Disciplinary Meetings – Employment Law
Many employees facing a workplace Disciplinary meeting organised by their employer are justifiably worried about it, and in many cases, do not know what their legal rights are in this regard and this article discusses Employment Law in this context.
If you wish to contact us to discuss, we can be contacted on (01) 546 1121 or (052) 612 1999 or info@clearysolicitors.com
At Cleary & Co. we specialise in Employment Law and have many years of experience dealing with disputes successfully at this stage.

Many employees have a feeling that they are in uncharted territory when facing these meetings.
The balance of power in an employee-employer relationship is heavily on the employers side, in our opinion.
Who pays the piper calls the tune comes to mind.
Repeatedly we are seeing that employers who have an issue with a staff member, think they are acting decisively by rushing a disciplinary procedure, when in fact they are reacting emotionally and irrationally to a situation.
An employee has legal rights when it comes to Fair Procedures and Fair Disciplinary procedures at work. If an employer does not paid heed to the law and implement fair and rational procedures, and fairness in their decision-making, they are exposing themselves to legal actions being taking by employees.
Disciplinary Meetings – Employment Law Fair Procedures
It is well established in law at this stage that an employee has not only Contractual, but also Constitutional and Statutory entitlements to fair procedures in the workplace. This means an employer is obliged to be and act fair in their dealings with an employee when they wish to take an employee to task over some issue.
S.I. No. 146/2000 – Industrial Relations Act, 1900 (Code of Practice on Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures) (Declaration) Order, 2000
The above-mentioned Code of Practice provides clear and simple guidelines for employers to follow.
At the very least, an employer should have a clearly written Disciplinary Procedure in place. This will benefit both the employee and the employer. What happens frequently is that an employer reacts to a situation and fails to follow the steps in their own published Grievance Procedure.
Some appropriate elements of a fair disciplinary procedure are as follows:
- The employer’s grievance with an employee must be dealt with
by the employer in accordance with the principles of basic fairness and natural
justice. Everyone knows what fairness means. Any grievance and disciplinary
procedure an employer has should be given to the employee at the outset of
their employment.
- An employee is fully entitled to having their own grievances
examined in a fair manner.
- An employer cannot demand an employee attend a disciplinary meeting, without firstly furnishing details of the specific allegations to the employee in advance of the meeting. It is insufficient and unfair for an employer to not do this. Many employers send a letter to the employee regarding their requirement to attend a disciplinary meeting, and then intentionally furnish no detail in that letter of the allegation to the employee in advance of the meeting. Employees have every right to know of specifics of the allegations coming against them. Details include dates, times, persons present etc.
- An employee must be given the opportunity to respond to the
allegations.
- An employee is entitled to be represented at the
disciplinary meeting.
- Impartiality must be adopted by the employer while
implementing the disciplinary procedure. There must be no bias or prejudice
involved. In essence an employee is entitled to a fair hearing.
- The employee should be told who made the allegation in the
first place.
- The employee should be afforded the opportunity to question the witnesses.
Cleary & Co. Solicitors, Litigation Law Firm
Kieran Cleary and Roger Cleary Employment Law Solicitors can help with questions you may have regarding employment law matters and our numbers are (01) 546 1121 or (052) 612 1999 or our email address is info@clearysolicitors.com
Disclaimer
Please be advised that the above-mentioned material is intended as an overview and as a broad out-line of the topic discussed. It should not be considered as complete and comprehensive legal advice, nor act as an appropriate substitute. Legal advice should be sought from a solicitor prior to relying on anything in this article.
Due care has been taken in the publication of this article and we do not accept legal liability as a result of reliance on any material covered in the above article.
Cleary & Co. Solicitors – Litigation Law Firm
If you have an employment law issue and wish to discuss it, Kieran Cleary and Roger Cleary are experienced Employment Law Solicitors who can help with questions you may have regarding such a matter.
Contact details are (01) 546 1121 or (052) 612 1999 or our email address is info@clearysolicitors.com
Cleary & Co. have many years of experience specialising in employment law and have successful track record resolving disputes.
Personal Injuries * In contentious business, a Solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.

