e.
in all disciplinary cases the officer has the right of appeal against the decision. In the majority of cases of diamissal the officer has the right of appeal to the Civil Service Appeal Board (see Code paragraphs 10120-10149) and in other cases (including dismissal where the officer is ineligible to appeal to the Civil Service Appeal Board) he has the right of appeal to the permanent head of the department.
6. A criminal conviction may lead to disciplinary action. The main consideration which the person exercising disciplinary powers will take into account in deciding what action is appropriate is whether the offence impairs the business of the Department or of the Civil Service eg because the offence makes the officer unsuitable for his or her type of work or unacceptable to colleagues or damages the reputation of the Department or the Civil Service. The officer will be given the opportunity to make representations against any action proposed, and may be assisted in this by his trade union representative.
SUSPENSION FROM DUTY
7. An officer may at any time be suspended from duty if, in the opinion of the person exercising disciplinary powers, that course is a necessary precaution in the public interest pending criminal or disciplinary investigations, and no alternative course eg transfer to other duties is appropriate. Suspension in these circumstances (as distinct from suspension as a disciplinary penalty, see Code paragraph 8d) does not imply any decision about the case. An officer's pay in respect of any period of suspension may be withheld wholly or in part so long as such suspension continues, if the person exercising disciplinary powers so decides. On the termination of the period of suspension, should disciplinary proceedings result in a penalty, any withheld pay in respect of the suspension will be forfeited wholly or in part if the person exercising disciplinary powers so determines after consideration of all the circumstances of the case. Any withheld pay which it is decided will not be forfeited must then be paid to the officer. Should the officer be cleared of all charges the whole of the withheld pay must be paid to him, except that it should be abated to the extent of any allowance or unemployment or other National Insurance Benefit (such as sickness benefit) or supplementary benefit which the officer received while suspended. The procedures set out in this paragraph do not affect the practice whereby a line manager may send an officer home if the circumstances seem to him to require this: unless this is for a very brief period, consideration should be given by the person exercising
disciplinary powers to the need for formal suspension.
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