Disciplinary procedures

This at-will relationship can be modified in two different ways. One is by statute, which will be discussed in detail later, and the other is by private contract between the hospital and the nurse. Although it is probably a rare practice in the field, hospitals and nurses can sign employment contracts that spell out the duties and responsibilities of the two parties, and which modify the typical at-will relationship. No doubt more common are contracts negotiated between unions representing the nurses and the hospital itself. Such contracts often spell out the terms and conditions of the job, including hours of work, limits on required overtime work, and disciplinary procedures to be followed if an employee fails to comply with the conditions in the contract. 

Codes of practice and disciplinary procedures should be in place to prevent and address situations where persons involved in the distribution of pharmaceutical products are suspected of, or found to be implicated in, the misappropriation and/or theft thereof. 

The lack in regulating organic wine-making process has encouraged producers to inform their consumers directly on product features according to their own disciplinary procedures (Pinton, 2001). In other cases, wine-makers verify their own suppliers by checking both the production and the wine-making process. 

Barriers and yellow walkways are there for your safety and protection and should not be moved. .. anyone found to be moving barriers or walkways will be subject to disciplinary procedures ... 

Discipline for safety issues should be redefined around the cardinal rules of the organization. These cardinal rules spell out clearly which transgressions are liable to end in some form of disciplinary procedure if transgressed. Managers and employees alike then know when discipline is called for and when it is not. Cardinal rules could include ... 

If there are 20 or more employees at your place of employment then there should be a disciplinary procedure written down, which must be followed. If you do get a warning, then you might like to see this as a second chance to start again. 

Where disciplinary matters do arise, the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) Code of Practice 1 on Disciplinary practice and procedures in employment recommends that disciplinary procedures should ... 

Disciplinary procedures are predicated on an agreed distinction between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. It is recognized by all staff that a small proportion of unsafe acts are indeed reckless and warrant sanctions, but that the large majority of such acts should not lead to punishment. (The key determinant of blameworthiness is not so much the act itself—error... 

Management commitment and leadership design and develop the policy statement. It should be signed by the top person in your company. Safety and health goals and objectives are also included to assist you with establishing workplace goals and objectives that demonstrate your company s commitment to safety. An enforcement policy is provided to outline disciplinary procedures for violations of your company s safety and health program. This enforcement policy should be communicated to everyone in the company. 

The manual should describe the fleet safety program. It should set out the carrier s standards for safe driving. Procedures for reviewing and classifying accidents, established by the company, should be included. It should also explain the company s disciplinary procedures. 

Under this the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) was established and charged with the duty of promoting the improvement of industrial relations. The Service has drawn up, inter alia, a number of codes of practice and a complementary handbook on disciplinary procedures. ... 

The responses confuse the legal action that could be initiated by inspectors and the legal sanctions that could be imposed by the courts. Interestingly only one respondent referred to disciplinary procedures , which suggests that respondents recognized the difference between legal sanctions and disciplinary procedures. 

Workforce understandings of disciplinary procedures very much accorded with managerial and safety representative accounts. The majority understood that their supervisor or boss would be most likely to adopt an informal approach if they discovered that someone had not followed health and safety rules. Only 9 respondents had ever been reprimanded for non-compliance with health and safety rules. So there was a general understanding that non-compliance was unlikely to result in disciplinary action ... 

Policies, rules, and procedures for managing risk compliance Training and education programmes Internal communication systems Disciplinary procedures Monitoring procedures... 

Self-regulatory systems become much mote developed and sophisticated Rules are enforced and disciplinary procedures instituted when necessary Monitoring procedures ate improved and reviews and audits are acted upon Safety culture emerges and becomes established... 

One key to discipline is to be fair and consistent and to make sure that a good recordkeeping system is in place. It is important to have written rules and disciplinary procedures that are communicated to and understood by all employees. It is just as important to document instances of good and/or poor safety behavior, including discussions with the employee [2]. 

Disciplinary procedures should not be instituted without explanation. Be sure to provide feedback to the employee on what behaviors are unac-... 

If your disciplinary system is to work and be accepted by all employees, you must make sure that all employees understand that the disciplinary system applies equally to everyone and is consistently applied. This includes subjecting managers and supervisors to the same type of safety rules and disciplinary procedures [2]. 

It may well be following a particularly serious incident that disciplinary action or the use of penalties by the project client will be required. It is important that published disciplinary procedures have been formulated, discussed with the workforce and implemented if necessary. Penalties also have a role both at the client/principal contractor and principal contractor/sub-contractor interfaces. 

For all types of personal protective equipment, there are some basic standards that should be reached. The personal protective equipment should fit well, be comfortable to wear and not interfere either with other equipment being worn or present the user with additional hazards (e.g. impaired vision due to scratched eye goggles). Training in the use of particular personal protective equipment is essential, so that it is not only used correctly, but the user knows when to change an air filter or to change a type of glove. Supervision is essential with disciplinary procedures invoked for non-compliance with personal protective equipment rules. 

It will also need to be demonstrated that the code is applied consistently and that the disciplinary procedures that enforce it are fair. 

The Court of Appeal iuT v Cropp, confirmed that Section 1 applies to insiders who access computers, as well as to remote hackers, but the Act itself prevents criminalization of employees who out of carelessness or inattention obtain access to part of an employer s data or computer system without permission, or who inadvertently step outside the scope of their authority to use the system. A person will only be guilty of the offence if the intention was to tty to gain access, knowing at the time of so doing that the access was unauthorized. The employee who is careless or inadvertent is more appropriately dealt with by disciplinary procedures at the workplace than by the criminal law. Furthermore it was confirmed ini v Bignall that an employee who has authorized access, but who uses the information obtained for an improper purpose, is not guilty of an offence under Section 1, but is more appropriately dealt with by internal disciphnary procedures or, may be liable for prosecution under the Data Protection Act. ... 

A record should be kept of any disciplinary actions taken against an employee for breach of the rules including lack of capability, conduct etc. and what disciplinary action was taken and the reasons supporting such action. The disciplinary procedures should be reviewed from time to time to ensure that they comply with the then practices of the employer. A written record should be kept of an oral warning to prove that it was actually given. 

Until the case of Polkey v. A.E. Dayton (Services) ht the courts tended to take the view that where employers did not follow their disciplinary procedures, but even if they had it would have made no difference to the outcome, tiien the dismissal was fair notwithstanding such failure. This principle was summarised by Browne Wilkinson, J. in Sillifant v. Powell Dufjryn Timber Ltd as follows ... 

Further, it is essential for the employer to stick to his disciplinary procedures and give the appropriate warnings. 

---