Code of Practice 1

ACAS

DISCIPLINARY AND
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
April 2009

Foreword

The Acas statutory Code of Practice on discipline and grievance is set out at paras 1 to 45
on the following pages. It provides basic practical guidance to employers, employees and
their representatives and sets out principles for handling disciplinary and grievance
situations in the workplace. The Code does not apply to dismissals due to redundancy or
the non-renewal of fixed term contracts on their expiry. Guidance on handling
redundancies is contained in Acas’ advisory booklet on Redundancy handling.

The Code is issued under section 199 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations
(Consolidation) Act 1992 and was laid before both Houses of Parliament on 9 December
2008. It comes into effect by order of the Secretary of State on 6 April 2009 and replaces
the Code issued in 2004.

A failure to follow the Code does not, in itself, make a person or organisation liable to
proceedings. However, employment tribunals will take the Code into account when
considering relevant cases. Tribunals will also be able to adjust any awards made in
relevant cases by up to 25 per cent for unreasonable failure to comply with any provision
of the Code. This means that if the tribunal feels that an employer has unreasonably failed
to follow the guidance set out in the Code they can increase any award they have made by
up to 25 per cent. Conversely, if they feel an employee has unreasonably failed to follow
the guidance set out in the code they can reduce any award they have made by up to 25
per cent.

Employers and employees should always seek to resolve disciplinary and grievance
issues in the workplace. Where this is not possible employers and employees should
consider using an independent third party to help resolve the problem. The third party
need not come from outside the organisation but could be an internal mediator, so long as
they are not involved in the disciplinary or grievance issue. In some cases, an external
mediator might be appropriate.

Many potential disciplinary or grievance issues can be resolved informally. A quiet word is
often all that is required to resolve an issue. However, where an issue cannot be resolved
informally then it may be pursued formally. This Code sets out the basic requirements of
fairness that will be applicable in most cases; it is intended to provide the standard of
reasonable behaviour in most instances.

Employers would be well advised to keep a written record of any disciplinary or grievances
cases they deal with.

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Organisations may wish to consider dealing with issues involving bullying, harassment or
whistleblowing under a separate procedure.

More comprehensive advice and guidance on dealing with disciplinary and grievance
situations is contained in the Acas booklet, ‘Discipline and grievances at work: the Acas
guide’. The booklet also contains sample disciplinary and grievance procedures. Copies of
the guidance can be obtained from Acas.

Unlike the Code employment tribunals are not required to have regard to the Acas
guidance booklet. However, it provides more detailed advice and guidance that employers
and employees will often find helpful both in general terms and in individual cases.

The Code of Practice

Introduction
1. This Code is designed to help employers, employees and their representatives
deal with disciplinary and grievance situations in the workplace.

 Disciplinary situations include misconduct and/or poor performance. If

employers have a separate capability procedure they may prefer to address
performance issues under this procedure. If so, however, the basic
principles of fairness set out in this Code should still be followed, albeit that
they may need to be adapted.
 Grievances are concerns, problems or complaints that employees raise
with their employers.

The Code does not apply to redundancy dismissals or the non renewal of fixed term
contracts on their expiry.

2. Fairness and transparency are promoted by developing and using rules and
procedures for handling disciplinary and grievance situations. These should be set
down in writing, be specific and clear. Employees and, where appropriate, their
representatives should be involved in the development of rules and procedures. It
is also important to help employees and managers understand what the rules and
procedures are, where they can be found and how they are to be used.

3. Where some form of formal action is needed, what action is reasonable or justified
will depend on all the circumstances of the particular case. Employment tribunals
will take the size and resources of an employer into account when deciding on
relevant cases and it may sometimes not be practicable for all employers to take all
of the steps set out in this Code.

4. That said, whenever a disciplinary or grievance process is being followed it is

important to deal with issues fairly. There are a number of elements to this:

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  Employers and employees should raise and deal with issues promptly and
should not unreasonably delay meetings, decisions or confirmation of those
decisions.
 Employers and employees should act consistently.
 Employers should carry out any necessary investigations, to establish the
facts of the case.
 Employers should inform employees of the basis of the problem and give
them an opportunity to put their case in response before any decisions are
made.
 Employers should allow employees to be accompanied at any formal
disciplinary or grievance meeting.
 Employers should allow an employee to appeal against any formal decision
made.

