Disciplinary policy

WCA wants to help and encourage students and employees to achieve and maintain required standards of conduct.

The WCA complies and supports all legislation in order to meet its own high standards of inclusion, equality, diversity and conduct.

The policy and procedure applies to all students and employees and takes into account the advice of the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary.

Our commitment

• informal action will be considered, where appropriate, to resolve problems
• no disciplinary action will be taken against an individual until the case has been fully investigated
• if formal action is taken, the individual will be advised of the nature of the complaint against him or her and will be given the opportunity to state his or her case before any decision is made at a disciplinary meeting
• the individual will be provided, where appropriate, with written copies of evidence and relevant witness statements in advance of a disciplinary meetin
• at all stages of the procedure the individual will have the right to be accompanied by a representative or colleague
• no student or employee will be dismissed for a first breach of discipline except in the case of gross misconduct, when the penalty will be dismissal
• the individual will have the right to appeal against any disciplinary action.
• if disciplinary action needs to be taken, it will be applied consistently and fairly and confidential, proper records will be kept

Policy and procedure responsibility

The WCA Course Programme Committee are responsible for:

• the enforcement of this policy and the effective management of the procedure;
• annual review of this policy;
• training employees on the policy and procedure.

The WCA employees and students are responsible for:

• understanding the policy.

Disciplinary procedure

The following diagram and supporting information explains the disciplinary procedure and the possible outcomes for students and employees.

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Informal stage

Where cases of misconduct or unsatisfactory behaviour are considered minor, the matter will be dealt with privately by a member of the Course Programme Committee and the individual concerned. It is in everyone’s interests to resolve the matter quickly and informally and this will always be the favoured method for minor misconduct and/or unsatisfactory behaviour. The preferred outcome is that the required improvement is made and does not reoccur.

There will be situations where matters are more serious or where an informal approach has been tried but is not working. If informal action does not bring about an improvement, or the misconduct or unsatisfactory performance is considered too serious to be classed as minor, the Course Programme Committee will provide students or employees with a clear signal of their dissatisfaction by taking formal action.

Formal action

If it is decided that formal action is to be taken, the student or employee will be:

• invited in writing to a formal disciplinary meeting by a member of the Course Programme Committee;
• issued with a copy of the Disciplinary procedure;
• informed that they have a right to be accompanied;
• made aware of the allegations against them, with any supporting evidence, before the meeting.

At the meeting, the individual will be:

• made aware of the allegation against them, together with any supporting evidence;
• given the opportunity to challenge the allegations before decisions are reached and will be provided with a right to appeal.

Inform student or employee

The outcome of the formal action meeting will be documented by the Course Programme Committee and a copy provided to the student or employee, advising that this is the first stage of the formal procedure. The outcome will normally be one of the following:

• Allegations not upheld and matter is closed.
• A written improvement note for unsatisfactory conduct or performance, if performance does not meet acceptable standards. This will set out the issue, the improvement that is required and the timescale by which the improvement needs to be made.
• A first warning for misconduct if conduct does not meet acceptable standards. This will be in writing and set out the nature of the misconduct and the change in behaviour required, by when and the right of appeal. The warning will also inform the employee that a final written warning may be considered if there is no sustained satisfactory improvement or change. A record of the warning will be kept but it will be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after an agreed period.
• A final written warning if the offence is sufficiently serious, or if there is further misconduct or a failure to improve during the currency of a prior warning. This will give details of the complaint, the improvement required and the timescale. It will also warn that failure to improve may lead to dismissal (or some other action short of dismissal) and will refer to the right of appeal. A copy of this written warning will be kept but will be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after an agreed period.
• Dismissal or other sanction if there is still further misconduct or failure to improve the final step in the procedure may be dismissal or some other action short of dismissal such as demotion or disciplinary suspension or transfer (as allowed in the contract of employment). Dismissal decisions can only be taken by the appropriate senior manager, in consultation with at least one other member of the Course Programme Committee. The student or employee will be provided in writing with reasons for dismissal, the termination date and the right of appeal.

If some sanction short of dismissal is imposed, the indivdual will receive details of the complaint, will be warned that dismissal could result if there is no satisfactory improvement, and will be advised of the right of appeal. A copy of the written warning will be kept but will be disregarded for disciplinary purposes after an agreed period.

Dismissal

Students and employees will only be dismissed if there is serious misconduct or, despite warnings, conduct or performance does not improve to the required level within the specified time period. Dismissal will be reasonable in all the circumstances.

Students

Student dismissal may incur all or part of the course fees as detailed in our Fees policy of the Student Handbook.

If a student withdraws from the course after 6 weeks of term they will be eligible to pay for the whole year.

However, this may be open to negotiation depending on the students’ circumstances. It may be possible to cancel or defer the payment according to these circumstances.    

Employees

Unless the employee is being dismissed for reasons of gross misconduct, he or she will receive the appropriate period of notice or payment in lieu of notice, as per the employee contract.

If dismissal is due to gross misconduct, WCA may decide on dismissal without notice.

Last updated

25 Aug 2024