Following the right disciplinary procedures in the hair salon
While salon owners spend many hours developing their staff, inevitably there are occasional discilipinary problems and staff have to be disciplined for their behaviour.
Normally, issues such as timekeeping or absenteeism involve only the issue of a written warning, but sometimes the performance issue is so bad or the misconduct so great - for example, theft - the salon considers it to be gross misconduct and dismissal is the outcome.
In the press you rarely hear of the cases where the salon owner/manager has got it right and wins the tribunal case. However, many cases are lost not because of the legitimacy of the decision to dismiss, but because of the process the employer has followed, or not followed.
David Wright, legal advisor for habia and a variety of salons, gives his advice on the disciplinary procedures you should be following to stay on the right side of any legal action.
I only have three staff and they have been with me for several years. Do I need a disciplinary procedure?
Yes, the law requires all employers to have a written disciplinary procedure. Many people tell me: 'I have treated her like my own daughter and you will never believe what she has done.'
Your procedure should indicate what sanctions are available to you.
Many salons have a verbal warning in place, but there is no legal requirement for this extra stage. You need to ensure it includes a right of representation and complies with the ACAS requirements. Most importantly, make sure it is not too complex as it will trip you up.
Avoid the temptation to download a procedure and adopt it for your salon; you need one specifically written for your business.
I believe one of my staff is stealing stock but I cannot prove it. Is there anything I can do?
Firstly, remember the burden of proof is different in employment law. Unlike the courts, you don't have to prove beyond reasonable doubt, you have to have 'reasonable reason to believe'.
For example, if you keep extra records of your stock and only one employee has been in the salon when the stock goes missing, you would have reasonable reason to believe they had taken it.
Of course, there would be a need for a full investigation, but at the end of the day, if you genuinely believed they had taken it and had reasonable reason for the belief, you could fairly dismiss.
I believe one of my staff is regularly taking sick days and then working elsewhere for cash in hand. I don't have any proof but I'm told that clients have seen her there.
Employers are sometimes reluctant to do the obvious. Although you can take action regarding her attendance record, there is nothing wrong with you actually visiting the other salon and seeing her for yourself.
Recently an employer was in the news when they lost a case at tribunal having dismissed a worker who was off sick but actually up a ladder working as a painter! The problem was that he confronted the worker and sacked him on the spot.
His decision to dismiss was fair but he had not followed his own process - there had not been a disciplinary hearing, so sadly the dismissal was automatically unfair.
I keep reading articles where employers have lost cases at tribunal. How typical is this?
We don't know how many employers dismiss staff. However, we do know that more than 44,000 employees took their case for unfair dismissal to an employment tribunal in 2006/07.
Many cases are 'settled', which means there is a financial settlement, but of those that went to tribunal, 10% (3,870) were successful.
Employers often receive letters pointing out that the claimant can win up to £63,000. However, this is just the unfair dismissal aspect and there are other potentially more expensive elements, such as the loss of future earnings.
The average payment in 2006/07 was £7,974, but the highest payout was more than £250,000. This may give you some reassurance but the actual award is only half the issue.
Many employers have insurance, but legal costs in defending a claim average £9,000.
Sometimes it is inevitable that you will end up at tribunal, but in many cases employers just need some guidance with the process and ensuring they follow their own disciplinary procedure.
How long should a written warning last for?
Once again, the law is silent on this issue. I have seen disciplinary procedures where warnings last for only six months, which seems too short.
I typically advise that a written warning should stay on the record for 12 months and a final warning for 18 months.
However, a little tip for you: when you issue a warning be absolutely clear when it ends - does the warning begin on the date it was issued, the date of the letter confirming the decision or the date when the employee receives the letter.
All of these are reasonable but you must make it clear to an employee. There have been a number of cases where employees, in receipt of a final warning, have been dismissed and the whole case has hinged on whether the final warning had lapsed at the date of the final disciplinary hearing which resulted in their dismissal.
I have two salons and 11 staff. Each salon has a manager but I make all the decisions regarding discipline. Is this acceptable?
It probably is, but you could be accused of being judge and jury! In a smaller salon there is little option but for the owner to undertake all stages of the disciplinary process.
However, in your case, it would be more appropriate if either your managers undertook the investigation or you heard the case at the disciplinary hearing.
Alternatively, the manager has heard the disciplinary case and you were available to hear any appeal. Hopefully, you will see that there is a degree of independence and an employee cannot claim, for example, that you had bullied or victimised him or her.
Useful links
More of David Wright's Legal Advice For Salon Owners
