Template

Disciplinary meeting template

A formal meeting about a serious conduct or performance concern: set out the concern and the evidence, hear the employee's side fully, and decide the outcome afterwards — following your written policy.

45 minutesFor The manager running it, an HR representative or note-taker, the employee, and anyone they are entitled to bringAgenda room
Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

  1. Why we are here and how this works5 min
    • Do you understand the concern and the process?
  2. The concern and the evidence10 min
    • What happened, and what is the evidence?
  3. Your side18 min
    • What would you like us to know?
    • Is there anything we have not considered?
  4. Anything else to look into7 min
    • Is there anyone else we should speak to, or anything else to check?
  5. What happens next5 min
    • When will you hear the decision, and how can you appeal?

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

Concern. Three missed client deadlines in October without telling the team.

Evidence. The client's emails and the project tracker.

Employee's side. Caring for a parent; did not feel able to say so.

Next. Decision in writing by Friday; support options from HR discussed separately.

Running it well

Ways to change it

Performance, not conductMany policies start with an informal conversation and an improvement plan before any formal step.
AppealA different, more senior manager hears it, with the same structure.

When to skip it. For a first, minor issue — a private, informal conversation is usually the right first step.

Questions

What happens in a disciplinary meeting?

The employer explains the concern and the evidence, the employee responds and can raise anything relevant, and the employer later decides and confirms the outcome in writing, with the right to appeal.

Can an employee bring someone to a disciplinary meeting?

In many countries, yes — for example, UK law gives workers the right to be accompanied by a colleague or trade union representative at a disciplinary hearing. Check the law and your policy where you are.

Should the decision be made in the meeting?

Usually not. Most good practice is to adjourn, consider what the employee said, and confirm the decision in writing.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

Return-to-work meetingA short, supportive conversation when someone comes back after time off — illness, parental leave, a long break — to catch them up and agree what would help them settle back in.Promotion conversationA manager and an employee talk honestly about the next level: what it requires, where they already show it, what is missing, and a realistic plan and timeline.Stay interviewAsk a valued person, while they are still happy enough to stay, what keeps them, what might pull them away, and what would make their work better — and then act on it.Team building sessionTime set aside for a team to get to know each other as people and see how they work together — useful when new people join, teams merge, or things feel strained.New manager onboardingThe first proper conversation with someone newly managing a team: what is expected of them, what the team is like, the first decisions they face, and who will support them.Hiring intake meetingBefore a job is advertised, the recruiter and the hiring manager agree what the person will actually do, what they must already be able to do, how they will be assessed, and the timeline.Phone screenA short first call with a candidate: check the basics fit both ways — the role, the pay, the timing, the must-have skills — before anybody spends hours on interviews.Panel interviewSeveral interviewers meet one candidate together, each covering a different part of the job, so the candidate tells their story once and the panel sees the same answers.

All 162 templates →

Try Meetful

Meetings that take their own notes

Free video meetings in the browser: every line of the transcript under the name of who said it, and the summary and action items when you hang up. Nothing to install — guests just open the link.

Try Meetful freeSee what it does