Can we really let employees bite??

If your employee bit someone whilst they were representing you, what would you do? Most employers would probably see it as an act of gross misconduct, suspend the employee, investigate the allegations, hold the disciplinary and then dismiss the employee for gross misconduct.

Luis Suarez has received a 10 match ban from the FA which he will not be appealing but the reality isn’t necessarily whether the ban itself is right, some may say that it is too harsh in light of other bans given but the big question is what are his employers going to do about it.

Luis Suarez is an employee of Liverpool Football Club. An employer of any size or stature would be ill advised not to have an adequately worded disciplinary policy and procedure in place which clearly sets out not only what procedure would be followed but also what constitutes misconduct, the level of misconduct and what sanction could be expected for each level of misconduct. For example turning up late on a couple of occasions is likely to warrant a verbal warning whereas causing physical harm to another, especially if you are in an employer’s uniform, would constitute gross misconduct and warrant a dismissal.

As a basic guide, employers should investigate allegations made, including holding an investigatory meeting, decide if disciplinary action is required and if so invite the employee to a disciplinary meeting, making sure that all of the evidence is supplied to them prior to the meeting. Allow the employee to put their case forward at the disciplinary and then decide if a sanction should be imposed. Once the sanction is imposed the employee should then have the opportunity to appeal it.

Employers have to make sure that the disciplinary policy is applied consistently and fairly across the entire organization and simply allowing one employee off could lead to numerous problems if faced with similar situations further down the line.

It would be interesting to see how Liverpool Football Club would deal with a biting shop assistant after seeing that Luis Suarez has not been dismissed for gross misconduct.