Managing Employee Conduct and Performance
Policy
1. Introduction
1.1 The Commission requires that al employees meet the standards and expectations set down in
the Commission’s Code of Conduct, job descriptions, performance agreements and policies
and practices. In addition, employees are required to comply with the law at al times.
1.2 Where it is considered that standards and expectations may have been breached or not met,
the Commission wil ensure fair and objective processes to determine whether or not
misconduct or non-performance has occurred. These processes wil also take account of the
obligation to operate in good faith at al times.
2. Standards and expectations
2.1 The standards and expectations of employees in the Commission are clearly set down in a
number of Commission documents, publications, and Acts.
Code of Conduct
2.2 The Commission’s Code of Conduct is Commission policy and should be read in conjunction
with this policy.
2.3 The Codes of Conduct specify the broad standards of conduct expected of al employees
whilst they are employed with the Commission. The Code provides further examples of the
sorts of behaviours and actions that are unacceptable in the Commission. It should be noted
however, that the Code of Conduct are not intended to be exhaustive and there are other
standards that must be adhered to or met in the course of employment with the Commission.
Policies and Practices
2.4 Employees are expected to comply with al Commission policies and practices
Performance
2.5 Performance expectations for employees wil be set out clearly in job descriptions and/or
performance agreements. Employees are expected to meet agreed standards.
Legislation
2.6 Employees are required to comply with al legislative requirements during the course of their
work. Further, employees should be aware that breaking the law outside of the work
environment can impact on their ongoing employment with the Commission.
3. Managers’ responsibility
3.1 Managers are accountable for ensuring that employees are informed of the standards they
should comply with during the course of their employment with the Commission. These
standards may exist by way of Commission policy and practice and/or legislation. Managers
are also accountable for setting clear performance expectations for their employees and
monitoring the outcome.
3.2 Where managers are made aware of an employee’s possible non-compliance with
Commission standard or legal requirement, they are accountable for ensuring an objective
employment investigation is conducted and, where appropriate, disciplinary action is carried
out.
3.3 Where managers are made aware of an employee’s failure to meet performance expectations,
they are accountable in the first instance, for ensuring a process to identify the reasons for
failure and options to assist improvement. Disciplinary process may be instituted when
improvement does not occur in a reasonable timeframe.
3.4 Disciplinary processes must be objective and provide the employee an opportunity to
comment on any information the delegated decision maker proposes to take into account,
before the delegated decision maker makes their decision. Further advice can be obtained
from the Manager Statutory Relationships.
4. Employees’ responsibility
4.1 Employees are responsible for complying with Commission policy and practice, including the
Code of Conduct, and for raising with their manager any matters they do not understand.
Failure to comply may result in disciplinary action.
4.2 Employees are also required to comply with the law both in the course of their employment
and privately. An employee who commits a breach of the law either at work or privately may
put their ongoing employment with the Electoral Commission in jeopardy.
4.3 Employees are responsible for participating in setting and for meeting agreed standards of
performance.
5. Employee investigations
Non-compliance with Commission policy and practice or the law
5.1 When an al egation/complaint of non-compliance with Commission policy and practice or
legislation by an employee of the Commission is identified and is made known to the
employee’s manager, they should begin an investigation into the facts of the matter. From
that point on they become the investigating manager. It is important that the investigating
manager approaches this investigation from an entirely objective position.
When to involve the Police
5.2 In the event that an employee is al eged to have committed a criminal offence in the
workplace, their manager should seek advice from the Manager Corporate Services.
Preliminary meeting
5.3 To begin any employment investigation, it wil be necessary for the investigating manager to
have a preliminary meeting with the employee to:
• outline the matter causing concern (al egations/complaint etc) and provide any written
information that supports the al egation or complaint,
• inform the employee that a thorough investigation into the facts wil take place,
• outline the investigation process and timelines to be fol owed,
• advise the seriousness of the matter (i.e., that the allegation, if proven, could involve
disciplinary action which may result in a warning or dismissal),
• advise that they may have representation (union, legal or other) prior to making any
statement or comment on the issue(s) and that they may have a representative at al
meetings,
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• request the names of any people the employee believes should be interviewed in
connection with the al egation/complaint against them.
