Who can accompany an employee to a disciplinary or grievance meeting?

Employees have a right to be accompanied by a companion to all grievance meetings and any disciplinary hearing which could result in the employee receiving a formal warning.

So far so straightforward. But a practical issue that frequently comes up is the question of who can accompany the employee at such a meeting. Employees often interpret this right as allowing them to choose whomever they please, including a solicitor. However, the right to bring a companion to a disciplinary/grievance meeting is far more limited than some employees choose to imagine.

An employee has the statutory right to be accompanied at a disciplinary/grievance meeting by:

• a colleague employed by the employer (though the colleague is under no obligation to agree); or
• a trade union official (though the employee does not have to be a member of that trade union nor does the employer need to have recognised it).

There is no statutory right for an employee to be accompanied by anyone else. So, if a request is received for an employee to be accompanied by a friend or family member (or perhaps a solicitor), the employer is under no obligation to agree. However, each request should be taken on its own merits as the employer has a discretion whether or not to allow such a request.

For example:

• an employee may be struggling to find a colleague willing to attend;
• the employee may have a disability (in which case the employer will have a statutory duty to consider reasonable adjustment to the standard disciplinary or grievance processes); or
• the employee may have learning difficulties or be an adolescent.

In situations like these an employer would be well-advised to agree to a request for a family member or friend to attend as the companion.

Employers are understandably reluctant to allow solicitors or legal advisers to attend as a companion because a disciplinary or grievance process is still an internal process. However, a number of cases have established that legal representation is appropriate where, for example, an adverse disciplinary outcome could have a terminal impact on a professional career.

In recent years we have seen a trend toward employers increasingly allowing solicitors to accompany employees; the logic being that, if a solicitor is present at a disciplinary or grievance meeting, then it will be very difficult for the employee to argue an issue of procedural unfairness if their solicitor did not raise it at the time.

If you have any questions about the right to be accompanied, please call our Employment Law team today on 0113 207 0000.