June 2020
A new Acas guidance ‘Disciplinary and grievance procedures during the coronavirus pandemic’ sets out recommendations and best practice for employers to follow when handling disciplinary and/or grievance issues during the coronavirus pandemic, to reduce possible legal challenges from employees.
March 2020
Employers should note that they are entitled to take an employee’s private life into account when the employee is undergoing disciplinary proceedings, provided it is proportionate to do so.
March 2020
Employers should ensure that it is made clear to employees involved in a disciplinary procedure that they are to pass on all relevant facts of which they become aware to the person making the decision whether to dismiss or not. Otherwise a dismissal risks being found to be procedurally unfair, following a recent legal ruling.
February 2020
Employers considering a dismissal (or other disciplinary action) should assess whether or not holding a separate investigatory hearing is required in order for the procedure to be fair. A recent legal ruling confirms that such a hearing is only required if it would be reasonable to hold one in all the circumstances.
Dealing with grievances
This chapter looks at dealing with grievances and deals with grievance procedures, handling a grievance, bullying and harassment, appeals against grading and
Handling disciplinary issues
This chapter looks at disciplinary issues and deals with rules, procedures, hearings, disciplinary action and appeals against disciplinary action.
Tackle office nightmares: how to cope with tricky situations and people
Solutions to common office problems.
Acas guidance
Advice, guidance and practical resources on a wide variety of recruitment topics for both employers and employees, produced by the
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, Acas. Acas is the employment relations service for England, Scotland and Wales offering practical, independent and impartial advice to employers, employees and their representatives.
Acas advice on how to manage capability issues - a procedure based on encouraging their employee to improve.
Acas advice on dealing with issues raised by employees before they become formal grievances.
Letter templates for raising an appeal against a disciplinary or grievance outcome to an employer. Free to download and use.
August 2017
Acas advice hub for dealing with discipline and grievances in the workplace.
Acas step by step advice for employers on disciplinary procedure.
March 2015
Acas statutory Code of Practice for handling disciplinary and grievance issues in the workplace.
Acas templates for letters to help employers with disciplining staff.
Letter template for employees raising a formal grievance with their employer. Free to download and use
Acas guidance for employers on workplace bullying and harassment
June 2019
Acas step-by-step guide for all employers of all sizes on how to go about conducting a disciplinary investigation.
Acas guidance for employers and employees on the process of suspension and the rights of the suspended employee.
The abc's of employee discipline
Article discusses following a simple ABC system for disciplining employees to ensure fairness and considering all facts.
Discipline is for children
Article discusses that disciplinary procedures are often the only correction tool and using discipline as an education tool is often overlooked and that treating employees as adults goes a long way towards gaining their cooperation.
"Disciplining" adults is wrong
The article discusses the ineffective practice of punishing employees which cannot teach a new behavior or solve a problem. Topics covered include steps in progressive discipline policies, the need for an employee and the supervisor to work together in solving a problem, and an adult conversation system based on employee qualities of being cooperative, uncooperative, or disrespectful.
Disciplinaries and grievances
The article discusses areas of concern for human resource (HR) professionals, with emphasis on handling grievances and managing disciplinaries, and how to overcome these workplace problems. It points out potential problems of having inexperienced managers and suggests that managers' reactions to performance and conduct issues within their team should be objective. Also mentioned are having a clear policy on employee misconduct and setting a code of conduct to prevent bullying and harassment.
#AccountingToo: Sexual harassment all too common
The article reports on the trends of the sexual harassment incidents involving accounting professionals. Topics discussed include the various forms of harassment both in men and women such as inappropriate questions, innuendo or joke, the various factors contributing to less prevalence of the incident such as the work pressure, the size of the firm, and professionalism, and the concerns of women accountants on how their firms respond to the sexual misconduct in their firms.
What now? Not all harassment makes the headlines - but there are hard and fast rules every business facing allegations should follow.
The article discusses sexual harassment allegations made within the U.S. entertainment industry and offers tips for businesses facing such allegations. Topics include the tendency for companies to ignore transgressions or trivialise them despite a clear definition of sexual harassment presented under Great Britain's Sex Discrimination Act, the Equality Act's protection of individuals making claims and organizations against hypersensitive individuals, and the importance of corporate culture that welcomes concerns and complaints.
It'll cost you...
The article offers advice on legislation related to human resources (HR) compliance in Great Britain. Topics include dealing with discrimination law, the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment Regulations (TUPE) related to service provision, and flexible working regulations. Also noted are employment law related to religion, shared parental leave (SPL) regulations, and the need for written records of employee discipline and grievance procedures..
There's more than one way to solve a dispute: Resolving workplace differences is a fine art - and many businesses have been getting it dramatically wrong.
The article discusses strategies for workplace conflict resolution from a human resources (HR) perspective.
Most employment rights 'indispensable', says businesses. Survey finds majority want to avoid post-Brexit 'bonfire'
The article reports on the results of a survey to determine what laws employers feel are indispensable, despite Great Britain withdrawing from the European Union. It mentions unfair dismissal laws, minimum wage laws, as well as those laws regarding parental leave.
Mechanic wins unfair dismissal appeal after attack: Case highlights importance of policies and proper investigations, say legal experts.
The article reports on the finding by the Employment Appeal Tribunal in the case of Arnold Clark Automobiles v. Spoor that a former employee was improperly dismissed following a physical altercation with a co-worker. Emphasis is given to topics such as suspension of the employee by the human resources department, the application of disciplinary policies, and following the course of an investigation.
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
CIPD guidance, factsheets and case law on bullying and harassment in the workplace
HM Government
Government guidance on the grievance procedure, grievance hearings and decisions and appeals.
Equality and Human Rights Commission
January 2020
EHRC guidance offering a legal explanation and practical examples of how to tackle and respond effectively to harassment in the workplace.
HM Government
Government guidance on: procedures; investigations; appeals; mediation, conciliation and arbitration; and tribunals.
HM Government
Government guidance on disciplinary procedure, investigations and hearings, and appeals.
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