I recently had a client call with the above question. This particularly client is on one of my fixed monthly subscription plans which mean they get access to my expert legal brain on tap for a relatively small monthly subscription payment.
The employer had received a call from one of his staff saying that he could not get to work as his car was broken and he could not afford to fix it.
The employee said that if the employer wanted him in work, then the employer would have to pay for a taxi so that he could get to work.
So what’s the legal position?
My view is that this would potentially amount to a disciplinary matter for the employee. Not turning up to work without a good reason is a potential breach of contract. The employer should consider, however, the bigger picture too; is this employee’s package right, is there a loan that could help, could it pay for repairs? Much of those questions will depend on the employee – if its one who has been a star for a number of years, who achieves targets, is loyal and works hard, then the answer may be different to someone who works to rule, is average or underperforming. So we take that into account practically speaking.
However, assuming the employer wanted to deal with it as a disciplinary then my advice is to follow either your own Disciplinary Policy or alternatively ACAS Code of Practice.
In short, this will be to:
- collate facts
- invite to a disciplinary, set out issue(s)/allegations in detail – including right to be accompanied
- hold a fair hearing
- make a reasonable decision
- allow an appeal
I would not have thought that gross misconduct dismissal or instant dismissal would have been appropriate here and such a reaction is likely to lead to an unfair dismissal claim being brought. However, I would have thought a reasonable decision would be a written warning or similar.
That said, as an employer, i would initially not jump straight into a disciplinary and would have dealt with it it informally through HR perhaps, finding out whether there are any other issues where the employer can help and trying to resolve the matter that way.