Key Concepts
Learn these eight ideas and every screen in the module makes sense.
1. Case vs Sanction
The Case is the process — the file that moves through reporting, triage, query, decision. The Sanction is the outcome imposed at the end (written warning, suspension without pay, dismissal). The word "disciplinary action" is deliberately not used for either, because it blurs the two.
2. The three-tier response model
Forcing every timesheet lapse through a full case is how discipline modules die. AstraHR has three tiers:
| Tier | Instrument | Opens a case? | Counts toward escalation? | Appealable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | System reminder / nudge | No | No | No |
| 1 | Counselling note | No — a lightweight record | Yes, as proof of prior notice | No — nothing was imposed |
| 2 | Formal case | Yes | Yes | Yes |
A tier-1 counselling note is what other systems miscall a "verbal warning". A verbal warning is a contradiction — to be useful later it must be written down, and once written it is a record. AstraHR names it honestly.
3. The case lifecycle
Every case is always in exactly one state — the coloured chip at the top of the case workspace shows which. Moves between states are called transitions, and each transition has a gate: a condition the server checks before letting the case move. If a gate fails you are told exactly why, and nothing changes.
How to read the diagram below: follow the top row left to right — that is the normal path of an everyday case (report → review → query → response → decision). Boxes off the main row are the exits and detours: Dismissed (no case to answer), Hearing (mandatory for serious cases), Sanction Issued and the Appeal loop in blue. Every case ends in the green CLOSED box. Don't try to memorise the arrows — the workspace only ever offers you the legal moves; section 4 tells you what to actually do at each stop.
The most important gates, in plain words — these are the rules that make the record defensible, so the system will not let you skip them:
| To reach… | The system demands… |
|---|---|
| Under Review | A named respondent; anonymous reports need a named HR validator |
| Query Issued | Offence classified, at least one allegation, evidence where the offence requires it |
| Response Received | A response on file, or the lapsed deadline minuted with a timestamp (a lapse is never an admission); a verbal response must be verified by the employee |
| Decision | For hearing-mandatory classes: a concluded hearing with quorum, attendance, representation status and minutes |
| Sanction Issued | Every allegation carries a finding; at least one upheld; ladder floors/ceilings respected; overrides justified in writing |
| Closed | No active suspension (auto-lifts), no undetermined appeal, appeal window elapsed or waived |
4. Who does what at each stage
The workspace never shows you an illegal move: the buttons across the top of a case are exactly the transitions the case allows right now, and hovering any of them shows a plain-words explanation of what it does. Use this section as the companion — for each state the case can be in: what just happened, what you do next, and what the employee sees and does on their portal at the same moment.
| The case says… | What you do next | The employee, on their portal |
|---|---|---|
| Draft (auto-raised from attendance) | Open it, read the attached attendance evidence. Real issue → Advance to Reported. Noise → Dismiss Draft — nothing counts against anyone | Sees nothing — a draft is invisible to the employee |
| Reported | Take Under Review. The case needs a named respondent; an anonymous report needs a named HR validator first | Nothing yet |
| Under Review | Triage — pick the offence (the system shows the recommended sanction for this occurrence). Then add at least one allegation (the specific charge), attach evidence, and Disclose each item. Serious matter? Use the Process tab first: apply a precautionary suspension and/or appoint an investigator. When the file is ready → Issue Query | Notified only when the query is served — nothing leaks while you prepare (restricted cases suppress notifications entirely) |
| Query Issued | Wait for the deadline to run. The employee answered in person instead? Record Response (they must verify your transcription). Deadline passed in silence? Minute Lapsed Deadline — never treat silence as guilt | Reads the query and every disclosed evidence item, and responds in their own words by the working-day deadline. Verifies any response HR transcribed for them |
| Response Received | Read the response honestly — it may end the matter. Minor case → Record Decision. Hearing-mandatory class (or you judge one is needed) → Process tab → Schedule the hearing (the conflict check names who cannot sit; the date respects the notice window) | Waits; receives the hearing invitation if one is convened |
| Hearing | Hold the sitting: record attendance, representation (a requested-and-refused companion is flagged red — don't be that case), minutes and votes → Record Sitting and conclude. Then Record Decision | Attends, with a companion or union rep if they wish. May respond to the evidence in person |
| Decision | Give every allegation a finding. Anything upheld → Issue Sanction — the ladder recommendation is pre-selected; changing it needs a written justification. Nothing upheld → Close (No Sanction) | Waits for the outcome |
| Sanction Issued | The letter is served on the portal automatically. Watch for the acknowledgement; a refusal is recorded too. Payroll-affecting sanctions raise the deduction instruction on their own | Acknowledges the sanction letter (or refuses — that is recorded, not forced). The appeal window opens |
| Appeal Window | Nothing — unless an appeal arrives, in which case the appeal authority (never the issuer) opens the Appeal tab → Determine Appeal. Once the window elapses, the appeal is decided, or the employee waives in writing → Close Case | May lodge an appeal, with grounds and a written submission, any time inside the window |
| Closed / Dismissed | Nothing — the case is read-only forever. Case Pack produces the full NLC bundle any time | Sees the outcome in their history. A spent sanction drops out of occurrence counts automatically — no one has to remember |
What does "Disclose" mean? (the button on the Evidence tab)
Adding evidence puts it on your file; disclosing it releases that item to the employee on their portal, and stamps the date and time it happened. The principle behind it: the employee must see what the decision-maker saw, before the decision is made — otherwise they are answering a charge blind, and the decision is unfair no matter how right it is. That timestamp is your proof at the NLC that they saw it. Practical rule: disclose everything you intend to rely on before issuing the query; an undisclosed item on a decided case is counted as a defect on the dashboard.
