Acas has this month issued a consultation draft code of practice on discipline and grievance. The draft code anticipates the Employment Bill currently before Parliament and, unlike the current version, is a concise, principles based text.
The Employment Bill was introduced in December 2007, following the 2006 review of employment dispute resolution undertaken by Michael Gibbons and subsequent public consultation. The Bill proposes changes to the law relating to workplace dispute resolution, including the repeal of the statutory dismissal and discipline procedures introduced in 2004, and the new code is intended to complement the new simplified regime.
Acas has now produced a 6 page flexible principles based code, which provides basic practical guidance to employers, employees and their representatives on handling disciplinary and grievance situations in the workplace. The new code will, like the Highway Code for driving, set out good practice standards for disciplining staff.
The foreword to the draft code states that employment tribunals would be entitled to increase any awards made by up to 25% should they consider any failure to comply with any provision of the code unreasonable. This uplift is proposed in the Employment Bill.
The draft code and penalties for non-compliance firmly indicate the increased importance of the Acas code in dispute resolution and a shift away from rigid statutory procedures. Consultation on the draft code ends on 25 July 2008. The Employment Bill is currently before Parliament, and the government plans to introduce the changes in April 2009. The revised Acas code is intended to come into effect on the same date.
For the full text of the draft Code, please click here.
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Acas has this month issued a consultation draft code of practice on discipline and grievance. The draft code anticipates the Employment Bill currently before Parliament and, unlike the current version, is a concise, principles based text.
The Employment Bill was introduced in December 2007, following the 2006 review of employment dispute resolution undertaken by Michael Gibbons and subsequent public consultation. The Bill proposes changes to the law relating to workplace dispute resolution, including the repeal of the statutory dismissal and discipline procedures introduced in 2004, and the new code is intended to complement the new simplified regime.
Acas has now produced a 6 page flexible principles based code, which provides basic practical guidance to employers, employees and their representatives on handling disciplinary and grievance situations in the workplace. The new code will, like the Highway Code for driving, set out good practice standards for disciplining staff.
The code encourages parties to resolve disputes internally before pursuing them formally, and sets out guidelines for employers taking formal action:
1. Issues should be dealt with promptly;
2. Employers should act consistently;
3. Appropriate investigations should be made;
4. Any grievance or disciplinary meeting should be conducted by a manager who was not involved in the matter giving rise to the dispute;
5. Performance issues should involve immediate managers;
6. Employees should be informed and be able to put forward their case before any decisions are made;
7. Employees have the right to be accompanied;
8. Employees should be allowed to appeal; and
9. It is good practice for employers to keep written records.
The Code sets out keys to handling disciplinary problems in the workplace:
1. Establish the facts of each case;
2. Inform the employee of the problem;
3. Hold a meeting with the employee to discuss the problem;
4. Allow the employee to be accompanied at the meeting;
5. Decide on appropriate action; and
6. Provide employees with an opportunity to appeal.
It also sets out keys to handling grievances in the workplace:
1. Let the employer know the nature of the grievance;
2. Hold a meeting with the employee to discuss the grievance;
3. Allow the employee to be accompanied at the meeting;
4. Decide on appropriate action; and
5. Allow the employee to take the grievance further if not resolved.
The foreword to the draft code states that employment tribunals would be entitled to increase any awards made by up to 25% should they consider any failure to comply with any provision of the code unreasonable. This uplift is proposed in the Employment Bill.
The draft code and penalties for non-compliance firmly indicate the increased importance of the Acas code in dispute resolution and a shift away from rigid statutory procedures. Consultation on the draft code ends on 25 July 2008. The Employment Bill is currently before Parliament, and the government plans to introduce the changes in April 2009. The revised Acas code is intended to come into effect on the same date
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 20/05/2008.
