Section 17: Removal and discipline of academic, administrative and technical staff

(1) If it appears to the Council that there are reasons for believing that any person employed as a member of the academic, administrative or technical staff of the polytechnic, other than the Rector, should be removed from office on the ground of misconduct or inability to perform the functions of his office, the Council shall-
(a) give notice of those reasons to the person in question;
(b) afford him an opportunity of making representations in person on the matter to the Council; and
(c) if he or any three members of the Council so request within the period of one month beginning with the date of the notice, make arrangements-
(i) if he is an academic staff, for a joint committee of the Council and the Academic Board to investigate the matter and to report on it to the Council; or
(ii) for a committee of the Council to investigate the matter, where it relates to any other member of the staff of the polytechnic and to report on it to the Council; and
(iii) for the person in question to be afforded an opportunity of appearing before and being heard by the investigating committee with respect to the matter,
and if the Council, after considering the report of the investigating committee, is satisfied that the person in question should be removed as aforesaid, the Council may so remove him by an instrument in writing signed on the directions of the Council.
(2) The Rector may, in a case of misconduct by a member of the staff which in the opinion of the Rector is prejudicial to the interests of the polytechnic, suspend such member and any such suspension shall forthwith be reported to the Council.
(3) For good cause, any member of staff may be suspended from office or his appointment may be terminated by the Council, and for the purpose of this subsection, "good cause" means-
(a) any physical or mental incapacity which the Council, after obtaining medical advice, considers to be such as to render the person concerned unfit for the discharge of the functions of his office; or
(b) any physical or mental incapacity which the Council, after obtaining medical advice, considers to be such as to render the person concerned unfit to continue to hold his office; or
(c) conduct of a scandalous or other disgraceful nature which the Council considers to be such as to render the person concerned unfit to continue to hold his office; or
(d) conduct which the Council considers to be such as to constitute failure or inability of the person concerned to discharge the functions of his office or to comply with the terms and conditions of his service.
(4) Any person suspended pursuant to subsection (2) or (3) of this section, shall be placed on half pay and the Council shall before the expiration of the period of three months after the date of such suspension consider the case against that person and come to a decision as to-
(a) whether to continue such person's, suspension and if so on what terms (including the proportion of this emoluments to be paid to him);
(b) whether to reinstate such person, in which case the Council shall restore his full emoluments to him with effect from the date of suspension;
(c) whether to terminate the appointment of the person in question, in which case such a person, will not be entitled to the proportion of his emoluments withheld during the period of suspension; or
(d) whether to take such lesser disciplinary action against such person (including the restoration of such proportion of his emoluments that might have been withheld) as the Council may determine,
and in any case where the Council, pursuant to this section, decides to continue a person's suspension or decides to take further disciplinary action against a person, the Council shall before the expiration of a period of three months from such decision come to a final determination in respect of the case concerning any such person.
(5) It shall be the duty of the person by whom an instrument of removal is signed in pursuance of subsection (1) of this section, to use his best endeavours to cause a copy of the instrument to be served as soon as reasonably practicable on the person to whom it relates.
(6) Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section shall prevent the Council from making such regulations for the discipline of other categories of staff and workers of the polytechnic as it may think fit.