The three moments people get wrong
- Skipping disclosure — evidence added but never disclosed, then relied on. The dashboard counts these as defects.
- Treating silence as admission — the deadline lapsing is minuted as a lapse; the case then proceeds on the evidence, not on the silence.
- Refusing a companion — the single most common procedural defect at the NLC. If the employee asks to bring someone, the answer is yes.
5. Effective-dated configuration
A case is judged by the configuration in force on its incident date, not today's. If you tighten a policy in March, a January case still runs under January's rules — otherwise every closed case becomes arguable. That is why offences, sanction types and authority rules carry Effective from / Effective to dates, and why the case snapshots its offence class, procedure and recommendation at triage.
6. Occurrences and the sanction ladder
Each offence carries a ladder: the recommended sanction for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd… upheld occurrence. At triage the system counts the respondent's prior upheld, unspent occurrences of the same offence and pre-selects the right rung. Departing from the recommendation requires a written justification, and configured floors/ceilings are enforced. Severity never decreases down a ladder.
Spent records don't count. When a sanction's validity elapses (e.g. a written warning after 12 months), a nightly job marks it spent: still on the trail forever, but excluded from occurrence counting. Closure starts the clock; it does not end the record.
7. Suspension is not a sanction
Precautionary suspension is a neutral measure while a case runs — it may span review, query and hearing, it blocks leave approval, and it auto-lifts the moment the case closes. An SME forgetting to reinstate someone is a real liability; the system makes it impossible.
8. Roles and the authority matrix
Business roles (Line Manager, HR Officer, HR Manager, Managing Director, CEO) carry a seniority order. The authority matrix says, per sanction: who may issue, who must approve, and who hears the appeal — and the appeal authority must sit strictly above the issuer. Two absolutes hold regardless of configuration: the issuer never determines the appeal against their own decision, and dismissal is never reachable without a concluded hearing.
9. The audit trail is the case
Every transition, query, disclosure, finding, sanction, acknowledgement (or refusal), lapse and note is appended to the case's event log with actor, timestamp and reason. There is no code path that edits or deletes an entry. The Case Pack's chronology is this log — which is why it stands up at the NLC.
Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Allegation | One specific factual assertion on a case; each carries its own finding |
| Appeal window | Working days after a sanction during which the employee may appeal |
| Case reference | The immutable number (e.g. DC/2026/0007) minted when a case is created |
| Disclosure | Releasing an evidence item to the respondent; timestamped to prove they saw what the decision-maker saw |
| Finding | The adjudication of one allegation: Upheld, Not Upheld, Partially Upheld, Withdrawn, or No Finding |
| Grievance | An employee's complaint to the organisation; rides the same case machinery with no sanction path |
| Lapse | A response deadline passing with no response — minuted with a timestamp, never treated as an admission |
| Occurrence | Which upheld repetition of an offence this case is, for the respondent |
| Quorum | Minimum voting panel members who must be eligible (after conflict exclusions) and present |
| Restricted | Case visibility that excludes even the respondent's line manager |
| Spent | A sanction whose validity has elapsed — on the record, out of the counts |
| Working days | Calendar days minus weekends and the public-holiday calendar; all deadlines use them |