News
Legal representation at disciplinary hearings
The Court of Appeal has ruled that employees may be entitled to legal representation at some internal disciplinary hearings.
In G v X School the Court of Appeal decided that a teaching assistance was entitled to representation at an internal disciplinary hearing where he was accused of career threatening misconduct.
On the basis of the right to a fair trial (Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights) the Court of Appeal decided that a teaching assistance accused of sexual misconduct with a 15 year old pupil should have been entitled to legal representation at his hearing.
It is important to note that the Court of Appeal did not make a blanket ruling that all employees are always entitled to legal representation at disciplinary hearings.
This situation could occur across a whole range of sectors. Although the Human Rights Act 1998 distinguishes between civil and criminal proceedings the Court of Appeal made it clear that these classifications were not determinative of an individual’s rights; whether the right to legal representation exists will be a question of fact, determined on the individual circumstances of each case.
Where a right does exist other consequences are likely to follow. We may see more litigation in this area as the extent of employees’ entitlements is tested.
Please contact Roger Stone at Chichester or Sarah Evans at Selsey for more information.