Discipline, Dismissal & Grievance Procedures
The legal requirements for dealing with discipline, dismissal and grievance issues at work changed inl 2009 in accordance with the Employment Act 2008. The previous statutory procedures were repealed and replaced by a simpler and more flexible system, which made it easier to resolve disputes in the workplace.
If an employer or employee fails to follow the ACAS Code of Practice, this could result in a subsequent Employment Tribunal adjusting any award by up to 25%.
Employers and employees should always try to resolve problems as quickly as possible without resorting to formal procedures if at all possible. If that proves to be impossible then the Code of Practice should be followed using 'fair and transparent procedures'. If this fails to resolve the problem then mediation should be considered.
Pre-claim conciliation is a free ACAS service which may be available in some cases.
Further information is available on solving a workforce dispute is available here from the Gov.uk website.
The ACAS Code of Practice and accompanying guidance is also available here .
