Employment Law

The biggest shake up of the Acas Code in many years

Acas has published a draft Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. It is the first full rewrite since 2009.

Nothing is final yet. The consultation closes on 23 September 2026. But the direction of travel is clear, and HR teams should start paying attention.

Informal Resolution

The change that matters most to me is informal resolution. Right now the nudge to sort things out informally sits outside the statutory Code. The draft brings it inside. Employers and workers will be expected to try informal resolution first.

Proportionality

The principles of a fair investigation remain unchanged, but the draft Code places greater emphasis on proportionality. It recognises that some cases can be investigated through a review of documents alone, while others will require investigatory meetings with those involved.

Disciplinary and Grievance Letters

A disciplinary invitation will need to explain what informal steps were taken, or why none were appropriate. Grievances face a similar test. It is worth reviewing templates now.

Practically, this means a failure to attempt informal resolution first could, for the first time, be a factor a tribunal weighs when considering an uplift in compensation for employees.

Mediation

Mediation gets its moment too. The draft adds a full section on this, allowing formal procedures to pause so mediation and facilitated conversations can happen. I like this. At Impact, we have always believed legal process works best when it sits alongside human understanding, not instead of it.

We built our Four Thinking Systems Framework around that idea. Before anyone can engage rationally with evidence, they need to feel safe. Then heard. Only then can they think clearly and reflect on their own assumptions. Informal resolution and mediation give people room to move through those stages, instead of being pushed straight into a formal process built around evidence alone.

Suspension

Suspension gets a tougher test too. It should be used only where necessary, in limited circumstances, not as an automatic first response.

Reasonable Adjustments

A new section in the draft Code expressly states that employers must meet their obligations not to discriminate, going on to give examples of what reasonable adjustments might look like in this context.

Manager Training

The proposal places more weight on the competence of the managers handling each stage.

AI

One gap worth flagging: AI. The draft says nothing about AI-generated grievances or responses, though Acas is asking whether accompanying guidance should address it.

However, the Code does contain wording which says workers should “explain their concern clearly in a way that will enable the employer to understand and resolve it”, and suggests that “[a] short, clear written explanation of the concern will often be enough at this stage”. The draft Code then goes on to say the worker should be allowed an opportunity to provide more information later if needed.

What to do

Don't rewrite your policies yet. Do start looking at your disciplinary and grievance templates, your suspension process and whether your managers are ready for the informal conversations this Code expects of them, as well as handling the processes themselves.