Capability Policy

Purpose

The purpose of the Capability Policy is to provide a framework for managing underperformance in a fair and consistent manner. This policy differs from the Disciplinary, Absence Management and other policies as its’ primary focus is that of improving performance to the standard required.

Capability refers to an employee’s ability to perform the work expected of them to the standard required. This may be assessed by reference to an employee’s skill, aptitude, health or any other physical or mental quality in relation to the job that they are employed to do.

To determine whether an issue is one of capability or misconduct, the Manager must ask themselves whether an employee can’t or won’t perform a task. Where an employee can’t, this can be managed as capability and where they won’t, this could be due to conduct and managed under Wilson Vale Catering’s Disciplinary Policy.

This Capability Policy establishes guidelines for Managers and employee’s when their work performance falls below the standard appropriate for the role due to underperformance.

This policy does not form part of an employee’s contract of employment and Wilson Vale Catering may amend this policy at any time.

For the avoidance of doubt, this policy does not apply to cases involving sickness absence, redundancy, or disciplinary matters. Please refer to the Absence, Redundancy and Disciplinary policies for further information in these circumstances.

Introduction

This policy aims to:

Set out the steps of a fair and transparent capability process that is clear and coherent for Managers and employees to follow.
Adhere to the best practice guidance on capability procedures as advised by ACAS and in compliance with the appropriate employment law legislation.

Objectives

To assist employees who have difficulty in achieving the required standards of performance through encouragement and support to improve in their role.

Managers should be supportive of employees, help them to take action to improve their performance and consider any mitigating circumstances that may be affecting their performance.

This policy seeks to ensure that performance matters are dealt with sensitively and with due respect for the privacy of any individuals involved. All those involved must treat as confidential any information shared with them under this process.

To enable Managers to deal with capability issues in a consistent, fair, and professional manner. The process involves progressive levels of review and target setting to establish the required standard of performance and to identify any training and support which can be given.
To ensure that discussions about capability are handled fairly and reasonably.

Continued failure to achieve the required standards of work performance may lead to the termination of employment, although Wilson Vale Catering will try to avoid this happening as far as reasonably practical and may consider any suitable alternative positions suited to that employee’s skillset that may be available in the wider business. In cases where the actual or potential consequences of sub-standard performance are very serious or where poor performance is deliberate or due to serious negligence it may be decided to manage matters through Wilson Vale Catering’s Disciplinary Policy.

Capability Management Process:

Managers are responsible for setting reasonable standards of performance and explaining these standards to employees, providing training and support as appropriate. Managers will discuss performance with employees on a regular basis, giving appropriate feedback.

The following outlines a summary of what the potential stages of capability management may consist of, with some further narrative on each stage provided further in this policy.

Informal Process

Informal Meeting(s) – please refer to the Informal Meeting Document for further guidance

Potential Outcome

No further action
Reasonable adjustments may be considered in relation to the employees’ role, targets, and tasks; particularly if a disability is to be considered
Decision to proceed via the Stage 1 formal capability process as outlined below.

When progressing to any formal stage of the capability management process, please refer to the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) template for further guidance. (Contact the HR Department for a copy of this template).

If poor performance is deemed serious or if reasonable improvement is not made following a Performance Improvement Plan, the Manager may decide to progress to Stage 1 (below).

Stage 1 Formal Review Meeting

Stage 1 Capability Hearing

Potential Outcome

First Written Warning

If poor performance is sufficiently serious or there is no improvement in job performance or further evidence of poor performance in the agreed review period, the Manager may decide to progress to Stage 2 (below).

Stage 2 Formal Review Meeting

Stage 2 Capability Hearing

Potential Outcome

Final Written Warning and possible redeployment / demotion discussion if practical and appropriate.

If poor performance has been grossly negligent to justify dismissal or there is still no improvement in job performance or there is further evidence of poor performance during the review period set during the Stage 2 hearing, the Manager may decide to progress to Stage 3 (below).

Stage 3 Formal Review Meeting

Stage 3 Capability Hearing

Potential Outcome

Dismissal or possible redeployment / demotion discussion if practical and appropriate

Managers should liaise with the HR Department where appropriate during this process.

Informal Capability Process

If an employee’s performance is causing concern, the Manager will normally ask the employee to attend an informal meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to ensure that the employee is aware of the Manager’s concerns regarding performance and to discuss ways of trying to resolve any issues without invoking the formal process.

