UK HR Term
ACAS Code of Practice
The ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures is the statutory code setting out the minimum fair-process steps UK employers should follow when disciplining or dismissing an employee, or handling a grievance. Tribunals can adjust awards by up to 25% for unreasonable failure to follow it.
In plain English
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) publishes statutory codes of practice that set the minimum standards for fair process in UK workplaces. The Code on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures is the one most often cited — every UK employer should follow it when handling discipline, dismissal, or grievance.
Why it matters
The Code is not directly enforceable, but tribunals must take it into account when deciding whether a dismissal was fair. Under section 207A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, a tribunal can:
- Increase compensation by up to 25% if the employer unreasonably failed to follow the Code
- Reduce compensation by up to 25% if the employee unreasonably failed to follow it
A dismissal that ignored the Code can also be a procedurally unfair dismissal in its own right, even where the underlying reason would have justified termination.
What the Code requires
For disciplinary cases, the six core steps:
- Investigate to establish the facts
- Inform the employee in writing of the issue and possible consequences
- Hold a hearing with the right to be accompanied
- Decide and communicate the outcome in writing
- Allow an appeal to a more senior manager
- Apply sanctions consistently with previous similar cases
For grievance cases, an equivalent flow applies — raise, hear, decide, appeal.
When delay or skipping is fatal
The most common Code failures: skipping investigation in "obvious" cases, denying the right to be accompanied, refusing an appeal because management is sure of the decision, or inconsistent treatment across similar cases. Each of these can flip an otherwise fair dismissal into an unfair one.