Acas Is Rewriting the Disciplinary and Grievance Code: What’s Being Proposed

Every UK employer’s disciplinary and grievance procedure is built around one document: the Acas Code of Practice. It hasn’t had a full rewrite since 2009 — until now. Acas has published a draft revised Code, out for consultation until 23 September 2026, and it signals a real shift in how disciplinary and grievance matters are expected to be handled. This is the first in a run of posts covering several employment law developments landing this October — see our earlier pieces on the trade union reforms and equal pay risk for others in the series.

A quick explainer of the terms you’ll see

• Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures — the statutory guidance every UK employer is expected to follow when handling disciplinary action or a grievance. Tribunals can adjust compensation by up to 25% for an unreasonable failure to follow it.
• Informal resolution — sorting out a workplace concern through conversation, rather than a formal disciplinary or grievance process.
• Worker vs employee — “worker” is the broader legal category, capturing more of the workforce than “employee” alone; the draft Code shifts its language from one to the other in most places.
• Statutory Code — a document with legal force in the sense that tribunals must take it into account, even though it isn’t itself an Act of Parliament.

What’s being proposed

The draft Code, opened for consultation on 30 July 2026, sets out several significant changes:

• Informal resolution moves into the statutory Code itself. Currently, encouraging informal resolution sits in the Code’s foreword — outside the part tribunals must formally take into account. Under the draft, it becomes part of the Code proper, meaning a failure to attempt informal resolution could now affect how a tribunal adjusts compensation.
• A shift in language. The draft moves toward describing “concerns” rather than jumping straight to “disciplinary” and “grievance” labels for informal issues — Acas says this is intended to support a less adversarial, more constructive tone from the outset.
• New guidance on suspension. The draft is more explicit that suspension should only be used where genuinely necessary — to comply with a legal requirement, or where reasonably believed necessary to protect an investigation, the organisation, other staff, or the person being investigated — and should be as brief as possible and kept under review.
• New sections on reasonable adjustments, manager training, and mediation. These weren’t previously built into the statutory Code in the same way.
• Broader coverage: “worker” replaces “employee” throughout, extending the Code’s practical reach — though the tribunal’s power to adjust compensation by up to 25% for non-compliance remains tied specifically to employees under current law.

Why this matters for your business

If adopted, this isn’t just a wording update — it changes what “good practice” looks like in a way tribunals will expect to see reflected in real cases:

• Informal handling becomes something you may need to evidence, not just something you did quietly and moved on from. If a worker raises a formal grievance, the draft proposes they should state what informal steps were taken first, or explain why none were — meaning your own informal handling may need to be visible on the record too.
• Suspension decisions will face closer scrutiny. A reflexive “suspend first, investigate later” approach is increasingly out of step with where this guidance is heading.
• Manager capability becomes part of compliance. With training and support for managers flagged as good practice, how well-equipped your managers are to handle concerns fairly is more likely to matter if a case is ever challenged.

What employers should do now

1. Review your current disciplinary and grievance policy against the draft Code’s direction of travel, particularly around informal resolution and suspension.
2. Consider your managers’ capability, not just your written policy — the draft’s emphasis on training signals this will matter more going forward.
3. Respond to the consultation if it affects you directly, particularly if your sector or business model has specific practical concerns — the consultation closes 23 September 2026.
4. Don’t wait for the final Code to start improving practice. Early, well-handled informal conversations are good management regardless of what the final Code says.
5. Watch for the final version. As with other Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms we’ve covered, a consultation closing is a milestone, not a commencement date — we’ll confirm here once the final Code and its in-force date are known.

How Cheviot HR can help

Getting ahead of a Code rewrite is about culture as much as paperwork — building genuine informal resolution and well-trained managers into how your business actually operates, not just updating a policy document. We can review your current procedures against the draft Code’s direction, and help build manager confidence in handling concerns early and fairly.

Get in touch at heidi@cheviothr.co.uk or visit https://cheviothr.co.uk to talk through what this means for your business.

