Disciplinary toolkits

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These toolkits are used in conjunction with the disciplinary policy for public servants.

Disciplinary general rules and performance

Every employee is expected to combine prompt and efficient service to both internal and external customers with a concern for the feelings of others. Employees are expected to act in a manner whilst at work and outside work which does not discredit or harm the reputation of the Government of Jersey. the following are examples of behaviour which may be regarded as warranting disciplinary action (but not an exhaustive list). While a first breach of the following general standards of performance and conduct would not normally result in dismissal, continued breaches, after warnings and opportunities to improve, could cumulatively do so.

Employees are expected to combine prompt and efficient service with a concern and respect for the feelings of others, including patients, visitors, and colleagues, whatever their background. As a minimum all staff are expected to:

treat everyone in line with our behaviours and values
always maintain privacy and confidentiality
wear an identification badge that is visible to the public
avoid using offensive or threatening language

Employees are expected to work unless they have prior permission to be absent. In cases of sickness or absence in line with the special leave and/or managing attendance policy, the responsibility lies with the employee to inform their line manager as soon as possible and no later than the start of their shift, in accordance with departmental notification rules within the relevant policy.

Any staff undertaking other employment outside of their contractual hours (including secondary employment) must ensure that this in no way hinders or conflicts with the interests of their employment with the Government of Jersey or their duty to abide by their professional code of conduct (as appropriate) or has any adverse effect upon their performance of their duties. Employees should request permission from their line manager for employment outside working hours to prevent possible conflict of interest.

During sickness absence, employees are expected to keep management informed of their progress and likely date of returning to work. Sickness certificates must be submitted in line with requirements laid out in the relevant Managing Attendance policy.

Examples of misconduct

The following are examples of which may be considered as minor, serious, and gross misconduct. This list is not exhaustive, there may be other behaviours which may also warrant disciplinary action and it should be used as a guide. In all cases, the severity of the breach of contract will determine the stage at which the disciplinary procedure is entered, and the level of disciplinary action taken.

Minor misconduct

Examples of minor misconduct are as follows and can be dealt with through the informal route

This list is not exhaustive:

Poor timekeeping

Persistent poor timekeeping including arriving late, leaving early, without prior arrangement or taking unauthorised and/or extended breaks.

Poor attendance

Including persistent, unauthorised, or unreasonable absence, failure to comply with the absence notification and authorisation procedures and any abuse of the entitlement to sickness leave. See Managing Attendance policy.

Performance of duties

All employees must carry out appropriate instructions or reasonable requests promptly and efficiently. Failure to follow Government of Jersey's policies and procedures or a reasonable management instruction may lead to disciplinary action. Any concern about the practicality, legality or safety of an instruction must be raised with the employee's immediate line manager.

Misuse of Governments facilities and property

Employees must not misuse or abuse the Government of Jersey's property, time, or equipment; the list below is not exhaustive but provides an indication of behaviour which may lead to disciplinary action:

excessive use of land line for personal calls, local or international
inappropriate use of laptops or mobile phones owned by the Government of Jersey
misuse of any Government of Jersey property or vehicles

Conflict of interest

Employees must fully disclose any external interests, which may potentially be considered to, or potentially could, conflict with the interests of the Government of Jersey and declare any conflict of interest between their work responsibilities and any personal relationships. Specifically, employees involved in the recruitment and selection of staff must declare if there is any relationship with prospective candidates which could influence their decision.

Appearance and personal hygiene

All employees are expected to wear clothing appropriate to their occupation. Where departmental rules exist about clothing, safety, or hygiene then they must be observed.

If there is no set dress code/uniform, all employees should consider that whilst they may not directly be customer facing, they do pass through public areas and should consider the impression they may give to the general public.

Serious misconduct

Confidentiality

All information, including manual records, data stored electronically and verbal exchanges, either overheard or otherwise relating to the activities and customers of the Government of Jersey must be always considered confidential. Breach of confidence or failure to maintain adequate safeguards of confidential information could lead to disciplinary action.

