HR tip: Recording disciplinary proceedings

HRD & Payroll Solutions continues to bring HR Zone members a range of HR and payroll tips in 2007. A market leader in the provision of HR and Payroll training and nationally recognised professional qualifications, HRD & Payroll Solutions are highly experienced in teaching about common HR and payroll problems. A wide selection of tips, tricks and guidance can be seen below. HR Zone highly recommends that any tips are taken as a starting point for guidance only.

Question:"An employee we disciplined recently insisted on tape-recording everything. We refused. Were we in the right? Can the recording be used in an employment tribunal hearing?"

HR Tip:
As you cannot prevent an employee from making written notes it would seem unreasonable to prevent him from making an audio recording. It may inhibit the conversation but at the same time concentrate your mind on following the procedure and saying the right things. A recording made openly certainly may be used in the employment tribunal. However if the device recorded management's private deliberations, these would not be allowed as evidence.

Previous HR and Payroll tips:

November 2007
Phoning in sick

October 2007
Modest pay increase
Enforcing rest breaks and holidays
Disabled employee and sickness benefit
Age discrimination

September 2007
Notifying the JobCentre of redundancies
Transfer of undertakings
Discovering past misdemeanours
Restrictive covenants

August 2007
Helping redundant employees
Giving notice
Redundancy consultation
Offers subject to references
Compromise agreement

July 2007
Garden leave
Drunk employee
Resignation in face of discipline
Personality problem

June 2007
Searching employees
Companion in disciplinary hearings
Dependents' leave
The right to privacy

May 2007
Confidential information
Sex discrimination
Fixed term contracts
Return from maternity leave

April 2007
Sex discrimination
Deductions from wages
Custom and practice
Disclosing employees' birthdays

March 2007
Making notes in disciplinary proceedings
Discipline and the police
Analysing poor performance
Resignation in a temper
Implied terms of contract

February 2007
Issuing contracts of employment
Unfair and wrongful dismissal
Bullying boss
Persistent absentees

January 2007
Confidential witness statements
Ending a fixed term contract

2006 tips

2005 tips

HR Zone, 8-Nov-2007
Categories: Employment Law
Story read 1909

	Mail this article to a friend
	Printer friendly version
	Add comments to this article

User comments

Add comments and share your views with other users.  Please read these notes