigatory meeting is a fact-finding step, not the hearing:
If there is an investigatory meeting this should not by itself result in any disciplinary action. Although there is no statutory right for an employee to be accompanied at a formal investigatory meeting, such a right may be allowed under an employer’s own procedure.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
If you have been suspended while this happens, suspension is a separate question with its own rules on pay and length. Suspended from work.
Stage 2: the letter, and what it should tell you
If it is decided that there is a disciplinary case to answer, the employee should be notified of this in writing. This notification should contain sufficient information about the alleged misconduct or poor performance and its possible consequences to enable the employee to prepare to answer the case at a disciplinary meeting. It would normally be appropriate to provide copies of any written evidence, which may include any witness statements, with the notification.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
Paragraph 10 adds the time and venue and your right to be accompanied. Acas’s step-by-step guidance turns it into a list. In good time before the hearing, the employer should put in writing: the alleged misconduct or performance issue; any evidence from the investigation; anything else they plan to discuss; the date, time and place; your right to be accompanied; and the possible outcomes.
Read the letter against that list. Two items do the most work later. “Possible consequences” tells you whether dismissal is on the table — a letter that does not mention it falls short of what paragraph 9 asks for. And “copies of any written evidence” is what you prepare from; if something is missing, ask for it in writing before the hearing.
How much notice of a disciplinary hearing?
The meeting should be held without unreasonable delay whilst allowing the employee reasonable time to prepare their case.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
The hearing should be held as soon as possible after the investigation, while giving reasonable time for the employee to prepare.Read it on acas.org.uk
Neither the Code nor Acas’s guidance, last updated on 4 December 2025, sets a number of hours or days. Figures you may see quoted online — 24 hours, 48 hours, two or five working days — are not in the Code or in that guidance. If your employer’s written procedure names a period and the hearing was set sooner, that is a departure from its own procedure: say so in writing, and again at any appeal.
The one fixed number: moving the hearing for your companion
(4) If— (a) a worker has a right under this section to be accompanied at a hearing, (b) his chosen companion will not be available at the time proposed for the hearing by the employer, and (c) the worker proposes an alternative time which satisfies subsection (5), the employer must postpone the hearing to the time proposed by the worker. (5) An alternative time must— (a) be reasonable, and (b) fall before the end of the period of five working days beginning with the first working day after the day proposed by the employer.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
The window is counted from the employer’s date, in working days, starting the day after. If the employer proposes Wednesday 4 November 2026, the five working days are:
| Working day | Date |
|---|---|
| 1 | Thursday 5 November 2026 |
| 2 | Friday 6 November 2026 |
| 3 | Monday 9 November 2026 |
| 4 | Tuesday 10 November 2026 |
| 5 | Wednesday 11 November 2026 |
ERelA 1999 s.10(5)(b). A week with no bank holidays. The alternative time must also be reasonable (s.10(5)(a)). Illustrative only.
So the latest you can propose is Wednesday 11 November 2026. The right is to postpone to the time you propose, if it fits — not to an open-ended delay. The Code’s own summary is at paragraph 16.
Who can come with you, and what they can do
(1) This section applies where a worker— (a) is required or invited by his employer to attend a disciplinary or grievance hearing, and (b) reasonably requests to be accompanied at the hearing. (2A) Where this section applies, the employer must permit the worker to be accompanied at the hearing by one companion who— (a) is chosen by the worker; and (b) is within subsection (3).Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
(2B) The employer must permit the worker’s companion to— (a) address the hearing in order to do any or all of the following— (i) put the worker’s case; (ii) sum up that case; (iii) respond on the worker’s behalf to any view expressed at the hearing; (b) confer with the worker during the hearing. (2C) Subsection (2B) does not require the employer to permit the worker’s companion to— (a) answer questions on behalf of the worker … (3) A person is within this subsection if he is— (a) employed by a trade union of which he is an official … (b) an official of a trade union … whom the union has reasonably certified in writing as having experience of, or as having received training in, acting as a worker’s companion at disciplinary or grievance hearings, or (c) another of the employer’s workers.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
So the choice is yours, from three groups: a colleague, an official employed by a trade union, or a union representative the union has certified. Nothing in section 10(3) requires you to be a member of that union, and the companion is “chosen by the worker”, not by the employer. A partner, friend or lawyer is not on the list:
Employers might allow companions who do not fall within the above categories. For example, a partner or legal representative.Read it on acas.org.uk
Under discrimination law, employers must make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees. This might mean allowing someone else to be their companion. For example, a support worker or someone with knowledge of the disability and its effects.Read it on acas.org.uk
The request itself is informal:
A request to be accompanied does not have to be in writing or within a certain timeframe. However, a worker should provide enough time for the employer to deal with the companion’s attendance at the meeting.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
Your companion can put your case, sum it up, respond for you and talk to you during the hearing. They cannot answer questions put to you, and they cannot stop the employer explaining its side. Plan for that: the companion is there to support and speak, not to give your evidence.
