During the course of their employment with a training practice a Registrar may feel aggrieved. It is expected that the GP Trainer will deal with the majority of such problems. The formal procedure should only be used when necessary and should not be trivialised by hasty referrals and excessive use.

The objectives for the procedure are to:

1. Provide Registrars, who feel they have a grievance, with a procedure for pursuing it in a

systematic way

2. Prevent conflict from interfering with the provision of Health Care within the Practice
3. Enable grievances to be resolved as early and as speedily as possible
4. Resolve the matter to the mutual satisfaction of the employee and the Practice

This procedure does not apply to settling of differences relating to disciplinary matters.

If a grievance arises, the following will apply:

1. In the first instance, the Registrar shall discuss the grievance with the GP Trainer or the

Practice Manager who shall normally respond within 3 working days

2. If the grievance remains unresolved, the Registrar will discuss the matter with the doctor in

The decision of the doctor in charge/senior partner will be final and will conclude the internal procedure.

At each of the 2 stages, the Registrar may choose to be accompanied by a work colleague or a friend. The friend should not be a Solicitor.

A record of the grievance and subsequent decision will be held on file for future reference and inspection at practice visits.

External Procedure (if internal procedure fails to resolve the situation)

Stage 1

1. Course Organiser
2. Adviser/Deputy or director (in stages)

Stage 2

Referral to Standing Committee

Notes: The Registrar or Training Practice is at liberty to see advice from their trade union or defence society. In emergencies or extreme cases, a Registrar may be removed from a Practice. Rarely, there may be issues that are best addressed by the national regulations.

Preamble

Disciplinary rules and procedures are necessary for promoting fairness and order in the treatment of individuals. They also assist a Practice to operate effectively. Rules are set standards of conduct and performance at work; procedures help to ensure that standards are adhered to and provide a fair method of dealing with alleged failures to observe them.

Disciplinary procedures should not be viewed, primarily, as a means of imposing sanctions. They should be designed to emphasise and encourage improvements in individual conduct.

Individuals will be informed of complaints against them and be given an opportunity to state their case before decisions are reached.

They have a right to be accompanied by a colleague at all stages in the procedure; also the Trainer should be accompanied if they wish.

Any verbal or written warning given under this procedure will be recorded on the individuals personnel file and will be deemed to have lapsed after one year, subject to satisfactory conduct. In the case of a final written warning, the will remain on the individuals personnel file for a period of 2 years.

If there is thought to be cause for action under this disciplinary procedure, you may be asked to attend to discuss the matter with your Trainer. The proceedings will not be recorded. It is hoped that this informal counselling will resolve any possible difficulties and lead to the required improvement.

If, following Stage 1, there is continued cause for concern or if it is considered appropriate to invoke the procedure at this stage, there will be a meeting with the Trainer.

If, following this, disciplinary action is deemed appropriate a verbal warning will be given The warning will state the nature of the misconduct, specify the disciplinary action being taken, indicate the likely consequences of committing misconduct again and specify, if appropriate, the period of time given for improvement. The Trainer should inform the appropriate person of the necessity for a verbal warning.

If, following Stage 2, there is continued cause for concern, a formal warning will be given by the Trainer stating the nature of the complaint and that if no improvement is forthcoming it may result in your dismissal. The Postgraduate Dean of Medical and Dental Education for Wales will be informed that a written warning has been given.

If, following Stage 3, no improvement is forthcoming and the same or similar misconduct continues or give cause for concern a final written warning will be given by the Trainer, containing clear notice that a repeat of the misconduct will result in dismissal.

If, following Stage 4, the same or similar misconduct continues or gives cause for concern you will be dismissed.

At each stage of this procedure, other than the counselling stage a disciplinary interview will be convened. The Registrar concerned shall be notified of the time and date of the interview, the allegation and the right to be accompanied by a colleague.

At the interview, the alleged misconduct will be explained to the Registrar and he/she will be given the opportunity to present an explanation of events. If the Registrar admits misconduct, the Trainer may determine a remedial action, commensurate with the circumstances of the particular case.

If the Registrar does not admit the misconduct, the Trainer will consider the situation in the light of all the information available, including as appropriate, witness statements and relevant documentary and other evidence and make a decision or conduct further investigations as appropriate. If the Trainer is satisfied that the misconduct has occurred he/she may impose a penalty, commensurate with the circumstances of the particular case.

The employee must be notified, in writing and as a matter of urgency, of any penalty and the reasons for which it was imposed. As the same time, the Practice will advise the Registrar of any other sanctions, which it intends to take against the employee e.g. a bill for repairs to a damaged property.

Where circumstances permit, the right of appeal against disciplinary action at Stage 1 should be made to a Partner who has not been directly involved in the procedure. At Stage 4 and 5 the appeal should be made to the Director and the Standing Committee for Postgraduate Education for General Practice. Such appeals should be made within 5 working days of receipt of disciplinary action.

There are varying degrees of seriousness of misconduct, so this procedure may be commenced at any stage depending on the severity of the misconduct. A few examples are illustrative of gross misconduct, which would justify summary dismissal: theft, abuse of medicine, serious breach of confidentiality. In some circumstances where serious misconduct is thought to have occurred, the member of staff concerned may be suspended on full basic salary p ending an investigation and hearing.