The question of whether an employer grievance should disrupt disciplinary proceedings is one up for debate, as the answer is not definitive. As all cases are unique, therefore it is not all grievances cause disruption to disciplinary proceedings , as there may be some proceedings that are affected by a grievance, whereas others are not.

In some cases, the Employment Tribunal may decide to suspend proceedings to allow the employer to attend to any grievance issues raised by the employee.

On other occasions, the disciplinary procedure can run simultaneously with the grievance procedure, as usually the grievance is raised as a response to the disciplinary proceedings brought against the employee. Therefore, the grievance can be dealt with in the disciplinary hearing.

An employer should be vigilant when considering an employee dismissal, ensuring that they carry out an essential enquiry in to the matter at hand, before deciding on a dismissal, as this option should be the last resort.

Before considering a dismissal, an employer should try to resolve any issues on an informal basis, which could involve a private chat with the staff member in question, before deciding the next steps to take.

Employers must ensure that they have written rules regarding disciplinary procedures, and that all staff are aware of these rules and procedures.  

A former employee of the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC), Zaffir Hakim, has recently been successful in his race discrimination case against the STUC, with the assistance of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Ultimately, the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that Mr Hakim had been unfairly dismissed by STUC, after 11 years of service working under a Scottish Government-funded scheme. This scheme was actually targeting workplace racism, although ultimately decided to allow Mr Hakim’s white colleague to stay on in a similar role.

Zaffir Hakim started work under the STUC in 2003, working as a Development Officer for the One Workplace Equal Rights Project, which was launched by STUC in order to “challenge discrimination in the workplace and promote good practice”. Although, Mr Hakim actually made several complaints regarding racial discrimination under STUC, stating: