Giles Rice, Nautilus liaison officer at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, explains what members should do regarding disciplinary procedures
Nautilus International (NI): What kind of disciplinaries do you commonly see?
Giles Rice (GR): There are quite a lot of things that the RFA considers an offence under the misconduct policy, from alcohol issues to out-of-date documentation.
Some are from very minor, where advice – Management Action, as they call it – is the outcome. That comes with a 12-month ban on advancement and promotion.
Then you get serious misconduct, which can result in a final written warning. It has one to three years’ duration with the same ban in place. It can have other consequences too – for example, the RFA Service Medal takes 20 years to earn, but if you are found to have committed serious misconduct the clock starts again!
Finally, there's gross misconduct, such as breaching the drug or alcohol policy. It usually results in dismissal.
NI: How does the procedure tend to work?
GR: If the alleged issue has taken place onboard, there will be a ship’s investigation, with procedures which the captain and the executive team should follow to ensure fairness. If they are satisfied that misconduct has been proven, then normally that will result in dismissal from the ship and the passing of the case to the RFA Standards Team which will do its own investigation.
NI: If someone is faced with action, when should they seek support?
GR: As soon as possible. For example, if you know that a ship's investigation is taking place into something that you're alleged to have done, getting in touch is in your interest because you are entitled to union representation at those meetings – which will help ensure that you're being treated correctly from the start, and that anything you have to say that's relevant is brought up and considered.
There will be members who feel comfortable representing themselves, but I would argue that it’s better to have someone in your corner who knows the procedure and can make sure the RFA is following it properly – one of the largest gripes from the membership currently is the lack of access to policies. I always download them and have access to them.
It is my privilege to help you in facing these issues. The Union also has legal experts on hand. You pay for your membership, and we're here to help, so please do take advantage.
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