Dismissal with notice letter (misconduct)

If you’ve followed the warnings procedure to its natural conclusion, it means that a dismissal is going to be inevitable, but again only after a disciplinary hearing. When you want to confirm a dismissal on grounds of misconduct, you will need our dismissal with notice letter. This is the final disciplinary sanction for misconduct that is not gross in nature.

Out the door

A Dismissal with Notice Letter should state that the reason for dismissal is the employee’s misconduct, explain the nature of that misconduct and how you have dealt with the matter on an ongoing basis (the current misconduct being the latest in a series of offences) and include a right for the employee to appeal against your dismissal decision. If the employee brings a claim for unfair dismissal, you will need to show both fair reason and fair procedure, so your dismissal letter will be an important piece of evidence. The legal test is whether your dismissal decision was within the "band of reasonable responses" open to you. Be aware that, in taking a decision to dismiss, you cannot rely on previous warnings which were issued to the employee for entirely different reasons e.g. for poor performance under a capability procedure, as capability and conduct are different potentially fair reasons for dismissal.

Acas Code of Practice

The dismissal letter should also comply with the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures which provides that, following the disciplinary hearing, you must inform the employee of your decision and of their right of appeal. Our letter not only ensures compliance with the Acas Code but also serves as a prompt to check that everything else is covered, e.g. what’s the situation in respect of accrued holiday pay? What’s the length of the employee’s notice period and do you want them to work it or not? What will be the effective date of termination of the employee’s employment?