Ordinance XXXVI

1. Right of appeal and appeal procedure

An employee has the right of appeal against any formal disciplinary, capability or dismissal action taken The University is committed to supporting EDI and encourages diversity to be sought where there is an appeal panel. Appeals may be submitted on the following grounds:

• A failure to follow procedure which thereby led to an unjust outcome.
• The imposition of an inappropriate or overly severe sanction considering the facts of the case and mitigating circumstances.
• New evidence which was not available to the appellant at the earlier stages of the process has become available.

At all stages of this procedure, due consideration will be given to making adjustments to enable appellants to participate fully in meetings and hearings, particularly if they have a disability. This may include ensuring rooms are accessible, using remote software or arranging for an interpreter to be present, for example.

The following table provides details on who is authorised to chair appeal meetings and make appeal decisions.

HR must be available to advise the manager and/or panel.

2. Appeal against formal verbal warning or formal written warning, or final written warning, or downgrading, or transfer to alternative employment

In disciplinary and capability cases involving the issue of a Formal Verbal Warning, or Formal Written Warning, or Final Written Warning, Downgrading or Transfer to Alternative Employment, the employee will have the right to appeal to the next management level.

Such an appeal must be lodged in writing with the Director of Human Resources or nominated delegate within 14 days of the warning being notified in writing. The appeal must set out in full the grounds for the appeal.

Every effort will be made to organise the appeal hearing as soon as possible. Human Resources colleagues will keep all parties updated on progress for the hearing arrangements on a regular basis (no less frequently than a two-weekly basis).

The notice of appeal should contain the names of any witnesses the employee or their representative wishes to call. The identity of all witnesses who may be called by management will be available to the employee or their representative. It is the responsibility of both the employee and management representative to arrange for their witnesses to attend the appeal hearing and provide them with any necessary documentation in preparing for the appeal hearing.

The employee will have the right of appearing personally, either alone or accompanied/represented by a Trade Union representative (including a Full Time Officer), or a university colleague of their choice who are not otherwise involved in the proceedings.

The Appeal will be heard by the appropriate manager, who will not have previously been directly involved in the case, in the presence of:

• The appellant and representative, if applicable.
• A representative from the management team.
• HR representative who will support the manager hearing the appeal.

The employee or their representative should be given at least 10 calendar days’ notice of the date of the appeal hearing. The Director of Human Resources or nominated delegate will send a copy of the appellant's grounds of appeal and any other supporting documentation to the Appellant and to the management representative.

The management representative who issued the sanction will put together their response to the grounds of appeal.

The pack of information including the appellant’s case and the management response to this will be shared to all attendees, no later than 7 days before the appeal hearing, where possible.

At the hearing the chair will:

• introduce everyone, explaining why they are there
• explain the purpose of the hearing and how it will be conducted
• ask the appellant or their representative to explain why they are appealing
• look at new evidence, if there is any
• hear from the management representative.

At the end of the hearing, both sides will have the opportunity to sum up their case. The employee, or their representative, will have the right to speak last.

The chair of the hearing will need to consider all of the information presented and decide whether the original outcome was fair and followed the internal policy and procedure.

If they determine it was not fair, they will need to change the original outcome, setting out why this is and what outcome and action should now be taken. There are a range of outcomes which could include the removal of the sanction, lowering of the sanction, revising an issued action plan and identifying further actions or support.

If they determine that there have been procedural irregularities, the chair will need to consider whether the irregularities have materially affected the outcome, in which case they will need to consider if the matter needs to be re-heard or whether they need another investigation to be carried out.

If the chair is unable to make a decision on what has been shared, they may ask for further investigations to take place. This would likely mean the meeting is adjourned while this takes place.

The chair would then reconvene the meeting to share their final decision.

3. Appeals against dismissal

Appeals against dismissal, whether for reasons of conduct, capability (including failure to maintain qualifications and professional memberships required for the role), redundancy, contravention of a duty or restriction imposed by or under an enactment, or ‘some other substantial reason’ will be considered in accordance with the following procedure. In every case of dismissal, the employee concerned will be advised of their right of appeal and referred to this document.

An appeal against dismissal will be heard by a panel of three persons. The composition of the panel will be as follows:

• a lay person, usually a lay member of a University Committee, who will Chair the Appeal.
• a manager who has not had any prior involvement in the case.
• a member, nominated by the appellant, who must be an employee of the University, who must not have been involved in the action which led to the appeal, and who may be a member of the union recognised by the University as appropriate to the appellant's employment.

The Appeal Panel will be supported by a HR representative who will act as adviser to the panel on points of procedure and take notes of the proceedings.

An employee who wishes to appeal against dismissal will notify the Director of Human Resources or their nominated delegate in writing, of the grounds of the appeal and the appellant’s nominee to the Appeals Panel. This must be done within 21 days of receiving notice of dismissal.