Acas Is Rewriting the Disciplinary and Grievance Code: What’s Being Proposed

Every UK employer’s disciplinary and grievance procedure is built around one document: the Acas Code of Practice. It hasn’t had a full rewrite since 2009 — until now. Acas has published a draft revised Code, out for consultation until 23 September 2026, and it signals a real shift in how disciplinary and grievance matters are expected to be handled. This is the first in a run of posts covering several employment law developments landing this October — see our earlier pieces on the trade union reforms and equal pay risk for others in the series.

A quick explainer of the terms you’ll see

• Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures — the statutory guidance every UK employer is expected to follow when handling disciplinary action or a grievance. Tribunals can adjust compensation by up to 25% for an unreasonable failure to follow it.
• Informal resolution — sorting out a workplace concern through conversation, rather than a formal disciplinary or grievance process.
• Worker vs employee — “worker” is the broader legal category, capturing more of the workforce than “employee” alone; the draft Code shifts its language from one to the other in most places.
• Statutory Code — a document with legal force in the sense that tribunals must take it into account, even though it isn’t itself an Act of Parliament.

What’s being proposed

The draft Code, opened for consultation on 30 July 2026, sets out several significant changes:

• Informal resolution moves into the statutory Code itself. Currently, encouraging informal resolution sits in the Code’s foreword — outside the part tribunals must formally take into account. Under the draft, it becomes part of the Code proper, meaning a failure to attempt informal resolution could now affect how a tribunal adjusts compensation.
• A shift in language. The draft moves toward describing “concerns” rather than jumping straight to “disciplinary” and “grievance” labels for informal issues — Acas says this is intended to support a less adversarial, more constructive tone from the outset.
• New guidance on suspension. The draft is more explicit that suspension should only be used where genuinely necessary — to comply with a legal requirement, or where reasonably believed necessary to protect an investigation, the organisation, other staff, or the person being investigated — and should be as brief as possible and kept under review.
• New sections on reasonable adjustments, manager training, and mediation. These weren’t previously built into the statutory Code in the same way.
• Broader coverage: “worker” replaces “employee” throughout, extending the Code’s practical reach — though the tribunal’s power to adjust compensation by up to 25% for non-compliance remains tied specifically to employees under current law.

Why this matters for your business

If adopted, this isn’t just a wording update — it changes what “good practice” looks like in a way tribunals will expect to see reflected in real cases:

• Informal handling becomes something you may need to evidence, not just something you did quietly and moved on from. If a worker raises a formal grievance, the draft proposes they should state what informal steps were taken first, or explain why none were — meaning your own informal handling may need to be visible on the record too.
• Suspension decisions will face closer scrutiny. A reflexive “suspend first, investigate later” approach is increasingly out of step with where this guidance is heading.
• Manager capability becomes part of compliance. With training and support for managers flagged as good practice, how well-equipped your managers are to handle concerns fairly is more likely to matter if a case is ever challenged.

What employers should do now

1. Review your current disciplinary and grievance policy against the draft Code’s direction of travel, particularly around informal resolution and suspension.
2. Consider your managers’ capability, not just your written policy — the draft’s emphasis on training signals this will matter more going forward.
3. Respond to the consultation if it affects you directly, particularly if your sector or business model has specific practical concerns — the consultation closes 23 September 2026.
4. Don’t wait for the final Code to start improving practice. Early, well-handled informal conversations are good management regardless of what the final Code says.
5. Watch for the final version. As with other Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms we’ve covered, a consultation closing is a milestone, not a commencement date — we’ll confirm here once the final Code and its in-force date are known.

How Cheviot HR can help

Getting ahead of a Code rewrite is about culture as much as paperwork — building genuine informal resolution and well-trained managers into how your business actually operates, not just updating a policy document. We can review your current procedures against the draft Code’s direction, and help build manager confidence in handling concerns early and fairly.

Get in touch at heidi@cheviothr.co.uk or visit https://cheviothr.co.uk to talk through what this means for your business.