Employees must not talk about confidential matters in public places and must always consider that they may be overheard when having a private conversation whilst using mobile telephones or overseen whilst using a laptop or tablet device whilst on Government of Jersey's business or otherwise.

Data users with access to information defined under the Data Protection Legislation must be aware of their responsibilities to safeguard that information.

Health and Safety

Employees have a duty to take reasonable care to avoid injury to themselves and to others by their work activities. Employees must observe any health and safety policies which apply in their work activities. Employees must observe any health and safety policies which apply in their work area and must use any personal protective equipment which is provided in an appropriate manner. Refusal to comply with, the deliberate disregard of, or a serious breach of health and safety rules may lead to disciplinary action. Any concern about the safety of a work process or equipment must be raised with the employee's immediate line manager.

General conduct

Acting in a discreditable or disorderly manner or in any manner, whether in or out of work, likely to bring discredit on the reputation of the Government of Jersey may lead to disciplinary action.

Gross misconduct

Gross misconduct describes exceptionally serious offences, and where the Government of Jersey considers that the breach may warrant summary dismissal even though the offence may be a first breach of discipline and an earlier warning has not been given.

Examples include but are not limited to the following:

Theft, fraud and dishonesty

any instance of theft or attempted theft, be it property, time or services from the Government of Jersey, colleagues, or the public
fraud or embezzlement including the falsification of time sheets, sick pay or expenses claims and the falsification of qualifications to secure employment
being in possession of illegal substances whilst on Government of Jersey premises
misappropriation or wilful or knowing misuse of official transport, funds, or property
knowingly or negligently making false or misleading statements, whether in writing or not, in the course of duties
without sufficient cause, destroying or mutilating any official government document book, computer data or document or altering or erasing any entry in such a document
wilful or knowing misuse of authority for personal advantage or gain

Corruption

Including the receipt of money, goods, favours, or excessive hospitality in respect of services rendered.

Serious misrepresentation

Any serious misrepresentation including completion of pre-employment health questionnaires, qualifications, previous employment records, falsification of date of birth, failure to disclose any unspent convictions if disclosure is a requirement for the post.

Aggressive behaviour

Any aggressive behaviour; verbal or physical assault or deliberate provocation, including abusive or offensive language to another employee or member of the public.

Being unfit for duty

An employee must not render themselves unfit for duty through drinking alcohol, using illegal or recreational drugs or the misuse of other substances, or by being asleep on duty.

Breach of codes

Any serious breach of the Codes or Directions or other Standing Orders, the wilful or reckless breach of any code of conduct, rules or regulations issued by any statutory or regulatory body to which the Government of Jersey or its employees are subject.

Negligence and malpractice

Includes any action, omission, or failure to act which threatens the health and safety of a member of staff, customer, or member of the public.

Malicious or wilful damage to property

Any deliberate damage to property, including furniture office equipment, computers, laptops, or vehicles belonging to the Government of Jersey, customers, members of the public or colleagues.

Confidentiality

Any breach of confidentiality of information relating to property, staff, services, tenders, contracts etc. including breach of the Data Protection Legislation.

Engaging in political activities

A politically eligible employee must be careful not to participate in political activities in a manner that might constitute gross misconduct, and which might render them liable to disciplinary action. Such misconduct is described as follows:

commenting on existing Government of Jersey's Policies in an immoderate manner
engaging in personal attacks on members of the Government of Jersey
using for political purposes, information that the employee was only able to obtain because they are a Government of Jersey employee

Even in the case of an employee not seeking election, a similar approach would be applied where an employee takes a public part in a political matter and behaves in a similar manner to that described above.

Politically ineligible employees must not address electors or stand or announce that they propose to stand as a candidate for election to the Government of Jersey, nor can they publicly support the candidature of any person standing for election to the Government of Jersey. They may not take a public part in political activities other than to exercise their statutory right of voting.

Misuse and inappropriate use of applications, email, internet, or social media

Any inappropriate use of Social Media networks, the internet, or email system for purposes unrelated to the work of the post holder. This includes posting of any inappropriate pictures or comments on any publicly accessible website both during and outside of working hours.

