Disciplinary and grievance procedures - the ACAS code
Introduction
This page explains the law and practice relating to disciplinary and grievance procedures which are now compulsory for all organisations under the Employment Act 2002.
We would like to have been able to provide a summary of relevant law and advice in this page. However, the Employment Act 2002, specified that a specific procedure should be followed in disciplinary and grievance situations. After nearly two years of consultations, that procedure has now emerged in a changed form. It takes effect from 1st October 2004.
The form it takes is a code of practice for employers published by ACAS. The Code revises the version hitherto recommended (which did not precisely follow the Act!) has been revised to take account of the new statutory discipline and grievance procedures. In view of the length, substance and importance of the code, we see no way you can be properly advised in writing without presentation to you of the whole version, (link below).
So what you now have to do is:
- Comply with the statutory procedure, and
- Follow the Code
We cannot under estimate the importance of the code. It is your bible of good behaviour in grievance and disciplinary situations as an employer. Tribunals are directed to consider the extent of your compliance and to take account of it. If you comply with both the spirit and the letter, it is unlikely that you will lose a case before a tribunal. If you do not comply, it is unlikely that you will win.
If you do not have dedicated HR staff, you will obviously have some difficulty in compliance with such a large body of "good practice" on a day-to-day basis. That is not an acceptable reason for failure to comply. ACAS have also published a "handbook" of good practice, which includes appendices, (link below). Fortunately the handbook is written and presented clearly. Our advice is:
- Set aside a couple of hours of prime thinking time and read the handbook and the code side by side;
- Apply it to the way your organisation now operates, noting any necessary changes to present policies and procedures;
- Check and change your contracts of employment as necessary;
- Update any printed policies as necessary;
- Print multiple copies of both documents, place in binder and hand to every supervisor and manager!
Although the code is published as appendix 1 to the handbook, we have pulled it out as a separate item. Below, we give you links to all relevant documents, all of which are available on this site. The handbook will take some time to load if you do not have a broadband connection.
We have now published a new version of our disciplinary and grievance procedure, which closely follows the statutory versions, which all employers must follow by 1st October 2004. With it, we have included as part of our "pack", a number of example letters to take you through the processes.
The Net Lawman contracts of employment have all been re-written to take account of the new code (and other recent new law). They come with an example letter to your staff introducing the fact of the new contract and reasons for it. Remember that you can use our contracts for as many employees as you want for as long as you want. We do not restrict you, as do some of our competitors.
Now we give you the moment you have been waiting for!
The links are:
The new statutory procedures
ACAS handbook
The new code
The new Net Lawman model procedure with example letters
Net Lawman employment contracts
The ACAS web site contains much other valuable material. Because it is concerned only with employment, it is far easier to navigate than many other government department sites. You can explore it at http://www.acas.org.uk/ Other ACAS publications that may be useful are:
The ACAS Guide for small businesses Rather basic.
Self help guide: Help in putting together you own disciplinary and grievance procedure. Even if you have invested in a set of Net Lawman employment contracts, you may find areas where our model version could be tailored to your needs.
ACAS arbitration scheme: a brilliant idea to succeed the rather rusty informal mediation service that has existed for nearly 30 years. It might save you a fortune in lawyers fees. We have no experience of it. Do tell us yours. Links to guidance on different versions are below.
Heading for a Tribunal? The ACAS Arbitration Scheme (Short summary of the Scheme)
The ACAS Arbitration Scheme for the resolution of Unfair Dismissal disputes (England and Wales) (Detailed guidance)
The ACAS Arbitration Scheme for the resolution of Flexible Working disputes: A guide to the Scheme (Detailed guidance)
An Arbitration Scheme Q&A
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