In the first instance, Managers should seek to resolve performance issues informally as early as possible and as part of normal day to day management. Ideally this would be within a few days of the issue(s) being identified. Informal discussions should:

Explain the nature of the concerns (providing specific examples as appropriate)
Set out the expected standards of performance.
Establish the likely causes of underperformance and identify any actions required by the employee or Manager to aid improvement e.g. training or other sources of support.
Set targets and timescales for improvement and review dates. Where possible these will be agreed between the employee and the Manager.
Explain the potential consequences of not achieving the required improvements in performance.

The aim of the informal session is to make sure that the employee understands what is required and to identify any training and development needs or personal circumstances which could be contributing to the poor performance. Appropriate solutions will be discussed with individuals and targets may be given together with timescales for improvement. The Manager will make notes of any discussion, confirming what was agreed. A copy of these notes will be kept on the employee’s file for future reference if required.

Where there is satisfactory improvement, the matter will consider to be resolved and no further action taken. Please refer to the Informal Meeting Document (Contact the HR Department for a copy of this document), which can be used as a template to support and document such discussions.

Disabilities

Consideration will be given to whether poor performance may be related to a disability and if so, whether there are reasonable adjustments that could be made to the employee’s working arrangements, including the reviewing of duties where possible or providing additional equipment. This can be achieved through meaningful discussions with the employee themselves and / or a referral to Occupational Health to advise on any reasonable adjustments.

Formal Capability Process

The formal capability process may be applied if:

Targets set and agreed at an informal meeting have not been met.
Targets set and agreed at an informal meeting have been met, but the level of improvement and performance required has not been sustained.
There has been a significant failure in performance which justifies commencement of the formal process without any previous informal warning.

The formal process consists of 3 stages. Employees will normally enter this process at Stage 1 however the process can be implemented at any stage depending on the relevant circumstances including the level of the poor performance, the nature of the role and the performance issues in question.

Notification of Capability Hearings and Outcomes

If Wilson Vale Catering considers that formal action is appropriate, the employee will be notified in writing of the concerns over performance, the reasons for those concerns and the likely outcome if Wilson Vale Catering decides after the hearing that the employee’s performance has been unsatisfactory.

Where appropriate this will be accompanied by:

A summary of the relevant information gathered as part of the informal process.
A copy of any relevant documents which will be used at the capability hearing.
A copy of any relevant witness statements, except where the witness’s identity is to be kept confidential, in which case Wilson Vale Catering will give the employee as much information as possible while maintaining confidentiality.

This written notice will include details of the date, time, and place of the capability hearing. The hearing will be held as soon as possible, but employees will be given a reasonable amount of time to prepare their case based on the information provided. Wilson Vale Catering will inform an employee in writing of any decision following a capability hearing and the reasons for this as soon as reasonably practicable.

Right to be Accompanied

Any employee asked to attend a formal capability hearing has the right to be represented by a work colleague or a Trade Union representative.

The employee must inform the hearing officer who the representative is in sufficient time prior to the hearing. If the representative is unavailable at the time a hearing is scheduled and will not be available for more than three working days, the employee may be requested to choose another representative.

A representative may make representations, ask questions, and sum up an employee’s case but cannot directly answer questions on an employee’s behalf. The employee may confer privately with their representative at any time during the hearing.

In instances where an employee has a disability, reasonable adjustments can be made including allowing someone else to attend such as a support worker or someone with a knowledge of the disability and its affects.

Rearranging and Adjourning Hearings

If the employee or representative cannot attend a hearing, the employee should inform the Manager conducting the hearing immediately with a view to rearranging the hearing for a mutually agreeable time and date in the near future. Employees must make every effort to attend a scheduled hearing and failure to attend without good reason may be treated as misconduct and managed under Wilson Vale Catering’s Disciplinary process. If the employee fails to attend without good reason or is persistently unable to attend (for example for health reasons) Wilson Vale Catering may need to make a decision based on the available evidence including any written representations the employee may have made.

A hearing may be adjourned if Wilson Vale Catering needs to gather any further information or give consideration to matters discussed at the hearing including if it needs to speak to relevant witnesses identified by the employee. The employee will be given a reasonable opportunity to consider any new information obtained before the hearing is reconvened.

Monitoring and Review

Performance will be monitored throughout the formal process, and review meeting(s) will be held with an employee after a reasonable and agreed period of time to allow an opportunity to demonstrate an improvement, following a Stage 1 or Stage 2 meeting.

If the employee has reached an acceptable level of performance the Manager will normally remove them from the capability process. Alternatively, the Manager may extend the review period where there has been some improvement and believes that the required standards will be reached in the very near future.

If standards have not been achieved the decision may be taken to escalate the matter to the next stage of the capability process.

Notes will be taken at each stage of the formal process and kept on employee’s file. Please refer to the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) template for further guidance.

