I’m Facing Disciplinary Action or a Performance Process and It’s Affecting My Mental Health
Being told that your conduct or performance is under formal review can make work feel unsafe almost overnight.
Being told that your conduct or performance is under formal review can make work feel unsafe almost overnight.
You may start analysing every email, worrying about who has been interviewed, struggling to sleep before meetings or feeling that a process described as “routine” could end your career.
A disciplinary or performance process is serious, but it is not the same thing as a predetermined dismissal. Understanding what process you are actually in can reduce some of the uncertainty.
Is this conduct or capability?
Conduct usually concerns behaviour, for example alleged misconduct or failure to follow a workplace rule.
Capability or performance concerns are about whether somebody can perform their role to the required standard. Health can sometimes be relevant to capability too.
The distinction matters because the evidence, support and steps expected can differ. Ask your employer to identify clearly what the concern is and which procedure is being used.
A fair process should allow you to understand and answer the case
Acas guidance says employers should follow a fair procedure, and dismissal for capability or conduct should be a last resort.
In a formal disciplinary situation, you should normally know the allegations and have a reasonable opportunity to respond.
Read the invitation, policy and evidence carefully. If something important is missing, ask for it rather than trying to guess what the meeting is really about.
Performance concerns should not appear from nowhere without context
If the issue is performance, look at previous appraisals, objectives, training, supervision and any earlier feedback.
Ask what standard is said not to have been met, how improvement will be measured and what support or timescale is proposed.
A sudden formal performance process after years of positive feedback does not automatically prove an improper motive, but the chronology may be relevant if you believe another issue is involved.
Could health or disability be part of the picture?
Stress, anxiety, depression, neurodivergence or another health condition may affect concentration, attendance, communication or performance.
A mental or physical health condition can sometimes amount to a disability under the Equality Act. If so, reasonable adjustments and disability-discrimination protections may be relevant.
Explain the functional difficulty where appropriate and consider whether Occupational Health or medical evidence could help the employer understand what support may be needed.
What if the process began after I complained or spoke up?
Do not assume the timing proves retaliation, but record it.
If the process followed a discrimination complaint, whistleblowing disclosure, request for reasonable adjustments or another protected activity, the sequence may need independent assessment.
Keep earlier appraisals, the complaint or disclosure, relevant correspondence and the documents starting the new process.
Prepare without making the process your entire life
Make one chronology. Keep the key documents together. Write the points you need to answer and the questions you want to ask.
Then stop for the day.
Constantly rebuilding your defence can intensify anxiety without improving it. If the process is affecting sleep, mood or your ability to function, seek support for the mental-health impact separately from the employment issue.
If dismissal becomes a possibility
Ask what stage the procedure has reached and what potential outcomes are being considered.
If you are dismissed, the fairness of the reason and process can become legally important. If you believe discrimination, whistleblowing or another protected reason is involved, additional rights may apply.
Employment Tribunal time limits can be short, so obtain advice promptly rather than waiting indefinitely for every internal process to conclude.
Last reviewed
6 September 2026
Important informationThis guide provides general information only and does not constitute legal, medical or other professional advice. Employment rights depend on individual circumstances and the law can change. If you are concerned about your legal position, check current information and consider advice from Acas, a trade union, an appropriately qualified adviser or an employment-law professional.