5.4 The purpose of this preliminary meeting is not to hear the employee’s response but to inform
them of the investigation process to be undertaken and their rights in respect of that process.
5.5 Note: Managers are to notify and consult with the Manager Corporate Services in al cases
where serious misconduct or a criminal offence may have occurred.
Substantive Interview(s)
5.6 At these interviews, the investigating manager must seek the employee’s response to the
al egations and any further information the investigating manager has gathered during the
course of their investigation and which they may rely on in reaching their conclusions.
5.7 An investigating manager may gather information from files or other documentation and
further, may interview staff members and other persons who may have information relevant to
the complaint(s) or al egation(s).
5.8
Al information gathered must be given to the employee for their comment or response.
5.9 The investigating manager must careful y consider both the information gathered and the
explanation or response by the employee and give appropriate weight to the facts before
reaching a conclusion.
Findings and preliminary view on penalty
5.10 Once the investigating manager has had time to consider al the facts and the employee’s
explanations and comments, they should present the findings to the employee along with
recommendations as to how to proceed and conclude the matter in a meeting. This meeting is
to explain to the employee what decision has been reached by the investigating manager with
regard to the substance of the al egation(s) or complaint(s) and how the investigating manager
has come to that decision. The employee wil be offered an opportunity to respond to the
findings within an agreed timeframe, usual y 24 hours.
5.11 The employees’ response to these findings would then also be careful y considered and
included in the final report of findings which would be presented to the delegated decision
maker for action and conclusion.
5.12 The delegated decision-maker would assess the information provided, decide whether or not
they needed to gather further information and then accept or otherwise the findings and
recommendations. Where these are not accepted, it may be that the investigating manager
has to do further work on the investigation because the facts do not support the findings. In
this case the report would be returned to them for further action and the employee would be
advised of the reasons for such a decision.
5.13 Where the findings and recommendations are accepted and they point towards disciplinary
action, the delegated decision-maker wil organise a meeting with the employee and their
representative. This meeting is to confirm the acceptance of the findings by the delegated
decision-maker and to discuss the proposed penalty. It should be stressed that while the
al egation or complaint against the employee has been proven, the penalty has not yet been
finalised. The delegated decision-maker wil be open to receive submissions from the
employee on the appropriateness of the penalty.
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Submission on penalty
5.14 The submission on penalty may be in writing. A period of 24 hours for the employee to make a
submission on penalty is reasonable.
5.15 If and when a submission is made, the delegated decision-maker needs to consider that
submission and decide if it alters their preliminary view on penalty.
Final decision on disciplinary action
5.16 A final meeting must then be held with the employee based on the submissions received. The
delegated decision-maker must explain whether their preliminary view on penalty has been
altered on the basis of the submission or not and the reasons for this.
5.17 Final y, the penalty should be actioned at this meeting.
6. Separation of investigator and decision maker
6.1 It is Commission policy that wherever practicable, the investigator and delegated decision-
maker are separate people. It is preferable that they are the manager and the manager’s
manager but a manager can appoint a separate investigator where appropriate and where
they have the delegated authority to action the possible outcome of the investigation.
7. The investigation report
7.1 The investigation manager needs to provide a clear written account of the investigation to
assist the delegated decision-maker’s conclusions. The investigation report should be
structured along the fol owing lines:
7.2 Who - name who the report is being written to i.e., the delegated decision- maker
7.3 Purpose - detail the al egation or complaint being investigated
7.4 Process - set out how the investigation was conducted and the timeframe
8. Suspension
8.1 Suspension is considered to be a punitive action in that it takes an employee out of the
workforce before misconduct is final y proven or accepted and therefore may cause them
some disadvantage regardless of outcome.
8.2 Given this the Commission wil not generally approve the suspension of an employee unless
there are clearly no other options for managing an ongoing situation.
8.3 Managers considering suspension of an employee should consult with the Manager Corporate
Services and the delegation holder.