Employment Law Articles
- Employment Law Ireland
- Unfair Dismissal Ireland 2024
- Protected Disclosures
- Constructive Dismissal Ireland
- Redundancy Ireland
- Bullying at the Workplace
- Workplace Harassment
- Discrimination at the Workplace
- Disciplinary Meetings & Fairness
- Deduction from Wages – Employment Law
- Dyslexia Discrimination at the Workplace
- Disability Discrimination at the Workplace
- Discrimination – Interview Process
- Disciplinary Procedure & Unfair Dismissal
- Workplace Investigations Ireland
- Age Discrimination in the Workplace
- Redundancy & Maternity Leave
- Redundancy Ireland Guide
- Redundancy Calculator Ireland
- Selection Criteria for Redundancy & Performance
- Selection Criteria for Redundancy & Genuine Consultation
- Redundancy & Temporary Lay-Offs
- Unfair Selection for Redundancy
- Redundancy & Consultations
- Redundancy Selection – Alternative Options
- Redundancy Claim Defence – Redeployment
- Retirement Ages & Discrimination
- Sick Leave & Covid-19
- Sick Pay Leave Bill
- Sick Leave & Dismissal
- Sick Pay Entitlement
- Gross Misconduct & Dismissal
- Health & Safety Unfair Dismissal
- Annual Leave Entitlement
- Calculating Loss in Unfair Dismissal Claims
- Unfair Dismissal Ireland – Probation
- Disability Discrimination Ireland
- Unfair Dismissal Claim – Employee Duty to Mitigate Loss
- Employee Verbal Warning Appeal
- Employer Delays Bullying Investigation
- Epilepsy Discrimination at the Workplace
- Disciplinary Meetings – Employment Law
- Filling out Workplace Relations Complaint Form
- Fixed-Term Employee & Pregnancy Dismissal
- Fixing Retirement Ages
- Statutory Break Entitlements
- Redundancy Selection in Ireland
- Redundancy Selection Criteria Matrix
- Time Limits – Cases
- Student Discrimination
- Severance Agreements & Tax Advice
- Terms of Employment 5 Day Rule
- Text Message & Disciplinary Meetings
- Transfer of Undertaking
- Unfair Dismissal Claim- Dismissal in Dispute
- Compensation for Unfair Dismissal
- Unfair Dismissal Claim & CCTV
- Workplace Statutory Rest Periods
- Gardai & Employment Disputes
- Gender Dismissal Discrimination
- Grievance Procedures & Constructive Dismissal
- Guide for Employees in Redundancy Selection Process
- Maternity Leave & Salary
- New Postponement Guidelines WRC
- Legal Representation at Disciplinary Hearings
- Part-Time Workers
- Plumbers & Pipefitters
- Pre-emptory Dismissal
- Pregnancy related Discrimination
- Pregnancy related Unfair Dismissal
- Proving Fairness in Unfair Dismissal Actions
- Race Discrimination in the Workplace
- Red Circling Defence
- Workplace Relations Commission
- Employment Notice Periods
- 3 Ingredients to Prove Workplace Victimization
- Christmas Bonus for Employees
- Covid-19 Force Majeure Leave
- Redundancy Ireland & Covid-19
- Defence to Disability Discrimination Claim Ireland
- Workplace Discrimination – Gender & Family Status ground
- Discrimination on a Licensed Premises
- Discrimination in Schools
- Employers Guide to Defending Unfair Dismissal Ireland
- Workplace Whistleblowing Policy
- Temporary Lay-Off & Covid 19
- Temporary Lay-off & Non-Payment of Wages
- Severance Agreement & Legal Advice
- Unfair Dismissal Claim – Mitigating Loss

Need Legal Advice? No problem. Contact Us Today!
We assist people with Employment Law matters and have many years of experience at this point resolving workplace disputes.