Jane Bird

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• Jane Bird
• Acas Director

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Acas

• Acas role is to
• encourage people to work together more
  effectively
• prevent or resolve disputes between employers
  and their workforces
• settle complaints about employees' rights
• provide information, advice and training
  including Codes of Practice

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Acas Codes of Practice

• Disclosure of information to trade unions for
  collective bargaining purposes
• Time of for trade union duties and activities
• Disciplinary and grievance procedures
• (1977, 2000, 2004, 2009)

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Code of Practice- Discipline and Grievance

• A shorter, principles based Code
• Consultation exercise - 172 responses
• More detailed non-statutory guidance in separate
  document

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Code of Practice- Discipline and Grievance

• Code consists of three sections
• Introduction
• Section dealing with disciplinary issues
• Section dealing with grievances
• Also has a foreword - not part of the statutory
  Code

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Key elements of new Code

• Deal with issues promptly - meetings and
  decisions should not be unduly delayed
• Employers and employees should act consistently
• Appropriate investigations should be made, to
  establish the facts of the case

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Key elements of new Code

• Inform employee of the problem
• Opportunity to put case before decision made
• Right to be accompanied at any disciplinary or
  grievance meeting
• An employee should be allowed to appeal against
  any formal decision

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Handling disciplinary cases

• Establish the facts of each case
• Inform employee of the problem
• Hold a meeting with the employee
• Allow the employee to be accompanied

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Handling disciplinary cases

• Decide on appropriate action
• Provide an opportunity for employee to appeal
• Special cases TU lay officials and potential
  criminal offences

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Handling an employee grievance

• Employee to let employer know nature of problem
• Hold meeting with employee to discuss problem
• Allow employee to be accompanied

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Handling an employee grievance

• Decide on appropriate action
• Allow employee to take grievance further if not
  resolved
• Overlap of disciplinary and grievance situations

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Code of Practice - Discipline and Grievance

• New Code came into effect on 6 April
• Transitional arrangements
• Employment Tribunals must take Code into account
• Potential uplift or reduction up to 25 for
  unreasonable failure to comply with Code

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Acas action on DRR agenda

• New approach to dispute resolution is more than
  just a revised discipline and grievance Code
• Significant investment to help support new
  approach

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Acas action on DRR agenda

• New enhanced Acas helpline
• Pre-claim conciliation
• Mediation
• Post-claim conciliation

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Final thoughts

• Changing culture for resolving disputes
• Resolution in the workplace not in the courtroom

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Any Questions?

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