How to discipline staff

I suspect a junior member of staff of stealing. I've heard it can be hard to fire people. What can I do to make sure I don't fall foul of the law?
MJ Read, London

You have not said how long your employee has been employed and whether he has a written contract of employment containing a disciplinary procedure.

If the employee has less than a year's service and there is no contractual disciplinary procedure to follow, it is, as a general rule, easier to dismiss him on grounds of misconduct because he has no right to claim unfair dismissal.

If he does have a contractual procedure, you will need to ensure you follow it prior to taking any dismissal decision.

Theft is a potential gross misconduct offence, which means you are generally entitled to dismiss the employee summarily - i.e. without notice or pay in lieu of notice.

If the employee has continuous employment of one year or more, you have to be able to show the dismissal was fair both in substance and in procedure.

This means you have to carry out an initial investigation and gather evidence to show, on the balance of probabilities, that it is more likely than not the employee is guilty of theft.

If you do manage to pull together sufficient evidence, you should then suspend the employee on pay whilst you carry out a fuller investigation.

If it appears there is still a case to answer, you should convene a disciplinary hearing on notice, giving the employee adequate opportunity to prepare and then present his case.

The chair of the hearing should be a different person to the investigating officer to avoid the possibility of bias.

You should not pre-judge the issue. The employee has a statutory right to be accompanied by a trade union official or fellow employee at any disciplinary hearing.

If, after hearing the employee and reviewing all the evidence, you are satisfied he is guilty of theft, you may be able to dismiss him summarily.

If the employee is dismissed, allow him a right of appeal to a higher authority. To be safe, you should always seek legal advice before carrying out any dismissal.

John Emmins, national chairman, Federation of Small Businesses

The opinions expressed are those of the author and are not held by the BBC unless specifically stated. The material is for general information only and does not constitute investment, tax, legal or other form of advice. You should not rely on this information to make (or refrain from making) any decisions. Always obtain independent, professional advice for your own particular situation.