My employee refuses to attend their disciplinary hearing. What now?

The answer Just Ask, HR gives

Concise Charlie — Direct, no fluff — the bottom line first.

Bottom line: you can proceed without them — after fair chances to attend. Don't rush it, don't stall it.

The ACAS Code expects you to give the employee the opportunity to attend and be accompanied. It does not give them a veto over the process.

Run it like this:

• Rearrange once. If they or their companion can't make the date, they have a statutory right to propose an alternative within 5 working days. Accept a reasonable alternative once.
• Ask why they're refusing. Anxiety, a grievance about the process, or ill health each need a different response. Put the question in writing.
• Offer alternatives: written submissions, a companion speaking for them, or a video hearing. Record every offer.
• Warn clearly, in writing: if they fail to attend the next hearing without good reason, it may be held in their absence and a decision made on the available evidence.
• Then decide on the evidence. Review their file, any written response, and witness statements. Decide as if they were in the room — not more harshly because they weren't.

Two or three refusals without good reason, properly documented, is enough for a tribunal to accept a decision in absence as fair. One refusal usually is not.

If the refusal is health-related, get occupational health advice before the final hearing. Deciding in the absence of someone signed off with work-related stress, without medical input, is where employers lose these cases.