Capability

 

The primary aim of this policy is to provide a framework within which managers can work with employees to maintain satisfactory performance standards and to encourage improvement where necessary.  It is our policy to ensure that concerns over performance are dealt with fairly and that steps are taken to establish the facts and to give employees the opportunity to respond at a hearing before any formal action is taken.

 

This policy does not apply to cases involving genuine sickness absence, proposed redundancies or misconduct.  In those cases reference should be made to the appropriate policy or procedure.

 

This procedure applies to all employees regardless of length of service.  It does not apply to agency workers or self-employed contractors.

 

This policy does not form part of any employee’s contract of employment and it may be amended at any time.

 

In the first instance, performance issues should normally be dealt with informally between you and your line manager (or, if appropriate, a more senior manager) as part of day-to-day management (using 15 Five check ins and 1:1s).  Where appropriate, a note of any such informal discussions may be placed on your personnel file but will be ignored for the purposes of any future capability hearings.  The formal procedure should be used for more serious cases, or in any case where an earlier informal discussion has not resulted in a satisfactory improvement.  Informal discussions may help:

 

 

A performance improvement plan may be used to set out these standards.

 

Employees will not normally be dismissed for performance reasons without previous warnings.  However, in serious cases of gross negligence, or in any case involving an employee who has not yet completed their probationary period, dismissal without previous warnings may be appropriate.

 

If we have concerns about your performance, we will undertake an assessment to decide if there are grounds for taking formal action under this procedure.  The procedure involved will depend on the circumstances but may involve reviewing your personnel file including any check ins, 1:1 notes, PDRs, gathering any relevant documents, considering any other underlying reasons,  referring you for an occupational health assessment, monitoring your work and, if appropriate, interviewing you and/or other individuals confidentially regarding your work.

 

 

 

 

 

If we consider that there are grounds for taking formal action over alleged poor performance, you will be required to attend a capability hearing.  We will notify you in writing of our concerns over your performance, the reasons for those concerns, and the likely outcome if we decide after the hearing that your performance has been unsatisfactory.  We will also include the following where appropriate:

 

·     A summary of relevant information gathered as part of any investigation.

·     A copy of any relevant documents which will be used at the capability hearing.

·     A copy of any relevant witness statements, except where a witness’s identity is to be kept confidential, in which case we will give you as much information as possible while maintaining confidentiality.

 

We will give you written notice of the date, time and place of the capability hearing.  The hearing will be held as soon as reasonably practicable, but you will be given a reasonable amount of time to prepare your case based on the information we have given you.

 

You may bring a companion to any capability hearing or appeal hearing under this procedure.  The companion may be either a trade union representative or a colleague.  You must tell the manager conducting the hearing who your chosen companion is, in good time before the hearing.

 

A companion is allowed reasonable time off from duties without loss of pay but no one is obliged to act as a companion if they do not wish to do so.  If your companion is unavailable at the time a hearing is scheduled and will not be available for more than five working days we may require you to choose someone else.

 

We may, at our discretion, allow you to bring a companion who is not a colleague or union representative (for example, a member of your family) where this will help overcome a particular difficulty caused by a disability, or where you have difficulty understanding English.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following a Stage 1 capability hearing, if we decide that your performance is unsatisfactory, we will give you a first written warning, setting out:

 

 

A first written warning may be authorised by a relevant manager.  The warning will normally remain active for 6 months.  After the active period the warning will remain permanently on your personnel file but will be disregarded in deciding the outcome of any future capability proceedings.

 

Your performance will be monitored during the review period and we will write to inform you of the outcome:

 

If your performance does not improve within the review period set out in a first written warning, or if there is further evidence of poor performance while your first written warning is still active, we may decide to hold a Stage 2 capability hearing.  We will send you written notification as set out in “Notification of a Capability Hearing”.

 

Following a Stage 2 capability hearing, if we decide that your performance is unsatisfactory, we will give you a final written warning, setting out:

 

 

A final written warning may be authorised by a relevant manager. A final written warning will normally remain active for 12 months.  After the active period, the warning will remain permanently on your personnel file but will be disregarded in deciding the outcome of future capability proceedings.

 

Your performance will be monitored during the review period and we will write to inform you of the outcome:

 

·     if your line manager is satisfied with your performance, no further action will be taken;

·     if your line manager is not satisfied, the matter may be progressed to a Stage 3 capability hearing; or

·     if the manager feels that there has been a substantial but insufficient improvement, the review period may be extended.

 

We may decide to hold a Stage 3 capability hearing if we have reason to believe:

 

 

We will send you written notification of the hearing as set out in “Notification of a Capability Hearing”.  Following the hearing, if we find that your performance is unsatisfactory, we may consider a range of options including:

 

 

Dismissal will normally be with full notice or payment in lieu of notice, unless your performance has been so negligent as to amount to gross misconduct, in which case we may dismiss you without notice or any pay in lieu.

 

If you feel that a decision about poor performance under this procedure is wrong or unjust you should appeal in writing, stating your full grounds of appeal, to an appropriate member of the Senior Management Team  within one week of the date on which you were informed in writing of the decision. If you are appealing against dismissal, the date on which dismissal takes effect will not be delayed pending the outcome of the appeal.  However, if your appeal is successful you will be reinstated with no loss of continuity or pay.

 

If you raise any new matters in your appeal, we may need to carry out further investigation.  If any new information comes to light we will provide you with a summary including, where appropriate, copies of additional relevant documents and witness statements.  You will have a reasonable opportunity to consider this information before the hearing.  We will give you written notice of the date, time and place of the appeal hearing.  This will normally be two to seven days after you receive the written notice.

 

The appeal hearing may be a complete re-hearing of the matter or it may be a review of the fairness of the original decision in the light of the procedure that was followed and any new information that may have come to light.  This will be at our discretion depending on the circumstances of your case.  In any event the appeal will be dealt with as impartially as possible.

 

Where possible, the appeal hearing will be conducted by a more senior manager who has not been previously involved in the case.  You may bring a companion with you to the appeal hearing.

 

A hearing may be adjourned if we need to gather any further information or give consideration to matters discussed at the hearing.  You will be given a reasonable opportunity to consider any new information obtained before the hearing is reconvened.

 

Following the appeal hearing we may:

 

We will inform you in writing of our final decision as soon as possible, usually within one week of the appeal hearing.  Where possible we will also explain this to you in person.  There will be no further right of appeal.