New Acas Code on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures

The revised Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures was published on 7 November 2008 and has been approved by the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The Code received Royal Assent on 13 November 2008 and is expected to come into effect on 6 April 2009 when the much maligned statutory dismissal and grievance procedures will be abolished.

When the new Code is in force, employees will no longer be barred from lodging a claim without first raising a grievance and a failure by an employer to follow the Code will not result in a finding of automatic unfair dismissal. However, unreasonable failure by an employer to follow the Code will result in an Employment Tribunal having the power to increase any award by up to 25%. Both employers and employees must act consistently and deal with disciplinary and grievance issues promptly and without unreasonable delay under the current version of the Code. The procedure envisaged by the Code remains broadly similar to that under the statutory procedures with a written stage, a meeting and an opportunity for the employee to appeal.