Guidance notes for officers appealing
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Once the decision has been made
Within 24 hours of the hearing a letter will be sent to you, your representative and to the Department/Agency giving the Board’s decision. This will be followed within a period of 20 working days by the detailed reasons for the Board’s conclusions (the Hearing Report).
If the dismissal is found to be fair, no further action can be taken by the Board once the report has been issued.
If the Board decides that the Department/Agency’s decision was unfair:
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it may recommend that you should be reinstated/re-engaged or
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decide that compensation should be paid or
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recommend that some other course of action it considered to be
appropriate should be taken.
The Head of your Department/Agency takes the final decision on whether to accept a recommendation to reinstate or re-engage. If your appeal is upheld and a recommendation to reinstate or re-engage is made, the Department/Agency are expected to notify the CSAB of its decision within 28 days of the hearing report being issued. If the decision is not to reinstate or re-engage then an award of compensation will be considered.
The compensation awarded by the Board may be increased or reduced from 100% for one of three reasons
- For those cases where the procedure culminating in dismissal was triggered prior to 6th April 2009, failure by a Department or Agency to follow the statutory dismissal and disciplinary procedures, which were brought into effect by the Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004, will result in an upward adjustment of between 10% and 50% to the level of compensation awarded. Equally, if the Board finds that you have been dismissed unfairly but that you have failed to follow the statutory procedure (for instance you did not attend the disciplinary hearing without good cause), compensation will be reduced by between 10% and 50%.
- For those cases where the procedure culminating in dismissal was triggered on of after 6th April 2009, failure by a Department or Agency to follow the good practice principles set out in the disciplinary and grievance procedures published in the ACAS Code of Practice 1 dated April 2009 will result in an upward adjustment to the level of compensation awarded. Conversely, the compensatory element payable to you may be reduced by up to 25% if it is felt that you failed to comply with the Code of Practice
- A reduction in compensation can also be made if the case was found procedurally unfair, for reasons other the those covered under 1 or 2 above (the "Polkey" factor) but, apart from that, the dismissal was justifiable.
- A reduction in compensation can also be made if it is felt you were in some way responsible for the circumstances that led to your dismissal (the contributory fault factor). Representations will be sought from both you and your representative and the Department/Agency before the Board take a decision on any reduction to be made. When compiling your representations you will need to bear in mind the following questions
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"Polkey" factor – what was the likelihood of dismissal had the correct procedures been followed?
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Contributory fault – did my actions lead to dismissal? In your representations you should note down the reasons why you do or do not believe you are either wholly or partly responsible and how much you believe the impact of your actions affected the decision to dismiss.
When the award has been calculated you will be sent details of the award and you will also be sent a copy of the representations made by the Department/Agency and they will be sent yours. The CSAB follow the guidelines set out by the Employment Tribunal Service. It is expected that the award should be made within 42 days of the compensation award details being issued.
