Disciplinary & Grievance Solicitor London Suspension, Investigation & Hearing Advice
A suspension or disciplinary invitation usually means your employer is already building a case. Your income, your career and your reputation may all be at risk, and the window to act is shorter than most people realise. There are often steps that can be taken before the process becomes formal, but they narrow quickly. Take advice early.
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BEFORE THE DISMISSAL EVEN HAPPENS…
The Moment You Are Suspended, the Clock Is Already Running
A suspension or disciplinary invitation usually means your employer is building a case. Evidence is being gathered, witnesses may be spoken to, and decisions about your future may already be forming before you have had a proper chance to respond. Taking the wrong step at this stage, or doing nothing at all, can make it much harder to protect your position once the formal process is underway.
But there may also be opportunities. Before a disciplinary process hardens, there can be room to make pre-emptive moves that improve your negotiating position, open the door to a negotiated exit, or reframe what is happening in your favour. That window can close quickly once decisions are made.
David will tell you quickly where you stand, what leverage you have, and what to do next, so you are not simply waiting to see what your employer decides.
35 Years Giving Tactical Advice to People Facing Disciplinary Action
David Greenhalgh has advised employees and senior executives facing allegations, suspension, investigations and disciplinary proceedings for 35 years. He understands that the threat of losing your job, your income, your status and potentially your career in a regulated profession is not just a legal problem. It is an urgent, personal one.
His advice is tactical, not just procedural. David knows what employers and their lawyers do at each stage, because he has advised on both sides of these situations throughout his career. That experience shapes every recommendation he makes, including when to fight, when to negotiate, and how to secure the best possible outcome when the writing appears to be on the wall.
Missed opportunities early in a disciplinary process can seriously weaken your position. The earlier you take advice, the more I can do.
What David can secure for you
A clear tactical read from the start
Before anything else, David gives you an honest assessment of the allegations against you, the strength of your position, and the best tactical approach, so you are making informed decisions rather than reactive ones.
Pre-emptive action before the process hardens
Where there is room to act before a formal process gets underway, David identifies it. Early intervention can improve your leverage and open the door to a negotiated outcome that may not be available later.
Procedural failures identified and used
Employers make procedural mistakes: the wrong person appointed as decision-maker, evidence withheld, the ACAS Code not followed. David spots them and uses them as leverage, including the potential for a 25% uplift on any tribunal award where an employer has unreasonably failed to comply.
Hearing preparation and strategy
David prepares you for the hearing itself, including your response to each allegation, which documents to request, which witnesses to name, and how to conduct yourself during the meeting.
A negotiated exit on strong terms
Where the working relationship cannot continue, or the facts are against you, David negotiates an exit that reflects your leverage. That may include enhanced pay, an agreed reference and confidentiality terms. Exit terms can still be achievable even where you accept some wrongdoing.
Grievance strategy
Where you have your own complaints about how you have been treated, David advises on whether and how to raise a grievance, and how to time it to protect and strengthen your position.
Appeal advice
Where the outcome of a hearing is one you want to challenge, David advises on whether to appeal, how to frame it, and what a well-drafted appeal letter can achieve in terms of forcing your employer to reconsider.
Unfair dismissal and discrimination claims
Where a dismissal follows, David assesses and pursues any unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal or discrimination claims, including where the disciplinary process itself was used as a cover for something else.
Recent Grievance Outcomes
Case studies are anonymised to protect client confidentiality. Past outcomes are not a guarantee of future results.
Send David your details for a same-day response.
Fill in the form below and David will get back to you the same day. If you have received a disciplinary letter, you can include the key details and David will review them before calling you back. Everything you share is confidential.
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Speak to David directly.
If a hearing is imminent or you have just received a disciplinary letter, a call is the fastest way to get a straight answer.
020 3603 2177- Confidential same-day review of your situation
From First Call to Resolution
Initial call
David gets clear on the allegations, what stage the process has reached, and how urgent the situation is.
Response within hoursReview and strategy
David reviews the documents you have been given, identifies the procedural position, and agrees a tactical approach with you.
Same dayAction
Pre-emptive steps where available, hearing preparation, written representations, grievance advice, or opening negotiations with your employer.
DaysResolution
A successful hearing outcome, a negotiated exit on strong terms, an appeal, or a tribunal claim, whichever route best protects you.
ResolvedWhat Clients Say About Working With David
David was very good and made it very easy for me to understand. My case was handled with professionalism and responding to me on time was excellent. Would definitely recommend his company
Was recommended. Fantastic help and advice, always responded in a timely manner and supported and advised during a difficult time. Thank you!
Outstanding from start to finish. Extremely responsive and dedicated to providing personalised, thoughtful counsel tailored to my needs. David’s approach ensured clarity and a shared understanding throughout. Always candid and forthright, I felt confident I was receiving expert, high-quality, well-considered advice. Highest recommendation!
I have worked with David for many many years and have recommended him to many senior executives needing advice on their settlement agreements. The best employment lawyer in London, I choose him every single time and can't recommend him enough.
Disciplinary and grievance, answered
The questions David is asked most often before clients pick up the phone.
View full FAQ →Take legal advice immediately, before you respond in writing, contact witnesses, or agree to any meeting dates. There are steps that can be taken early in a disciplinary process that may not be available once things are underway. There are also mistakes at this stage that can cause real damage. Start making detailed notes of everything relevant while it is fresh, and think carefully about which documents or emails support your position and how to preserve access to them.
The statutory right to be accompanied at a disciplinary or grievance hearing under section 10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999 covers a trade union representative or a work colleague, not a solicitor. Some employers will agree to a solicitor attending, particularly in serious cases, and it is worth requesting where the circumstances justify it. Even where a solicitor cannot attend the hearing itself, David can prepare you fully and advise on strategy throughout.
The ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures is not legally binding, but employment tribunals are required to take it into account. Where an employer has unreasonably failed to follow it, a tribunal can uplift any compensation award by up to 25%. The same applies in reverse. If you unreasonably fail to follow the Code, for example by not raising a grievance before bringing a claim, your own award can be reduced by up to 25%. Knowing what the Code requires matters on both sides.
Misconduct typically leads to a warning, although repeated or more serious misconduct can escalate. Gross misconduct is conduct serious enough to justify summary dismissal without notice pay. Common examples include theft, fraud, violence, serious insubordination and significant breaches of confidentiality. The distinction matters because it determines whether notice pay is owed and how strong any unfair dismissal claim may be. Employers sometimes categorise conduct as gross misconduct when it does not meet that threshold, and that categorisation can be challenged.
Often, yes. Whether you did something wrong and what exit terms you can secure are not the same question. Even where conduct is accepted, an employer may still have made procedural errors that create leverage, or may prefer to resolve matters quickly and quietly rather than face a contested hearing or tribunal claim. David regularly advises on securing negotiated exits in exactly these circumstances.
A grievance is a formal complaint about how you have been treated at work. Whether to raise one, and when, is a tactical decision that depends on your specific situation. Raising a grievance at the right time can strengthen your position, provide important evidence for any later claim, and put your employer on notice of your complaints. Raising it at the wrong time, or in the wrong way, can complicate matters. David advises on whether to raise a grievance as part of the overall strategy for your situation.