Hi Chelsey
Postpone the meeting - tell the employee that you've postponed it (not cancelled it - they need to know it still needs to happen); refer them to occupational health (if you have an OH provider - if not, find an OH consultancy that can do 'one off' OH assessments) - you'll need employee consent to make the referral - they can choose to decline which is fine, so make them aware that this is their choice, but in the absence of any OH advice, the employer (your org) will have to work on the basis of the information available to it about the employee's health, without the benefit of additional medical advice (ie it's in the employee's interest to agree to OH). The specific question to OH is whether the employee is fit to attend and participate in a disciplinary meeting (whether that's a hearing or investigation meeting or both) while they are off sick and if not, what the timeframe would be for them to become fit enough, and if so, what if any adjustments may assist them in participating (e.g meeting over video rather than in person, right to be accompanied - if not already offered, depending on the stage of the disciplinary process it's at, offer of allowing short breaks during the meeting etc). This will delay the process, but the aim isn't to get through the process as quickly as possible, no matter what, but rather to ensure that it takes place within a reasonable timeframe and enables the employee who is the subject of the disciplinary matter to participate in the process as much as possible. It's not uncommon for people to go off sick when a formal meeting is arranged (not least because it is quite stressful, so it can be understandable - albeit that often the interpretation is that the person may be 'feigning' illness to stop the meeting going ahead - put that interpretation in the background for now). Main thing to have in mind and ensure the employee knows is that the meeting will go ahead at some point - it's not going away - and you want to make sure that they are able to participate in in, so like i say it's a postponement not a cancellation. Hope this helps.

Hi Chelsey
This is not unusual in this type of situation. ;-)

Firstly, has the employee submitted a fit note and if so, how long is it for. If it's not for very long, I would just postpone the meeting until their intended return date and let them know that - explain that you understand the process is stressful but you want to resolve the process to remove the stress and that you're happy if they just need a little bit of time to be in the right place to attend.

If the note is for quite a long period, or they don't return when expected, you could refer them to occupational health to see if they are fit to attend a meeting, even if they're not fit to work, emphasising to occ health that you want to remove the source of the stress for them by holding the meeting.

If occ health suggest they won't be fit to attend a meeting in a reasonable timeframe, you could suggest other ways to hold the meeting, such as them sending a written statement, and/or having their rep attend on their behalf - but those are last resort options after you've tried everything to get them to attend.

Hope that helps - let us know how you get on.

Jackie

In reply to Ann Simpson:

Hi Ann,

This has been a massive help, thank you so much. The employee has already had an OH referral previously but would you recommend an OH review so that they can then determine if the employee is fit to attend the disciplinary?

Thanks in advance,
Chelsey

In reply to Jacqueline:

Hi Jackie,

Thank you so much for this advice, it's been really helpful. I'll be sure to keep you updated.

Many thanks,
Chelsey

In reply to Chelsey:

Yes I'd say if they're signed off (rather than self certifying for a week and then returning), it's worth doing an OH referral for the specific purpose of ascertaining their fitness to attend a formal meeting/participate in a formal process (rather than seeking general OH advice on their health). It's a tailored referral for the specific situation. If you have previous OH advice about their health, ensure that this is factored into your handling of the process (ie it's context to help you in your interactions with them, in managing the process in the knowledge of what - if any - particular health conditions they have that you may need to have in mind, and/or adjust for) but as I say - this would be specifically an OH referral about fitness to engage with the current process.

In reply to Ann Simpson:

Hi Ann,

Thank you for this advice it's been very helpful.

Many thanks,
Chelsey