Tutorial: Gross Misconduct

The high-stakes scenario: suspected theft (FIN-01 — Theft, fraud or misappropriation). Gross misconduct differs from the minor flow in four ways: an investigation is mandatory, a precautionary suspension is usually prudent, the hearing is mandatory, and the sanction may be summary dismissal — which is exactly why the procedure must be airtight. Most dismissals lost at the NLC are lost on procedure.

1. Report and triage

As in the minor tutorial: report the incident, take under review, triage to FIN-01. The class snapshot is Gross Misconduct, the full procedure applies, and the offence is flagged restricted visibility — the case is invisible to the respondent's line manager and notifications are suppressed per the matrix.

2. Precautionary suspension (Process tab)

If the employee's presence risks evidence, colleagues or funds:

1. Process tab → Suspension → Apply, pick Precautionary Suspension (Full Pay).
2. The system records the dated instance, marks the employee suspended (visible to Leave — leave approval is blocked while active), optionally pauses attendance capture (no absence penalties accrue) and revokes portal access if the type says so.

Remember what suspension is: a neutral measure, not a punishment, not a verdict. It has a maximum duration with a review prompt, and it will auto-lift the instant the case closes — nobody stays suspended by oversight.

3. Investigation (Process tab)

1. Appoint an investigator with terms of reference. The investigator cannot be a party to the case — and is automatically barred from the later hearing panel.
2. The investigator gathers evidence onto the case (each item typed and described) and witness statements (witnesses need not be employees).
3. Record Findings — findings and a recommendation, timestamped.

Disclose to the respondent every evidence item the panel will rely on — undisclosed evidence is flagged in red on the case pack.

4. Query and response

Issue the query as usual. For gross misconduct the stakes make the wording matter: the offence definition (printed verbatim) plus allegations that are specific — dates, amounts, documents. The employee responds on the portal within the working-day deadline; a lapse is minuted, never assumed.

5. The hearing (Process tab)

This is where cases are won or lost. The system holds your hand:

Scheduling.

1. Hearing → Schedule; pick the panel. The conflict screen runs immediately and tells you, by name and reason, who cannot sit: "K. Mensah cannot sit — is the complainant", "A. Osei — conducted the investigation", "B. Addo — is the respondent's direct supervisor". Quorum is then checked after exclusions; if it fails, you're told to substitute or use another panel — the sitting cannot be confirmed.
2. Date/time must respect the minimum notice window (parameters, default 2 days) — earlier dates are refused.
3. On scheduling: the invitation is served to the portal with the sitting details and the locked right-to-be-accompanied wording, and the case moves to Hearing.

Recording the sitting (Record Sitting):

• Attendance register — present / absent / apology per person.
• Representation status — accompanied, declined, waived, or requested-but-refused. That last one lights up red everywhere: a refused request for accompaniment is the single most common procedural defect in dismissal cases.
• Minutes — what was put, what was answered.
• Votes — each voting member: uphold / not uphold / abstain, with dissent notes minuted.
• Panel recommendation, then tick Conclude — the case moves to Decision only if quorum was present, representation is recorded and minutes are attached. Otherwise the gate tells you what's missing.

6. Decision and summary dismissal

Record a finding on every allegation. With theft upheld and the hearing concluded, Issue Sanction → Summary Dismissal is now — and only now — reachable:

A terminal (or hearing-required) sanction is refused unless a concluded hearing is on the case. There is no configuration, no role and no shortcut around this.

On issue: the dismissal letter renders (notice treatment summary — no notice; separation reason Summary Dismissal), the appeal window opens, and if the offence was marked externally reportable you record the regulator/insurer reference on the case.

7. Appeal, closure, aftermath

The employee may appeal — for dismissal cases assume they will, and be glad of it: an internally-decided appeal is far cheaper than the NLC. On closure the suspension auto-lifts (moot after dismissal, automatic regardless), and the Case Pack gives you the complete bundle: chronology, allegations and findings, evidence index with disclosure proof, query and response as served, investigation, hearing with attendance/representation/minutes/votes, the letter, the appeal.

Gross-misconduct checklist

• [ ] Offence triaged on the incident date's catalogue; restricted visibility respected
• [ ] Suspension (if any) applied through the module — never verbally
• [ ] Investigator appointed with ToR; findings submitted; witnesses recorded
• [ ] All relied-on evidence disclosed to the respondent
• [ ] Query served and answered (or lapse minuted)
• [ ] Panel passed the conflict screen; notice window respected
• [ ] Representation status recorded — refusal shows red for a reason
• [ ] Minutes and votes on file; hearing concluded
• [ ] Finding on every allegation before the sanction
• [ ] Letter served; acknowledgement (or refusal) captured
• [ ] Appeal window respected before closure