Consultation closes: 11:59pm on 23 September 2026
Use this form to respond to our consultation on the draft Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.
Alternatively, you can download the consultation questions and email your response to consultations@acas.org.uk:
If you need to submit your response in another way, email consultations@acas.org.uk
To make your submission as helpful as possible, please:
The focus of the existing Code is formal disciplinary and grievance procedures. While its Foreword provides some brief guidance on resolving matters informally before using formal procedures, this does not form part of the statutory Code.
The draft Code explicitly encourages early and informal resolution wherever possible – including addressing employer concerns informally (paragraphs 16 to 23) and raising and handling workers' concerns informally (paragraphs 53 to 61).
Adding this guidance in the draft Code will mean that it will be taken into account by employment tribunals in relevant cases, including to inform the potential adjustment of awards for unreasonable failure to follow the Code.
In line with Acas's research findings (for example, see Defining and enabling informal workplace conflict resolution (2025)), the draft Code suggests a range of steps that may help resolve concerns informally. It seeks to avoid overly formalising informal approaches and clarifies that an informal approach should never by itself result in formal disciplinary action.
It suggests it can be helpful for both employers and workers to discuss concerns informally with a worker representative at an early stage to help facilitate solutions. (Note: workers being accompanied at informal conversations is covered later in this consultation document.)
The draft Code suggests that written confirmation of the outcome of an informal approach can sometimes be of mutual benefit to employer and worker and makes this optional. Acas will provide further guidance on this in non-statutory guidance.
We are interested to hear views on whether the draft Code strikes the right balance in providing guidance on how employers and workers can try to resolve concerns informally while not being overly prescriptive.
