Right to be accompanied

A statutory backstop that means you should never have to face a formal disciplinary or grievance hearing entirely on your own.

Who can I bring as my companion?

A fellow worker, a trade union representative, or a trade union official — including one from a union you belong to even if it is not recognised by your employer, provided the official has been certified by their union as competent to accompany workers. Your employer is not obliged to allow a family member, friend, or lawyer under this specific statutory right, though some employers choose to be more flexible.

Does the right apply to any meeting with my manager?

No. It applies specifically to disciplinary hearings that could result in a formal warning, other action, or dismissal, and to grievance hearings dealing with a formal complaint about a duty owed by the employer. Informal chats, return-to-work interviews, or performance reviews that are not part of a formal disciplinary or grievance process are not automatically covered.

What can my companion actually do at the hearing?

They can address the hearing to put your case, sum up your case, and respond on your behalf to any view expressed at the hearing. They can also confer with you during the hearing. What they cannot do is answer questions on your behalf, or address the hearing if you do not want them to — the right supports you, it does not hand your case over to someone else.

What happens if my chosen companion is not available on the scheduled date?

If your companion cannot attend at the time proposed, you can offer an alternative time that is reasonable and falls within five working days of the original date, and your employer must postpone the hearing to that time. This gives you a genuine chance to be accompanied, rather than losing the right because of a scheduling clash.

What can I do if my employer refuses to let me bring a companion?

You can complain to an employment tribunal. If the complaint succeeds, the tribunal can award compensation of up to two weeks' pay, subject to the statutory week's pay cap — currently £751 a week, making the maximum £1,502. Dismissing or subjecting a worker to detriment for exercising or seeking to exercise this right is also unlawful in its own right.

Does this right apply to workers, or only employees?

It applies to workers, a broader category than employees. This means some people who would not qualify for unfair dismissal protection because they are not employees — such as certain casual or agency workers, depending on the reality of their arrangement — can still be entitled to be accompanied at a formal disciplinary or grievance hearing.

Why this right exists separately from unfair dismissal

A formal disciplinary or grievance hearing can feel intimidating even when handled fairly — you are facing an employer with far more experience of the process than you have, often over something that could affect your job or your pay. The right to be accompanied is designed to level that up a little: a second person in the room who can help you make your case, take notes, and simply be present, so you are not navigating a formal process entirely alone.

It is a right in its own terms, not just good practice — if your employer refuses a reasonable request, or dismisses or penalises you for making one, that is a separate legal wrong you can complain about, regardless of whether the underlying disciplinary or grievance outcome was otherwise fair.

What the right covers, step by step

• A reasonable request.
• You must ask, and the request must be reasonable — naming a specific, appropriate companion is generally enough.
• Formal disciplinary or grievance hearings only.
• Informal conversations and general performance discussions are not automatically covered.
• The companion's role.
• Putting your case, summing up, and responding to views raised — but not answering questions for you.
• Postponement if needed.
• If your companion cannot attend, you can propose an alternative date within five working days, and the employer must agree to it.

An employee is invited to a disciplinary hearing over an allegation of poor timekeeping and asks to bring a colleague from another team as her companion. Her manager refuses, saying only someone from her own department can attend, and proceeds with the hearing without a companion present.

Maximum award (2 weeks)

Separate from disciplinary outcome

The refusal is unlawful — there is no requirement that a companion come from the same department. She can bring a tribunal complaint about the breach itself, seeking up to two weeks' pay, entirely separately from whatever happens with the disciplinary allegation itself.

ACAS Code of Practice

Disciplinary Procedure

Employment Relations Act 1999, ss.10-13

ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures

Right to Be Accompanied — Employment Tribunal Glossary

What the right to be accompanied at a disciplinary or grievance hearing covers, who can act as a companion, and what happens if your employer refuses.