9. Warnings
9.1 Where the employee’s breach of policy or practice is not one of serious misconduct warranting
dismissal, it may be appropriate to issue a warning. There are two types of warnings that may
be issued to employees, i.e., verbal or written.
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Verbal warnings
9.2 A verbal warning may be the first formal step in a disciplinary process. It is normal y given in
relation to lower-level misconduct issues, rather than matters of serious misconduct. Where a
delegated decision maker issues a verbal warning, they must ensure that the employee
understands that they are receiving a warning. The decision maker must specify what
behaviour is required of the employee to improve their conduct and provide a timeframe for
improvement. Because a verbal warning is usual y issued in relation to a low-level matter, the
duration of warning would normal y be relatively short. The warning must be recorded on the
employee’s personal file.
Written warnings
9.3 The first warning is an early warning mechanism, the aim of which is to encourage the
employee to return to an acceptable standard of behaviour or performance. It must give
details of the matter that was discussed, any explanations given, the action the employee
must take in order to improve and avoid any further disciplinary action and the duration of the
warning. The warning must make it clear to the employee that any further breach could result
in further disciplinary action, including dismissal.
Final written warning
9.4 A final warning is usual y issued when the employee fails to improve their conduct or offends
again after receiving a first warning.
9.5 However, it may also be given in the first instance, for a more serious case of misconduct,
which does not warrant summary dismissal.
9.6 A final written warning should include:
• the nature of the al egation/matter that was discussed
• al meetings held
• the explanations provided
• the reasons for not accepting the explanation
• the reason(s) for the warning as the outcome.
9.7 Note: Al warnings must have a timeframe in which the behaviour is to improve. At the end of
the stipulated timeframe the employee’s manager is bound to review the employee’s progress
and behaviour. For a warning to expire, the employee should normal y have met al of the
conditions of the warning and the employee’s manager must have confidence that the
behaviour has been rectified. If the employee’s manager does not have confidence that there
has been a real change in behaviour the delegated decision maker they may wish to consider
extending the warning or issuing a more serious warning.
9.8 The record of any warning remains on the employees file, including after it has expired.
10. Dismissal
10.1 Where the employee commits an act of serious misconduct or continues to breach law and/or
policy after warnings(s) have been given, or where the required improvement in the standard
of performance has not been forthcoming after reasonable attention, dismissal is a likely
outcome.
10.2 The decision to dismiss an employee can only be taken by the delegated decision- maker.
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10.3 Prior to the decision to dismiss being made, the employee concerned must have been given
the opportunity to have their case presented to the delegated decision- maker. The decision-
maker must evaluate al material relating to the case before making a final decision.
10.4 Letter of dismissal should include:
• the nature of the al egation/matter that was discussed
• al meetings held
• the explanations provided
• the reasons for not accepting the explanation
• the reason(s) for dismissal as the outcome
• the date on which the employment wil terminate, and
• whether the dismissal is with or without notice.
11. Poor performance
11.1 Where an employee has failed to improve their standards of work performance after a period
of performance counsel ing and assistance, a disciplinary process may be embarked on.
11.2 Such a process wil involve the warning system as outlined in this policy. The warning must
clearly state the standard to which the employee must improve, the time in which they have to
make the required improvement and how the improvement wil be measured. They should
also detail what assistance wil be given to the employee to facilitate that improvement.
12. Employee assistance
12.1 The employee assistance programme exists to provide assistance for Commission Personnel
who have issues to deal with which are negatively affecting their work. In some cases the
Commission wil assist towards meeting referral treatment expenses.
12.2 The programme is confidential.
12.3 Vitae (formal y SEED) provide the Commissions Employee Assistance Programme. Pamphlets
can be found in the lunchroom.
13. Applicable legislation
• Employment Relations Act 2000
• Human Rights Act 1992
• Protected Disclosures Act 2000
• Privacy Act 1993
• Crown Entities Act 2004.
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14. Policy status and approval
Version
V0.1 Draft
Approval authority
Board
Approval date
Policy owner
DCE, Enterprise Services
Revision cycle
3 yearly
Next review
TBC
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