Discipline

Keys to handling disciplinary issues in the workplace

Establish the facts of each case

5. It is important to carry out necessary investigations of potential disciplinary matters
without unreasonable delay to establish the facts of the case. In some cases this
will require the holding of an investigatory meeting with the employee before
proceeding to any disciplinary hearing. In others, the investigatory stage will be the
collation of evidence by the employer for use at any disciplinary hearing.

6. In misconduct cases, where practicable, different people should carry out the
investigation and disciplinary hearing.

7. If there is an investigatory meeting this should not by itself result in any disciplinary
action. Although there is no statutory right for an employee to be accompanied at a
formal investigatory meeting, such a right may be allowed under an employer’s
own procedure.

8. In cases where a period of suspension with pay is considered necessary, this

period should be as brief as possible, should be kept under review and it should be
made clear that this suspension is not considered a disciplinary action.

Inform the employee of the problem

9. If it is decided that there is a disciplinary case to answer, the employee should be

notified of this in writing. This notification should contain sufficient information
about the alleged misconduct or poor performance and its possible consequences
to enable the employee to prepare to answer the case at a disciplinary meeting. It
would normally be appropriate to provide copies of any written evidence, which
may include any witness statements, with the notification.

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 10. The notification should also give details of the time and venue for the disciplinary
meeting and advise the employee of their right to be accompanied at the meeting.

Hold a meeting with the employee to discuss the problem

11. The meeting should be held without unreasonable delay whilst allowing the
employee reasonable time to prepare their case.

12. Employers and employees (and their companions) should make every effort to
attend the meeting. At the meeting the employer should explain the complaint
against the employee and go through the evidence that has been gathered. The
employee should be allowed to set out their case and answer any allegations that
have been made. The employee should also be given a reasonable opportunity to
ask questions, present evidence and call relevant witnesses. They should also be
given an opportunity to raise points about any information provided by witnesses.
Where an employer or employee intends to call relevant witnesses they should
give advance notice that they intend to do this.

Allow the employee to be accompanied at the meeting

13. Workers have a statutory right to be accompanied by a companion where the

disciplinary meeting could result in:

 a formal warning being issued; or

 the taking of some other disciplinary action; or
 the confirmation of a warning or some other disciplinary action (appeal
hearings).

14. The chosen companion may be a fellow worker, a trade union representative, or an
official employed by a trade union. A trade union representative who is not an
employed official must have been certified by their union as being competent to
accompany a worker.

15. To exercise the statutory right to be accompanied workers must make a

reasonable request. What is reasonable will depend on the circumstances of each
individual case. However, it would not normally be reasonable for workers to insist
on being accompanied by a companion whose presence would prejudice the
hearing nor would it be reasonable for a worker to ask to be accompanied by a
companion from a remote geographical location if someone suitable and willing
was available on site.

16. The companion should be allowed to address the hearing to put and sum up the
worker’s case, respond on behalf of the worker to any views expressed at the
meeting and confer with the worker during the hearing. The companion does not,
however, have the right to answer questions on the worker’s behalf, address the
hearing if the worker does not wish it or prevent the employer from explaining their
case.

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Decide on appropriate action

17. After the meeting decide whether or not disciplinary or any other action is justified
and inform the employee accordingly in writing.

18. Where misconduct is confirmed or the employee is found to be performing

unsatisfactorily it is usual to give the employee a written warning. A further act of
misconduct or failure to improve performance within a set period would normally
result in a final written warning.

19. If an employee’s first misconduct or unsatisfactory performance is sufficiently

serious, it may be appropriate to move directly to a final written warning. This might
occur where the employee’s actions have had, or are liable to have, a serious or
harmful impact on the organisation.

20. A first or final written warning should set out the nature of the misconduct or poor
performance and the change in behaviour or improvement in performance required
(with timescale). The employee should be told how long the warning will remain
current. The employee should be informed of the consequences of further
misconduct, or failure to improve performance, within the set period following a
final warning. For instance that it may result in dismissal or some other contractual
penalty such as demotion or loss of seniority.

21. A decision to dismiss should only be taken by a manager who has the authority to
do so. The employee should be informed as soon as possible of the reasons for
the dismissal, the date on which the employment contract will end, the appropriate
period of notice and their right of appeal.

22. Some acts, termed gross misconduct, are so serious in themselves or have such
serious consequences that they may call for dismissal without notice for a first
offence. But a fair disciplinary process should always be followed, before
dismissing for gross misconduct.

