Disciplining staff

The following documents are free and are here to help with disciplining staff. Others are available to help with Hiring staff and Managing staff.

Letters for all the stages of a formal disciplinary procedure under the Acas Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance

Letter giving an employee notice of a disciplinary meeting [30kb] - from a manager giving the reason they must attend, and the place, date and time.
Letter giving an employee the decision of the disciplinary meeting [33kb] - from a manager, giving the verdict - in this case a first written warning or a final written warning - and explaining what it means for the employee.
Letter acknowledging the employee has appealed against the disciplinary meeting verdict of a warning [30kb] - from a manager to the employee, saying who will hear the appeal, where and when.
Letter giving the result of the appeal against the meeting’s verdict [29kb] - from a manager, giving the employee the decision of the appeal hearing.
Letter arranging the meeting where disciplinary action will be considered [29kb] - from a manager, informing the employee their employer is proposing to dismiss them, or take other disciplinary action short of dismissal, and giving the date, time and place for the meeting.
Letter informing the employee what disciplinary action will be taken against them [35kb] - from a manager, giving the employee the decision and reasons, but informing the employee they have the right to appeal.
Letter acknowledging the employee has appealed against the disciplinary meeting verdict of dismissal [30kb] - from a manager to the employee, saying who will hear the appeal against the disciplinary action, where and when.
Letter giving the result of the appeal against the disciplinary action [30kb] - from a manager, giving the employee the final decision in the disciplinary process.

Keeping a record

Employee's disciplinary record [46kb] - listing the type of disciplinary action taken, the reasons why, details of any appeal and key dates.

Note: The samples for letters, forms and checklists are here to help you, but users must take full responsibility for the content they send out.

Further guidance

If, after looking at these templates, you feel you need additional help on handling discipline, Acas has other free guidance you can download.

Topics include:

Alternatively you can call the Acas Helpline on 08457 47 47 47.

Certificate in Internal Workplace Mediation

Pre-claim conciliation - a free Acas service