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The procedure applies to all employees of Tendring District Council, with the exception of the Council’s Statutory and Non-Statutory Chief Officers (as defined within the Council’s Pay Policy Statement) and their deputies, which means their direct reports. The statement defines "Chief Officers" as those Officers who serve as the Management Team for the authority. These officers are dealt with by alternative procedures, in accordance with the Handbooks and Conditions of Service applicable to these posts at the relevant time.
As an employee of the Council, there may be occasions where a formal decision is required to be taken about your employment. Where this occurs, formal policies and procedures will be followed to ensure a fair process is applied. It is essential that any actions or decisions made are based on facts and evidence provided as part of that process.
There may, however, be times where an employee is unhappy with the decision made or action taken. Where this occurs they have the right to appeal against that decision. The purpose of the Appeals Procedure is to outline the process which will be followed when exercising the right of appeal.
The right of appeal will usually apply where decisions are taken regarding the outcome of a disciplinary or capability hearing, formal grievance or redundancy selection. In all cases, the appeals process will be the same and further advice relating to each specific procedure can be found in the following policies:
• Disciplinary Policy, Rules and Procedure
• Grievance Procedure
• Capability Policy
• Organisational Change and Redundancy Policy
• Sickness Absence Policy
The main areas are likely to be:
• If an employee wishes to contest the finding and/or penalty of a former hearing;
• If new evidence that was not available at a former hearing becomes available;
• If an alleged lack of fairness or defect in an original hearing is claimed;
• If an employee is not satisfied by the findings of a formal Grievance; and
• If an employee feels aggrieved about their selection for redundancy.
• If an employee is aggrieved about a decision to terminate their employment.
Where an employee would like to exercise their right of appeal against a decision made by the Council, they should submit their appeal in writing to their Assistant Director, or the Assistant Director – People. This must be received within 10 working days from the date of the written confirmation of the decision made.
They should state clearly and concisely the grounds on which they are appealing, detailing the reasons supporting this.
Appeals lodged will be heard without unreasonable delay, and employees will be notified by Human Resources of the date and time of their Appeal Hearing as soon as is reasonably practicable. In any case, employees will have a minimum of 10 working days notice of the date of their Appeal Hearing –this is to allow sufficient time for them to arrange the attendance of representatives and witnesses (where applicable) and prepare their background papers.
Any formal appeals lodged will be heard by an Appeal Panel. The Panel will consist of the employees Assistant Director (unless they have been involved in any part of the basis of the appeal), a representative from Human Resources, and an independent manager. In order for the appeal to be heard impartially, it may be necessary for alternative panel members to attend.
In order for the Appeal Panel to be fully converse with the case, the employee must submit full details of their appeal at least 5 working days in advance of the hearing. This allows time for panel members to read any background papers in advance. The employee should provide 4 copies of their appeal case, one for each panel member and a copy for the ‘employer’ – this will be the manager involved in the initial decision being made and who will attend the appeal hearing. All copies should be marked ‘private and confidential’ and sent to Human Resources for distribution.
Employees have the right to be accompanied by a supporter who should be either a work colleague, or a recognised trade union representative. Where a work colleague is attending, they will be given paid time from the workplace to attend the Appeal Hearing. If an employee needs to meet with their union representative during working time, consent must be sought from their Assistant Director in advance. Employees will not be unreasonably prevented from attending such meetings.
If an employee’s chosen supporter will not be available at the time proposed for the Appeal Hearing, the Council will postpone the hearing to a time proposed by the employee provided that the alternative time is both reasonable and not more than 5 working days after the date originally proposed.
The employee’s chosen supporter should be allowed to address the Hearing to put the employee's case, respond on behalf of the employee to any views expressed at the meeting and confer with the employee during the Hearing. The supporter does not, however, have the right to answer questions on the employee's behalf, address the Hearing if the employee does not wish them to or prevent any Council Officer from explaining their case.
In order for the supporter to remain independent from the process, they cannot have been involved in any part of the basis for the appeal. Confirmation of the supporter attending the Hearing should be provided to the Chair of the Appeal Hearing at least 3 working days prior to the Hearing taking place.
If it is the employee’s intention to produce witnesses at the Appeal Hearing, the Chair of the Hearing must be provided with a list of those witnesses at least 5 working days prior to the Hearing taking place. It is not usual practice for external witnesses to be included in the Council’s processes. However, in the case of exceptional circumstances, where an employee feels such a witness is crucial to their case, prior consent must be sought from the Assistant Director - People.
The process to be followed at an Appeal Hearing can be found at Appendix A. The procedure is designed to ensure a fair hearing, and to provide the employee with sufficient opportunity to explain their case to the Panel for consideration.
The Panel will notify the employee of the outcome of the Hearing as soon as is reasonably practicable. If possible, they will be notified verbally on the same day of the Hearing – if this is not possible, the employee will be notified of the outcome within 3 working days from the date of the Hearing. Written confirmation will be sent by the Chair of the Appeal Panel.
The Appeal Panel’s decision is final.