1 Oliver Hoppe has been working at Hoopers and Henderson accountancy practice for eighteen months. He feels that
he fits in well, especially with his colleagues and has learnt a lot from them. However, he feels that the rules and
regulations governing everyday activities and time keeping are not clear.
Oliver does not get on well with his line manager, David Morgan. There appears to be a clash of personalities and
reluctance on David Morgan’s part to deal with the icy atmosphere between them after David was asked by one of
the accounting partners to give Oliver a job. For the past three months Oliver has gone to lunch with his fellow workers
and always returned to work with them or before them. In fact they all have returned to work about ten minutes late
on several previous occasions. After the third time, Oliver was called into David Morgan’s office and given an oral
warning about his time keeping.
Oliver was not permitted to argue his case and none of the other staff who returned late were disciplined in this way.
On the next occasion the group was late returning from lunch, David Morgan presented Oliver with a written warning
about his time keeping.
Yesterday, Oliver was five minutes late returning to work. His colleagues returned after him. David Morgan gave Oliver
notice and told him to work until the end of the week and then collect his salary, the necessary paperwork and to
leave the practice.
There is a partner responsible for human resources. Oliver has come to see the partner to discuss the grievance
procedures against David Morgan for his treatment and about what Oliver regards as unfair dismissal.
Required:
(a) Describe the six stages of a formal disciplinary procedure that an organisation such as Hoopers and
Henderson should have in place. (12 marks)
1 OverviewA grievance occurs when an individual thinks that he or she has been wrongly treated by colleagues or management, especiallyin disciplinary matters. An unresolved feeling of grievance can often lead to further problems for the organisation. The purpose ofprocedures is to resolve disciplinary and grievance issues to the satisfaction of all concerned and as early as possible.If a grievance perceived by an employee is not resolved, then conflict and discontent can arise that will affect the work of theindividual and the organisation. Accountants as managers need to be aware of the need to resolve grievances satisfactorily andprofessionally.The fundamental basis of organisational disciplinary and grievance procedures is that they must be explicitly clear and accessibleto all.Part (a):An official and correctly applied disciplinary procedure has six steps which should be followed in the correct order and appliedequitably.The Informal Talk.This is the first step. If the disciplinary matter is of a minor nature and the individual has had until this occasion a good record,then an informal meeting can often resolve the issue.Reprimand or Oral Warning.Here the manager draws the attention of the employee to unsatisfactory behaviour, a repeat of which could lead to formaldisciplinary proceedings.Official or Written Warning.A written warning is a serious matter. It draws the attention of the offending employee to a serious breach of conduct and remainsa recorded document on the employee’s employment history.Such written documents can be used as evidence if further action is taken, especially dismissal.Suspension or Lay-off.If an offence is of a serious nature, if the employee has repeated an earlier offence or if there have been repeated problems thenan employee may be suspended from work for a period of time without pay.Demotion.This is a situation where an employee is demoted to a lower salary or position within an organisation. This is a very serious stepto take and can be regarded as a form. of internal dismissal. This course of action can have negative repercussions because theemployee concerned will feel dissatisfied and such feelings can affect their own work and that of others.Dismissal.This is the ultimate disciplinary measure and should be used only in the most extreme cases. As with demotion, the dismissal ofa staff member can lead to wider dissatisfaction amongst the employees.The employee may nominate a representative at any stage of the procedure, especially at the more serious stages.