In an unexpected development, Acas yesterday launched a consultation on updates to its statutory Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.
According to Acas’s press release, the Code is being revised to encourage early and informal resolution of concerns at work. Acas research on the annual cost of conflict has found that managing formal disciplinary and grievance procedures is estimated to cost UK employers £2.36 billion per year, whereas the annual cost of informal resolution is around 10 times lower at £250 million. The consultation aims to “start a conversation about how we can disagree better at work”.
By way of reminder, the Code provides guidance to employers, workers and representatives on handling disciplinary and grievance situations in the workplace. An unreasonable failure to comply with the Code may lead to an increase (or reduction) in any Tribunal award by up to 25%. The Code was last fully revised in 2009.
We believe that Acas’s proposed changes to the Code are very significant and could have a potentially transformative impact on workplace disputes. We will therefore be saying (much!) more about the proposed changes, but in the meantime, below is a summary of the key changes in the draft Code. These include:
- A much greater emphasis on resolving matters informally. The guidance on informal resolution has moved from the Foreword to the body of the statutory Code – doing this means that a failure by employers or workers to try and resolve matters informally could be taken into account by Employment Tribunals in relevant cases, including to inform the potential adjustment of awards for an unreasonable failure to follow the Code. The Code recognises that an informal approach will not be appropriate in every situation, e.g. in cases of potential gross misconduct or other serious issues, which should still be handled using a formal disciplinary procedure.
- A new focus on mediation and facilitated conversations. Acas research has found that mediation is not currently widely used as a resolution option, but as it can be a valuable and effective tool in resolving disputes, there are new sections in the Code encouraging the use of mediation or facilitated conversations to resolve concerns.
- Updating the principles of fairness for dealing with disciplinary and grievance issues to include a new expectation that employers and workers should speak to each other with an aim to resolve concerns early and prevent unnecessary escalation of conflict. The draft Code also states that both employers and workers should deal with issues promptly and not unreasonably delay conversations, meetings or decisions.
- Additional guidance on suspensions to make it clear they should only be used in limited circumstances, as well as a greater focus on investigations being objective, reasonable, proportionate and aimed towards considering appropriate options for resolving an issue. The consultation states that while formal disciplinary procedures can provide a helpful framework of mutual benefit for employers and workers, they can also risk people feeling “locked into” escalating the issue through formal steps, missing opportunities for alternative approaches to resolution such as mediation. The draft Code therefore requires employers to consider a range of potential appropriate next steps towards resolution after the initial fact-finding and after a formal disciplinary meeting. For example, it states that “mediation or a facilitated conversation may help where misconduct or unsatisfactory performance is linked to a working relationship issue. Depending on the circumstances, this could be the sole outcome or provided alongside a warning where appropriate.” In a similar vein, there is a new expectation for employers to state, when notifying a worker of a formal disciplinary hearing, what prior steps have been taken to resolve the matter informally. Where no steps were taken, the employer should state the reason for that.
- A reminder of the importance of equality and inclusion (in particular, the obligation to make reasonable adjustments for disabled workers) when raising and handling workplace concerns.
- When it comes to grievances, there is new guidance requiring workers to suggest, if possible, how they would like their concerns to be resolved at the point of raising a written grievance, rather than simply “allowing” this during a formal grievance meeting. It also includes a new expectation for workers when raising a written grievance to state what prior steps have been taken to resolve the matter informally, or where no steps were taken the reason for that. In recognition of widespread concerns about recent trends towards unnecessarily long and complex grievances being raised, the Code also includes new guidance to encourage workers to initially provide a short, clearly written explanation of their concern.
- Employee/worker terminology – the draft Code uses the term “worker” in most instances, other than where the specific status of “employee” is intended, as Acas believes it is good practice for organisations to follow the Code’s guidance in relation to both workers and employees. It is, however, seeking views on this, especially as it recognises that the power for Employment Tribunals to adjust awards for an unreasonable failure to follow the Code only applies to employees.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) – the consultation seeks views on whether there are issues arising from the use of AI in disciplinary and grievance procedures that Acas should address in the Code or the non-statutory guidance.
- Changes in language to move towards “ a less adversarial and legalistic tone”. For example, the draft Code refers to employer and worker “concerns” rather than “disciplinary” and “grievance” issues when describing informal resolution, but has retained the latter when describing formal procedures. Acas says its research indicates that appropriate choice of language is important for enabling constructive dialogue and creating a trusting environment conducive to effective early resolution.
The consultation closes on 23 September 2026.
Alongside the Code, Acas also provides non-statutory guidance on disciplinary and grievance procedures, which sets out additional guidelines on the law and good practice. This will also be reviewed and updated in line with revisions to the Code.
The draft Code can be found here: https://www.acas.org.uk/about-us/acas-consultations/code-of-practice-disciplinary-grievance-2026/draft-code
More about the consultation can be found here: https://www.acas.org.uk/about-us/acas-consultations/code-of-practice-disciplinary-grievance-2026
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