Disciplinary and grievance procedures: Guide for people professionals

At some stage in their career, every HR professional needs to take formal action (discipline) to deal with a situation where an employee has fallen short of the standards expected, or where an employee is so unhappy with something that they wish to raise their concerns in a formal way (grievance). This guide helps you handle such cases in a professional, sympathetic but rigorous manner. 

Disciplinary and grievance procedures provide clear structures for dealing with difficulties which may arise as part of the working relationship.

These procedures are needed to ensure every individual is treated equally and to deal with issues fairly and reasonably. They also ensure that employers comply with current law and follow the Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance issues. 

The aim of disciplinary procedures isn’t to create a combative culture, but to have fair processes to let an employee know that they haven’t met expected standards and to resolve concerns. The aim of grievance procedures is to give employees a way to constructively raise concerns, problems or complaints.

Many people professionals dislike the terms ‘discipline’ and ‘grievance’, considering them old-fashioned and inherently promoting a ‘win-lose’ situation rather than seeking to resolve conflicts. However, UK employment law and the statutory Acas code of practice use these terms and so, even if you choose to call them something else in your own organisation, it is important to understand how these two processes work.

At the time of writing, the Employment Rights Bill is going through Parliament. Although this may change some procedural aspects, the key principles of handling these issues will remain essentially the same. We will update this guide as soon as any changes are enforced.