23. Disciplinary rules should give examples of acts which the employer regards as acts
of gross misconduct. These may vary according to the nature of the organisation
and what it does, but might include things such as theft or fraud, physical violence,
gross negligence or serious insubordination.

24. Where an employee is persistently unable or unwilling to attend a disciplinary

meeting without good cause the employer should make a decision on the evidence
available.

Provide employees with an opportunity to appeal

25. Where an employee feels that disciplinary action taken against them is wrong or
unjust they should appeal against the decision. Appeals should be heard without
unreasonable delay and ideally at an agreed time and place. Employees should let
employers know the grounds for their appeal in writing.

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 26. The appeal should be dealt with impartially and wherever possible, by a manager
who has not previously been involved in the case.

27. Workers have a statutory right to be accompanied at appeal hearings.

28. Employees should be informed in writing of the results of the appeal hearing as
soon as possible.

Special cases

29. Where disciplinary action is being considered against an employee who is a trade
union representative the normal disciplinary procedure should be followed.
Depending on the circumstances, however, it is advisable to discuss the matter at
an early stage with an official employed by the union, after obtaining the
employee’s agreement.
30. If an employee is charged with, or convicted of a criminal offence this is not
normally in itself reason for disciplinary action. Consideration needs to be given to
what effect the charge or conviction has on the employee’s suitability to do the job
and their relationship with their employer, work colleagues and customers.

Grievance

Keys to handling grievances in the workplace

Let the employer know the nature of the grievance

31. If it is not possible to resolve a grievance informally employees should raise the
matter formally and without unreasonable delay with a manager who is not the
subject of the grievance. This should be done in writing and should set out the
nature of the grievance.

Hold a meeting with the employee to discuss the grievance

32. Employers should arrange for a formal meeting to be held without unreasonable
delay after a grievance is received.

33. Employers, employees and their companions should make every effort to attend
the meeting. Employees should be allowed to explain their grievance and how they
think it should be resolved. Consideration should be given to adjourning the
meeting for any investigation that may be necessary.

Allow the employee to be accompanied at the meeting

34. Workers have a statutory right to be accompanied by a companion at a grievance

meeting which deals with a complaint about a duty owed by the employer to the

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 worker. So this would apply where the complaint is, for example, that the employer
is not honouring the worker’s contract, or is in breach of legislation.

35. The chosen companion may be a fellow worker, a trade union representative or an
official employed by a trade union. A trade union representative who is not an
employed official must have been certified by their union as being competent to
accompany a worker.

36. To exercise the right to be accompanied a worker must first make a reasonable
request. What is reasonable will depend on the circumstances of each individual
case. However it would not normally be reasonable for workers to insist on being
accompanied by a companion whose presence would prejudice the hearing nor
would it be reasonable for a worker to ask to be accompanied by a companion
from a remote geographical location if someone suitable and willing was available
on site.

37. The companion should be allowed to address the hearing to put and sum up the
worker’s case, respond on behalf of the worker to any views expressed at the
meeting and confer with the worker during the hearing. The companion does not
however, have the right to answer questions on the worker’s behalf, address the
hearing if the worker does not wish it or prevent the employer from explaining their
case.

Decide on appropriate action

38. Following the meeting decide on what action, if any, to take. Decisions should be
communicated to the employee, in writing, without unreasonable delay and, where
appropriate, should set out what action the employer intends to take to resolve the
grievance. The employee should be informed that they can appeal if they are not
content with the action taken.

Allow the employee to take the grievance further if not resolved

39. Where an employee feels that their grievance has not been satisfactorily resolved
they should appeal. They should let their employer know the grounds for their
appeal without unreasonable delay and in writing.

40. Appeals should be heard without unreasonable delay and at a time and place
which should be notified to the employee in advance.

41. The appeal should be dealt with impartially and wherever possible by a manager
who has not previously been involved in the case.

42. Workers have a statutory right to be accompanied at any such appeal hearing.

43. The outcome of the appeal should be communicated to the employee in writing
without unreasonable delay.

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Overlapping grievance and disciplinary cases

44. Where an employee raises a grievance during a disciplinary process the

disciplinary process may be temporarily suspended in order to deal with the
grievance. Where the grievance and disciplinary cases are related it may be
appropriate to deal with both issues concurrently.

Collective grievances

45. The provisions of this code do not apply to grievances raised on behalf of two or
more employees by a representative of a recognised trade union or other
appropriate workplace representative. These grievances should be handled in
accordance with the organisation’s collective grievance process.

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