Stage 1 Capability Hearing – First Written Warning

If, following a Stage 1 hearing, the employees’ performance is considered unsatisfactory, the appointed hearing Manager may decide to issue a first written warning. The warning will confirm:

• The reason for the warning.

• The areas in which the employee has failed to meet the required performance standards.

• The improvement that is expected.

• Any measures such as additional training or supervision which will be taken with a view to improving performance.

• The timescales for improvement.

• Consequences of a continued failure to improve or further evidence of poor performance.

• The period for which the warning will remain in place. This will usually be for six months from the end of the review period; however, it may be longer or shorter as appropriate. After the active period the warning will remain permanently on the employees file but will be disregarded in deciding the outcome of any future capability proceedings.

Stage 2 Capability Hearing – Final Written Warning

If poor performance is sufficiently serious or there is still no improvement in job performance or there is further evidence of poor performance within the review period set at a Stage 1 hearing, then a manager may hold a Stage 2 hearing. Following this hearing the appointed hearing Manager may decide to issue a final written warning. The warning, as before, will confirm:

The reason for the warning.
The areas in which the employee has failed to meet the required performance standards.
The improvement that is expected.
Any measures such as additional training or supervision which will be taken with a view to improving performance.
The timescales for improvement.
Consequences of a continued failure to improve or further evidence of poor performance.
The period for which the warning will remain in place. This will usually be for twelve months from the end of the review period; however, it may be longer or shorter as appropriate. After the active period the warning will remain permanently on the employees file but will be disregarded in deciding the outcome of any future capability proceedings.

At this stage the Manager may wish to consider looking at alternative opportunities that may be closer to their level of capability if appropriate that could be supported through redeployment or demotion. Please discuss with the HR Department if this is being considered.

Stage 3 Capability Hearing – Dismissal or Redeployment / Demotion

If there is still no improvement in job performance or there is further evidence of poor performance during the review period set during the Stage 2 meeting or the employees’ performance has been grossly negligent to justify dismissal without the need for a warning, a Stage 3 hearing may be held. The hearing will normally be conducted by an independent Manager (i.e. someone other than the Manager who conducted the previous stages of this process).

If, after careful consideration of all the facts, it is decided that the employee’s performance is unsatisfactory Wilson Vale Catering may dismiss them or, if practical and appropriate, redeploy them to a suitable alternative or demoted role that may be closer to their level of capability. The employee will be informed in writing of the decision and given reasons for this decision. If the employee is dismissed under this policy they will usually be dismissed on notice unless their performance has been so negligent as to amount to gross misconduct, in which case Wilson Vale Catering may dismiss the employee without notice. The employee’s employment will terminate on the date specified in writing.

Where an employee raises a grievance during the capability process, Wilson Vale Catering may decide to temporarily suspend the capability process to deal with the grievance. Where the grievance and capability cases are related, it may be appropriate to deal with all the issues concurrently.

Appeal Process

Employees have the right of one appeal, against a decision to dismiss or to impose a warning resulting from the formal capability process. Any appeal must be made in writing, stating the full grounds for the appeal, within five working days of receipt of the written decision from the capability hearing or as soon as is practicable.

Appeals should always be heard by those who are independent of the capability process and decisions and where practicable this will be a level of employee senior to the capability hearing Manager. Considerable care must be taken to review the earlier formal action without pre-judgement of any outcome. The employee will be notified of the date of the appeal hearing with this hearing taking place as early as reasonably possible.

Written notice of the time, date and location for the appeal hearing will be provided to the employee by the appeal hearing officer. The decision of the appeal hearing will be communicated in writing as soon as is reasonably practicable, taking into account that the case may require additional investigation.

The appeal officer hearing the appeal may decide to:

Confirm the formal capability decision.
Reduce the formal capability decision to a lower level.
Rescind the formal capability decision.

The appeal officer may not increase the capability penalty on appeal. The outcome of the appeal is the final stage of this process, and the employee will have no further right of appeal.

If an employee has been dismissed and lodges an appeal, they will not be entitled to payment during the period from dismissal to the appeal hearing and will not be employed during this period.

However, if the appeal is successful and the employee is reinstated, employment rights will be continuous from the original date of dismissal and any loss of salary will be payable.

Confidentiality

Wilson Vale Catering aims to deal with capability matters sensitively and with due respect for the privacy of all individuals involved. All employees must treat as confidential any information communicated to them in connection with a matter which is subject to this capability process.

The employee and any companion or witness must not make electronic recordings of any meetings or hearings conducted under this process.

The employee will usually be told the names of any witnesses whose evidence is relevant to the capability hearing, unless Wilson Vale Catering believe that a witness’s identity should remain confidential.