A hearing is held because a member of an organisation, profession, staff member, is examined and a punishment may be handed down, in this case a sanction.

In most cases, a disciplinary hearing is followed through by an investigation, where an employer decides that there is a disciplinary case for an employee to answer, then a hearing should be arranged.

In terms of the rights of disciplinary hearings, an employee facing a hearing are entitled to many rights including that of proper opportunity to prepare for the hearing in advance. This right stems from the more basic right that accused employees must defend themselves against the charges brought.