The Employment Act 2008 repealed the statutory dispute resolution procedures and so from the 6th April 2009, Employers and Employees should follow the new Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Greivance Procedures (the Acas Code) instead. Tribunals have discretion to increase or reduce awards by up to 25% in certain cases where the employer or employee unreasonably fails to comply the Acas Code.
Disciplinary procedure
The Acas Code applies to dealing with issues of alleged misconduct or poor performance in the workplace. When deciding whether an employee has been unfairly dismissed for misconduct or poor performance, an employment tribunal will consider whether the employer has followed a fair procedure and will take into account whether the Acas Code has been followed. If the employer unreasonably failed to follow it, the tribunal may increase the employee's compensation by up to 25%. If the employee unreasonably failed to follow it, the tribunal may reduce their compensation by up to 25%.
If your employer is making allegations against you relating to misconduct or poor performance, they should comply with the Acas Code. They do not need to follow it if they are contemplating dismissing you on grounds of redundancy or the non-renewal of a fixed-term contract.
The Acas Code requires that a reasonable investigation should be carried out by the employer. If the investigation shows that there are allegations that need to be dealt with, the employee should be notified in writing of the alleged misconduct or poor performance and its possible consequences (including, where appropriate, the risk of dismissal) in sufficient detail to enable them to respond at a disciplinary hearing. They should be informed of the time and place of the disciplinary hearing, which should be held without unreasonable delay. It should also confirm that the employee has a right to bring either a fellow worker or a trade union representative to the hearing as their companion.
Dismissal or other disciplinary action should not be taken without a disciplinary hearing or meeting. Following the hearing, the employer's decision should be sent to the employee in writing without unreasonable delay. The employee has a right to appeal the employer's decision and they should set their appeal out in writing and specify the grounds. If they bring a tribunal claim without appealing, any compensation they are awarded may be reduced.
Grievance procedure
A grievance can be any concern, problem or complaint that an employee has against their employer. If a grievance cannot be resolved informally, the employee should raise it in writing with a manager who is not the subject of or related to the grievance. A failure to raise the grievance in writing does not prevent an employee bringing a tribunal claim, but the employee may recover less compensation if they have not done so.
A meeting should be held to allow the employee to explain their grievance and how they think it should be resolved.
The employee has the right to bring a companion (a colleague or a trade union representative) to the grievance meeting.
The employee should be told that they have a right of appeal when the employer writes to them with their decision. Any appeal should be communicated in writing, specifying the grounds. If they bring a tribunal claim without appealing, any compensation awarded may be reduced. The appeal should be dealt with impartially at a hearing, which should be held by a manager who has not been previously involved. The employees should be informed in advance of the time and place of the appeal hearing and may bring a companion. The employer should inform them of the final decision in writing without unreasonable delay.