LOL. Thanks. I will keep you posted on the outcome.

I told them that the clinics disciplinary procedure had not been adhered to in that any shortcomings should have been addressed straight away and they were not - they were lumped together. The documentation I received prior to the meeting was totally inadequate and they failed to supply sufficient information to enable me to defend myself. The disciplinary meeting itself was too informal, she did not follow guidelines (when I sat down in the room she just looked at me and said "well". I should have said "yes thanks" but I had to tell her that this was not what she was supposed to be doing and that she had to put each allegation to me and allow me to respond. It was a joke). I also told her that she had failed in her duty of care towards me both at work and since I have been off sick with stress caused by her behaviour. What is almost laughable, and also included in my appeal letter, is that she told me that she would like to think I could talk to her if I have any issues at work. Shame she could not have done the same for me.

OK. Just one more question - do I need to wait for the result of my appeal or can I do it straight away? I don't think she will change the sanction.

Sorry if I sound a bit dim, but isn't this all back to front. Doesn't a grievance come before the hearing? I couldn't lodge a grievance at the start of all this because I didn't have any problems. My boss was the one with the issues. Should the grievance letter therefore contain my thoughts about the treatment I am receiving at work as a result of the action, the way the disciplinary hearing and appeal have been handled and the bad atmosphere which has made my position untenable. I would like to thank you again for all your help - I was on the verge of calling it quits and walking away, but you are inspiring me to take this all the way now.

Hi. Thanks to everyone for your help yesterday. My doctor is willing to continue with my sick notes, but I need to move on with this. Do I need to submit a grievance?

No evidence was given during the hearing - no dates, times, what was said. The original hearing was cancelled by my boss as she felt it would not be appropriate to hold the hearing whilst I was off sick. The original date for the hearing was when my sick note had expired, so she did not know that I would not be returning. I only work two days a week and the original hearing was scheduled for the Thursday before I was due in to work on the Friday. My boss is the owner of the clinic. I don't want to give too much detail in case she happens to read this. The process has now dragged on since 10th November 2009 and despite my pleas for her to get it sorted as quickly as possible she is being very unfair. As I mentioned previously the member of staff dealing with the appeal hearing which was on Thursday 7th January went on holiday the following day and is not due back until 25th. She knew he would be away and had the opportunity to give it to someone else but didn't. This sums up the casual way she is treating this. It is having a dreadful effect on my health and pocket!

One more thing which I forgot to mention, I was told by boss that I could take a colleague into the meeting with me, but as she had told me that a couple of my colleagues had spoken to her about me I didn't know who to ask. She then told me I could take one of the secretaries in, and which one it would be! She even took that option away from me by naming who it would be!

I have been there for 20 months. Amongst the list of accusations were: I have apparently been 'sharp' to a few patients, I refused to take a message regarding a personal dental appointment, I refused to order flowers for someone who was off sick, and an absolute classic, it has been mentioned to my boss by a few patients that I don't seem to be happy. All the things I have been accused of have been saved up and presented to me in a disciplinary hearing. I was completely shocked as Ihad no idea. She refused to tell me who the patients were so I could not even defend myself, and as far as being perceived to be unhappy is concerned, I'm sure this doesn't warrant a first written warning! I was not told at the time that any of the incidents occurred, which leads me to believe they didn't actually happen. There was no investigatory meeting we just went straight to the disciplinary. The allegations are so trivial and frivolous that I am 100% sure they are not true and this is now a personal issue. I was covered by a sick note apart from the day of the disciplinary hearing as I had left time in between notes as I knew they would not be able to hold the hearing otherwise. I'm not sure whether my colleagues have been told to be like this with me - all I know is that when I bumped into 2 of them when I went in last week, they were very embarrassed and could barely speak. The same two people were named in the disciplinary hearing as telling my boss that I had undermined her by saying to them I was finding her difficult to work with. Thanks for your help. I really feel I have done nothing wrong. Surely people who receive notices of disciplinary action expect it - it was totally out of the blue for me.

Hi, I am currently going through a disciplinary process at work. So far I have had the disciplinary hearing, appealed against the sanction and am waiting for the result of my appeal (the person who is handling my appeal has gone on holiday for 2 weeks so it is taking an unnaceptably long time). I am going to have to resign as it is a small business I work for (5 people) and it is the owner of the business who has taken a dislike to me and over the last couple of months has built up numerous petty 'incidents' which have been presented to me in a formal disciplinary hearing (she could not prove any of them). The other members of staff have all been 'got to' by her, and consequently can no longer even say hello to me when I go into the office. I have been off sick for the last 8 weeks with stress brought on by all of this and feel it is impossible for me to return to work. So, even though I have been through the process and appealed I have been told I need to raise a grievance. Do I do this before I resign or incorporate it into my resignation letter? I am hoping to eventually take this to an employment tribunal.

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How did you get on with your hearing? I have just discovered this site, and find myself in a similar situation to you. I also work in a small company and have been asked to attend a disciplinary hearing. I can not take in a work colleague as apparently I have been bad mouthing my boss to one of them (she won't tell me who) so it's impossible to ask anyone. I am not a member of a trade union, so my brother who is an HR officer offered to sit in with me. I have been told by my employer that this is not allowed. My contract states who I CAN be accompanied by, but not who I CAN NOT. Is this splitting hairs? Also my meeting was scheduled for this afternoon, but was cancelled late yesterday. Do they have to give a reasonable time for cancellation eg 24 hours?