If the employer refuses
(1) A worker may present a complaint to an employment tribunal that his employer has failed, or threatened to fail, to comply with section 10(2A), (2B) or (4). … (3) Where a tribunal finds that a complaint under this section is well-founded it shall order the employer to pay compensation to the worker of an amount not exceeding two weeks’ pay.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
“A week’s pay” here is capped by the same limit that applies to redundancy pay (section 11(5) applies section 227 of the Employment Rights Act 1996), currently £751, so the award is at most £1,502. The bigger protection is the next one:
(3) A worker who is dismissed shall be regarded for the purposes of Part X of the Employment Rights Act 1996 as unfairly dismissed if the reason (or, if more than one, the principal reason) for the dismissal is that he— (a) exercised or sought to exercise the right under section 10(2A), (2B) or (4) … (4) Sections 108 and 109 of that Act (qualifying period of employment and upper age limit) shall not apply in relation to subsection (3) above.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
A dismissal for asking to be accompanied, or for bringing a companion, is automatically unfair, with no qualifying period. Claims that need no qualifying period.
Facing a disciplinary, or already dismissed?
Send your postcode and the date of the hearing or of the dismissal. We pass an enquiry to a firm only with your agreement, and only to a firm entitled to receive it.
What happens at the hearing
At the meeting the employer should explain the complaint against the employee and go through the evidence that has been gathered. The employee should be allowed to set out their case and answer any allegations that have been made. The employee should also be given a reasonable opportunity to ask questions, present evidence and call relevant witnesses. They should also be given an opportunity to raise points about any information provided by witnesses.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
Acas’s guidance adds that the employer should make sure someone takes notes, and that you can bring your own evidence, such as emails. If you plan to call a witness, give notice in advance; the Code expects that from both sides (para 12). At the end, the employer should take time to consider before deciding, and tell you what happens next and when.
Before the day, it helps to write down three things: your answer to each allegation, in the order the letter sets them out; the documents that support it; and the questions you want to ask about the evidence against you. If the issue is performance rather than conduct, ask what you were told was expected, and when.
If you are off sick or cannot attend
If the employee is absent or off sick for the disciplinary hearing, the employer should contact them and rearrange it.Read it on acas.org.uk
The employer might decide they need to carry on with the hearing without the employee. If they do, they should tell the employee and give them the chance to submit a written statement.Read it on acas.org.uk
Where an employee is persistently unable or unwilling to attend a disciplinary meeting without good cause the employer should make a decision on the evidence available.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
The word that matters in paragraph 25 is “persistently”. Acas’s first step for a hearing missed through illness is to rearrange it; persistent non-attendance without good cause is what lets the employer decide on the evidence it has. If you cannot attend, say so in writing, say why, and offer a written statement or another arrangement. Off sick during a dispute.
Can you be sacked at a disciplinary hearing? The outcomes
Where misconduct is confirmed or the employee is found to be performing unsatisfactorily it is usual to give the employee a written warning. A further act of misconduct or failure to improve performance within a set period would normally result in a final written warning. If an employee’s first misconduct or unsatisfactory performance is sufficiently serious, it may be appropriate to move directly to a final written warning … The employee should be told how long the warning will remain current.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
| Outcome | When, according to the Code and Acas |
|---|---|
| No action | The case is not made out. Acas says the employer should end the procedure and help you back to normal work. |
| Informal or “verbal” warning | For something small; Acas says a confidential written record should still be kept. |
| First written warning | The usual first formal step where misconduct or poor performance is confirmed (para 19). |
| Final written warning | After a further act or no improvement within a set period — or straight away if the first matter is serious enough (paras 19–20). |
| Other action, such as demotion | Only if the contract allows it, discussed first, with a companion (Acas, step 5). |
| Dismissal | For gross misconduct, or where the procedure has been repeated after a final written warning (Acas, step 5); with reasons, end date, notice and right of appeal (para 22). |
Acas Code paras 18–23; Acas, “Disciplinary procedure step by step”, step 5 (last updated 4 December 2025).