Contravention of a duty restriction under the law or loss of legal entitlement to practice

There are a number of posts where it is essential that the employee is registered with a professional body. It is the responsibility of the individual employee to maintain registration and where an employee fails to meet statutory requirements then the contract of employment will be terminated.

In the interest of protecting service uses, the Government of Jersey will report to the relevant statutory body concerns about an employee's professional unfitness to practice.

Criminal offences outside of employment

Criminal offences which take place outside of employment may be relevant to employment with the Government of Jersey and therefore it is a requirement of every employee to notify the Employer of any criminal/police investigation or criminal charge brought against them.

The fact that an employee has been charged, remanded in custody, or convicted of a criminal offence not related to their employment, will not be regarded as an automatic reason for dismissal or other disciplinary action. The main consideration will be whether or not the offence is one which makes the individual unsuitable for continued employment with the Government of Jersey.

An investigation into the circumstances of the case will take place. In the case of criminal offences not directly related to the employee's work, it will be for the line manager to decide according to the circumstances whether the offence has a bearing on the employee's suitability for continued employment in the post.

The above list comprises examples of behaviour which may lead to disciplinary action. The list is not exhaustive, and the Employer reserves the right to determine whether inappropriate actions may lead to disciplinary action.

Five day fact find

Five day fact finds form part of the informal process. Line managers will carry these out to establish severity of the situation and to determine whether an investigation is warranted. They should be conducted within 5 days of the allegation being raised, or when reasonably possible.

A fact finding exercise should be a quick, easy and accurate way to establish the facts of the matter. They should be used to allow for, and support with swift resolution. This is not a formal investigation but can be used to help line managers determine what next steps need to be taken, if any.

The results may be sufficient to establish that there is no misconduct, or that the results of any further investigation are unlikely to provide any clear determination.

It is extremely important that employees are made aware that a fact finding process is simply that, not accusatory but only to gather information. In the event it proceeds to formal action (see below), the fact find will not be used to determine terms of reference, and the formal process will be followed as laid out in policy.

Outcomes of five day fact find include, but not limited to:

no further action, if it's established there is not enough evidence to justify progressing to a full investigation, or no grounds for any discussion to be held between parties
informal action, the matter has been upheld however, can be dealt with through informal action under the relevant policy
formal action, there has been sufficient information gathered during the fact find process to determine that a more thorough investigation is needed and to proceed to the formal investigation process under the relevant policy
policy or procedural change, it may have been recognised as part of the fact find that there is a gap in a process within the department that led to this allegation being raised; in this situation, a review of the process and policy needs to be done to prevent re-occurrence

Guidance as to what information to gather to support a decision on the next steps:

confirm and list the specific allegations raised
establish the facts of the incident; when and where did it happen, what task was being done, who was involved and were there any witnesses
establish agreed and disputed facts
can any of the facts be confirmed as being true or false
potential sources of evidence to corroborate or support the facts in the event of formal action. This is to ensure the data or information will be available. For example, rotas to confirm dates, emails, record of training, CCTV and incident reports, anyone who may be aware or have observed the incident or situation

Fact find recording form

File note guidance

A file note is a way of communicating areas where an improvement is needed, or a concern identified and ensures that a record is kept. This can help overall communication and improve standards of conduct and performance without the need to enter the formal procedures.

File notes should be discussed with the employee, not just handed to them as it is important the employee is fully aware of why it is being issued and is clear about what is required.

It is important to remember that a file note does not form part of any formal procedure but can be referred to when considering whether to proceed with formal action and will be kept on an employee’s personnel file. If further incidents arise it may be taken into consideration in deciding whether formal action should be taken. 

For example, if an employee has been issued with two file notes for poor time keeping and the employee continues to be late, the file notes will support the manager to decide when it will be appropriate to commence formal disciplinary action.

Generally, if an employee is involved and clearly informed of any concerns, where improvement is needed and what is required, they will address this. The file note provides a mechanism to achieve this and can help avoid having to take formal action.

If an employee has any concerns, they should raise this with their manager or appropriate delegate as soon as possible. If after raising with or being unable to raise with manager, the employee still has any concerns, they should raise this with their line managers manager or HR case management.