Guidance notes for departments/agencies
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Written submissions by the appellant and the department/agency
An officer must notify the CSAB of their intention to appeal,
in writing, so that it is received within three months of their last day of
service and their main statement of case must be submitted within the
timescale given by the CSAB. The department/agency will be
informed of this timescale and will be asked to consider any specific dates
when representatives will not be available to attend a hearing. It is
important that any dates to avoid are forwarded to prevent any problems
occurring when the hearing date is set as re-arranging hearings can be
problematic and is not always possible. Once booked a hearing will only be
postponed in very exceptional circumstances.
On receipt of the appellant’s statement the CSAB will send a copy to the
department/agency together with a request for them to submit six copies of
the Departmental/Agency statement of case within three weeks. This time
limit is very important and extensions will not be granted unless there are
very exceptional reasons for so doing.
The department/agency’s submission should consist of the following:
-
A brief note of the appellant’s career history;
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A narrative explaining the events leading up to and including dismissal
(including internal appeal);
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Comments on the appellant’s statement;
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Documentary evidence. e.g. copies of all relevant
letters of appointment, written warnings, notes of meetings, letters of
dismissal etc; and
-
A copy of the procedures that were followed.
It is essential that the statement is set out clearly in these areas and
that each part, in particular the events leading to dismissal and the
documentary evidence, run in chronological order. The statement should be
clearly paginated and annotated with the letter D i.e. D1, D2, etc. For ease of reference
paragraphs of the submission should be numbered and appendices tagged in
the top left hand corner. Appendices should not be submitted in separate
plastic wallets. It is important that documents should be clear and easy to
read. If it is difficult to make clear photocopies, typed copies should be
forwarded. Illegible material will be sent back to the department/agency
for clarification.
When sending the six copies to the Secretariat each copy must be tagged and
secured in the top left hand corner only. Papers should not be forwarded in
A4-folders, plastic wallets or loose secured by an elastic band. Any papers
received in a format other than a tag through the top left hand corner will
be returned.
The department/agency should not include any allegation or comment in their
submission which has not been put formally to the officer concerned.
Statements should not go beyond the grounds for dismissal as set out in the
letter terminating an appointment.
All relevant documents should be attached to the written submission. If
Annual Staff Reports are relevant to the case (e.g. in inefficiency or failed
probation cases), copies should be enclosed within the statement. These
will be made available to the appellant and their representative as will
copies of reports of disciplinary hearings or Retirement Boards together
with the hearing officer’s recommendation which should also be attached to
the statement of case. Submissions should include copies of any staff
regulations or Departmental directive which apply to the case. In criminal
conviction cases, copies of the certificate of conviction and a report of
what happened at court, should be contained in the submission.
Please bear in mind that any papers that are put forward will be seen by
the Board, the appellant and their representative.
In the case of devolved responsibility, where managers have little
experience in the preparation of submissions to CSAB, reference should be made to
their policy-making department or the CSAB Secretariat for advice on
presentation and the inclusion of certain documents.
A copy of any communication between a medical adviser or a welfare officer,
and the employing department/agency, which have been taken into account in
reaching the decision appealed against, should accompany the
Department’s/Agency’s statement and will thus be given to the appellant.
Medical and welfare notes and personal records which have been kept
exclusively for medical or welfare purposes, and have not been communicated
to management, should not be sent to the Board. In any case in which there
are special circumstances rendering it undesirable to disclose documents,
which would normally be disclosed to the appellant, the Secretariat should
be consulted.
It would help the department/agency if the who will attend the hearing were
involved in the preparation of the written submission.
The appellant will be sent a copy of the Department’s/Agency’s statement,
and can submit written comments on it to the Board if he/she wishes. The
department/agency should be aware that late papers might be requested by
the Board at short notice.
Extra documentation can be submitted to the Board up to 10 working days
before the hearing but it is essential that anything the department/agency
wishes the Board to consider is submitted in writing prior to the hearing.
It is preferable that extra documents are received prior to that deadline
to ensure they can be circulated to all parties and considered in a timely
fashion. Any papers that are forwarded on the 10th working day before the
hearing must arrive no later than mid-day to allow time for them to be
circulated. Anything received after midday will not be considered as having
been received on time and, irrespective of the content, will not be
submitted to the Board. If the appellant provides extra papers on or close
to the 10th day the Board may decide to admit a written response from the
department/agency where it considers this is necessary. Otherwise, the
department/agency can address any issues raised by the appellant in
additional documentation as part of its oral statement to the Board at the
hearing itself.
