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Introduction to this document

Letter confirming time off for workplace companion

If a worker makes a reasonable request to be accompanied by a work colleague to a disciplinary, grievance or appeal hearing, and the colleague has agreed to accompany them, use our letter to send to the colleague.

Statutory right

A worker has a statutory right to be accompanied to a disciplinary, grievance or appeal hearing by either a work colleague or a trade union representative/official (whether the worker is a member of the trade union or not, and regardless of whether the trade union is recognised), provided that their request to be accompanied is reasonable. What’s reasonable will depend on the circumstances of the individual case. For example, the worker should provide enough time for you to deal with the companion’s attendance at the hearing and they should let you know the companion’s name (and who they are) in advance. However, the actual companion choice doesn’t need to be reasonable, as the worker has the absolute right to choose whoever they like as a companion, provided they fall within one of the statutory categories of companion.

Companion’s role

The companion is permitted to: address the hearing to put and sum up the worker’s case, respond on behalf of the worker to any views expressed at the hearing and confer with the worker during the hearing. However, they’re not permitted to: answer questions on behalf of the worker, address the hearing if the worker doesn’t want them to, prevent you from explaining the company’s case or prevent anyone else from contributing to the hearing. Subject to these constraints, it’s good practice to allow the companion to participate as fully as possible in the hearing.

Work colleagues

Where the worker’s chosen companion is a work colleague (or is a lay trade union representative who is also employed by you), that individual has a statutory right to take a reasonable amount of paid time off during working hours for the purpose of accompanying the worker. This should cover the time required to attend the hearing and it’s also advisable to allow time for the work colleague to confer with the worker before and after the hearing. The purpose of our Letter Confirming Time Off for Workplace Companion is to confirm this statutory right to time off. It’s intended to be sent to the chosen companion and it sets out their right to time off and then goes on to outline their role at the hearing. Be aware that work colleagues don’t have to accept a request to accompany a worker, and they shouldn’t be pressurised to do so. Therefore, when a worker tells you that they want to be accompanied by a particular work colleague, before sending our letter do check first with the worker that their colleague has both been asked to be a companion and has consented to do so.