How a fair grievance or disciplinary process should run under the ACAS Code — your right to be accompanied, and why a flawed process raises tribunal awards.
The ACAS Code of Practice sets the baseline for fair grievance and disciplinary procedures: a proper investigation, a clear written explanation of the issue, a hearing, the chance to respond, a decision, and a right of appeal. An unreasonable failure to follow it can increase a tribunal award by up to 25%.
At a formal grievance or disciplinary hearing you have a statutory right to be accompanied by a colleague or a trade union representative. Process failures — no investigation, prejudged outcome, no appeal — are often where dismissals become unfair.
A clear, factual grievance letter frames the issue and starts the clock on a fair process. The Counsel helps you structure the grievance or your response to a disciplinary, grounded in England & Wales practice.
Set out the facts, dates, who was involved, the effect on you, and the outcome you want, and keep it factual. The Counsel drafts a structured first version from your account that you can refine and send.
It is the statutory code for fair grievance and disciplinary handling. Tribunals take it seriously — an unreasonable failure to follow it can increase compensation by up to 25%, so process matters as much as the underlying decision.
Yes. You have a statutory right to be accompanied at a formal disciplinary or grievance hearing by a colleague or a trade union representative.
The Counsel is an AI tool for England & Wales. It provides legal information, not legal advice, and does not replace a regulated solicitor. For anything high-value or contested, take advice before you act.
How to review an employment contract under the law of England & Wales — what to check before you sign, and the clauses that quietly cost you later.
A plain-English check of your redundancy rights in England & Wales — fair process, consultation, redundancy pay, and the warning signs of an unfair selection.
What counts as unfair dismissal in England & Wales, the time limits that catch people out, and how to prepare a grievance or early-conciliation letter.