Changes to the disciplinary and grievance process
28 February 2009
Changes to the Employment Rights Act 1996 has meant that the Dispute Regulations 2004 have been repealed. This means that there will be changes that come into effect from 6 April in that it will not be mandatory to follow the statutory 3 step process for disciplinary, grievance and dismissal procedures. These procedures have been replaced with a revised Acas code on disciplinary and grievance procedures.
Whilst it will not be compulsory for employers to follow the new Acas code, if an employer departs from its provision it will make it harder for them to defend an unfair dismissal claim at an Employment Tribunal as the Tribunal will take the revised code into account and adjust any awards made in relevant cases by up to 25% for the employer’s unreasonable failure to comply with any provision of the code.
The idea of the change is for employers and employees to try to deal with problems at work more flexibly to resolve them at an early stage and in a way that suits the situation best, i.e. with less emphasis on the mechanics of how to manage disciplinary issues, grievances and dismissals.
From April Acas also has an enhanced helpline and a free early conciliation service and also the fixed period within which Acas must conciliate when an employment tribunal claim has been made has been abolished.
Employers should review their current disciplinary and grievance policies and procedures to identify if a more relaxed and informal approach to dealing with problems at work may be more appropriate and consider mediate in some circumstances. It will also mean that managers may need to be trained in how to deal with problems at an early stage to stop them from escalating wherever possible.
However, the change does not mean that employers do not have to still follow the comprehensive disciplinary, grievance and dismissal procedures.
Whilst this might seem daunting to some, the practicality of it in most policies means that as long as you have that informal stage in your procedure to try to resolve any issues then this is acceptable. Also, whilst we advise employers to still follow the 3 step process for disciplinary and dismissals regardless of the length of service of an employee, the new Acas Code also recommends that at least these three steps are followed in the majority of cases.
Therefore, by still following this process it will be as it is considered ‘best practice’ where there is a need for more formal action and it will also be seen as the reasonable behaviour that is required of an employer in handling disputes.
It is essential that grievances from employees are also treated in the same fair manner.
It may seem to some that technically there is no real change and in essence it is true, but the change is to try to encourage all disputes to be managed more informally.
The Team at HR Solutions has extensive experience of managing disciplinary and grievance issues and we are more than willing to review your existing policy for free and advice on any amendments to ensure it is in line with the new changes.
Alternatively, you can download the new Acas Code of Practice by clicking here: