UK Faculty of Public Health Calls for Fewer Workplace Disciplinary Investigations

The UK Faculty of Public Health published a discussion paper on Monday urging ministers, employers and unions to address harm from disciplinary investigations at work. The paper said UK employers conduct about 1.7 million such cases each year at a cost of £28.5 billion, mainly from dismissals and resignations, according to Acas research.

It argued that poorly conducted processes damage individual wellbeing, erode trust and drive avoidable sickness absence.

The Guardian reported that the paper drew attention to the case of Chloe Moffat, a 26-year-old personal assistant at HM Treasury. Moffat killed herself one day after a disciplinary meeting triggered by an anonymous complaint. She had been in line for a promotion and received a bonus for good work, but was denied support at the meeting and not told her job was not at risk, Surrey coroner’s court heard.

The Treasury is implementing new disciplinary procedures following her death. The faculty recommended treating investigations as a last resort and cited the approach taken by Aneurin Bevan University health board in NHS Wales. That policy reduced investigations by 71 percent, prevented more than 3,000 staff sick days and saved at least £700,000 a year, according to Andrew Cooper, the board’s head of employee wellbeing and co-author of the report.

Prof Tracy Daszkiewicz, president of the faculty, said processes often prioritize procedure over people and fail to account for psychological and organisational harm. Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said badly handled disciplinary processes are bad for business and workers.