The employer might dismiss the employee. They could end their contract in either of these cases: ‘gross misconduct’ – when the employee has done something that’s very serious or has very serious effects, for example fraud or physical violence; the disciplinary procedure has had to be repeated and the employee previously had a final written warning.Read it on acas.org.uk
So yes, a disciplinary hearing can end in dismissal. For a first matter that is neither gross misconduct nor serious enough to go straight to a final warning, the Code’s usual course is a written warning (para 19). A decision to dismiss should come from a manager with the authority to make it, with the reasons, the end date, the notice and the right of appeal (para 22). What counts as gross misconduct.
How long a warning lasts is for the employer to set and tell you: the Code says only that you should be told how long it remains current. Look for the period in the letter. If it is not there, ask.
The appeal
Where an employee feels that disciplinary action taken against them is wrong or unjust they should appeal against the decision. Appeals should be heard without unreasonable delay and ideally at an agreed time and place. Employees should let employers know the grounds for their appeal in writing.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
The appeal should be dealt with impartially and, wherever possible, by a manager who has not previously been involved in the case.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
You have the same right to a companion at the appeal (para 28), and the result should come in writing as soon as possible (para 29). Appealing matters beyond the workplace too: if a later tribunal finds you unreasonably failed to follow the Code — by not appealing, for example — it can reduce your award by up to 25%. How an unfair dismissal claim works.
When the procedure ends in dismissal, or an offer
A dismissal at the end of a disciplinary is tested like any other: the employer must show the reason, and the tribunal asks whether dismissing for it was reasonable, procedure included (Employment Rights Act 1996, s.98(4)). An ordinary claim needs two years’ service, or six months where employment ends on or after 1 January 2027. If the employer unreasonably skipped the Code, any award can go up by as much as 25%. The time limit to claim.
Some employers propose a settlement agreement during a disciplinary, before the outcome. Such a conversation can be held “off the record” under section 111A of the 1996 Act, within the limits that section sets. Protected conversations · What a settlement agreement is.
Resigning before the hearing is a different route. Acas’s guidance says this about it:
The employee might want to resign or feel they have to leave when facing a disciplinary. This could lead to the employee later claiming constructive dismissal at an employment tribunal. They can only do this if they have worked for the organisation for 2 years or more.Read it on acas.org.uk
The two-year figure there is the current qualifying period; see the change from 1 January 2027 above. Constructive dismissal: before you resign.
Special cases
If an employee is charged with, or convicted of a criminal offence this is not normally in itself reason for disciplinary action.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
The Code goes on: what matters is the charge or conviction’s effect on your suitability for the job and on your relationship with the employer, colleagues and customers. And where the employee is a trade union representative, the normal procedure applies, but the Code advises discussing the case early with an official employed by the union, with the employee’s agreement (para 30).
The Code and the 1999 Act apply in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own arrangements, including a statutory minimum dismissal procedure. Northern Ireland.
Common questions
How much notice should I get for a disciplinary hearing?
There is no fixed number of hours or days in law or in the Acas Code. Paragraph 11 says the meeting should be held without unreasonable delay while allowing reasonable time to prepare. If your employer’s own procedure names a period, check whether it was followed.
Can I bring someone to a disciplinary hearing?
Yes, if you reasonably ask. Section 10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999 lets you bring one companion: a colleague, an official employed by a trade union, or a union representative certified by the union. Employers can allow others, such as a partner, but do not have to.
Can the hearing be moved if my companion cannot come?
Yes, if you propose a reasonable alternative time that falls within five working days beginning with the first working day after the date your employer proposed. The employer must then postpone to your time.
Can you be sacked at a disciplinary hearing?
Dismissal is one of the possible outcomes. Acas’s guidance gives two routes to it: gross misconduct, or a repeated procedure after a final written warning. The decision should come in writing, with your right of appeal.
What happens if I am off sick on the day of the hearing?
Acas says the employer should contact you and rearrange it, and consider other arrangements. If the employer decides to go ahead without you, it should tell you and let you send a written statement.
How long does a written warning last?
No law sets a period. The Acas Code says you should be told how long the warning will remain current, so the answer should be in the warning letter.
Sources cited on this page
- Employment Relations Act 1999, s.10 — right to be accompanied
- Employment Relations Act 1999, s.11 — complaint to employment tribunal
- Employment Relations Act 1999, s.12 — detriment and dismissal
- Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures
- Acas — Disciplinary procedure, step 2: following a fair procedure
- Acas — Disciplinary procedure, step 4: the hearing
- Acas — Disciplinary procedure, step 5: deciding the outcome
- Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, s.207A
- Employment Rights Act 1996, s.98 — fairness
- GOV.UK — Dismissal: unfair and constructive dismissal
Every figure above was read from the source it is attributed to on 19 September 2026. How we check this.
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