Upon receipt of the notice of appeal, the Director of Human Resources or nominated delegate will make arrangements for the appeal to be heard by an Appeal Panel. The involvement of Lay Members of Council and Senior Managers may result in timeframes being extended due to pre-existing commitments. Due consideration must be given to the availability of the Appellant’s representative while planning the hearing date. All parties will be kept informed of progress and of any changes to timescales.

The Director of Human Resources or nominated delegate will write to the Appellant and the manager who made the dismissal decision requiring them to prepare and submit, no later than 14 days before the appeal hearing, their respective Statements of Case, including copies of any relevant documents, details of any new evidence relevant to the case and a list of any witnesses they wish to call in support of their respective cases.

When both statements have been received, the Director of Human Resources or nominated delegate will send a copy of each Statement and any relevant documents (the appeal hearing pack), to the Appellant and the management representative respectively, and copies of the pack to the members of the Appeal Panel no later than 10 days before the appeal hearing. Any late submissions of documents will be tabled at the hearing, and it will be the discretion of the Chair of the Appeal Panel whether these should be considered at the hearing.

The Appellant and the management representative will each have the right of appearance at the appeal hearing. In the event of an Appellant choosing not to attend the Appeal, or failing to attend, the Appeal Panel may hear the appeal in that person’s absence.

The Appellant may be accompanied by a current employee of the University, or a Trade Union representative. They will be allowed to address the appeal hearing to:

• Put the Appellant’s case
• Sum up the Appellant’s case
• Respond on the Appellant’s behalf where appropriate
• Confer with the Appellant during the hearing
• Question any witnesses appearing at the hearing.

At the discretion of the Appeal Panel, the Appellant and the management representative will each have the right to call witnesses. It is the responsibility of both the Appellant and management representative to arrange for their witnesses to attend the appeal hearing and provide them with any necessary documentation in preparation for the appeal hearing.

If the Appeal Panel feels that a witness has been called unnecessarily, it will ask the relevant person to explain the significance of the witness. If the Appeal Panel, on receipt of this additional information feels that the witness is not required, the witness will not be permitted to attend.

The Appeal Panel will attempt to reach a unanimous decision, where this is not possible, a majority opinion will be conclusive. The Panel may adjourn its proceedings, if necessary, but it will make every effort to conclude its proceedings on the same day.

The Chair of the Appeal Panel will advise all parties to the appeal of the Panel’s decision as soon as possible and the decision will be confirmed in writing to the Appellant, within five calendar days.

In the event that an individual’s dismissal is over-turned, and they are reinstated with a warning, the warning will be deemed to run from the date of reinstatement.

4. Suggested Order for Conduct of Dismissal Appeal Hearings

The Chair of the Appeal Panel will have discretion to run the Hearing in the most appropriate way, dependent on the circumstances and grounds of appeal. It is envisaged that the majority of Hearings will follow the format outlined below. However, if the grounds of appeal are that the process followed was procedurally flawed, it may be appropriate to run the appeal hearing as a re-hearing of the case.

The Chair of the Appeal Panel will open the hearing by introducing those present, outlining the grounds upon which the employee has appealed, explaining how the hearing will be conducted, explaining the roles of those attending and the possible outcomes. The Chair will inform parties that with their consent the appeal hearing will be recorded electronically, and a copy of the audio file will be provided to the Appellant on an encrypted device (e.g. USB stick). The hearing will normally be conducted as follows:

• The Appellant, or their representative will present the grounds of appeal introducing any new evidence and any witnesses.
• The management representative and the Appeal Panel may ask questions of the Appellant, their representative and witnesses.
• The management representative will respond to the Appellant’s case and invite witnesses.
• The Appellant, or their representative and the Appeal Panel, may ask questions of the management representative and witnesses.
• The management representative will sum up the University’s case.
• The Appellant, or their representative, will sum up the Appellant’s case.
• Both sides will withdraw until the Panel reaches a decision.

The Appeal Panel will deliberate in private and will be able to recall both parties to clear points of uncertainty on the evidence already given. If recall is necessary, both parties are to return, notwithstanding only one may be concerned with the point in question. The Panel deliberations will not be recorded. The Appeal Panel has the following decisions available to it:

• to dismiss the appeal.
• to uphold the appeal and to reduce or remove the disciplinary penalty.

The Chair can also make recommendations to appropriate managers if more general issues are highlighted by the investigation or hearing. This is to ensure that learning is taken from the process and to support improvements within the university.

The Appeal Panel decision is final. The Chair of the Appeal Panel will normally announce the Panel’s decision to the parties in person and confirm in writing, but where this is not practicable, the parties will be advised in writing, as soon as possible and within 5 calendar days.

5. Monitoring and review

This policy and procedure will be monitored and reviewed every three years by the Director of Human Resources and any necessary changes will be negotiated with the Joint Negotiation & Consultation Committee (JNCC).

This policy and procedure was reviewed and agreed in June 2025 by the JNCC.