Disciplinary and Dismissal Policies in the UK: A Guide for Employers

This article provides guidance for employers in the UK on the procedural requirements for disciplinary and dismissal policies. It emphasizes the importance of having written policies that comply with the 2009 ACAS code of practice. The article also explains the role of collective agreements in defining employment terms and conditions, and the complexities of varying these agreements. The legal implications for employees and businesses are discussed, along with the requirement for written notification of any changes to the employment contract.

In the United Kingdom, the government made the various procedural requirements for the
employer of the organization. It is essential to prepare the disciplinary rules and policies by the
employer. All the disciplinary and dismissal policies must be in written form and contain all the
terms and condition so that the employee can understand the procedural requirement of the
organization. All the employees of the organization should receive the written statement within
the two months from the date of joining the organization.
All the employers of the country must follow the 2009ACAS code of practice which is related
with the disciplinary and grievances procedure. In this code various standards are defined that
should be comply by the employer1. However the employer may build their own disciplinary
rules and regulations but they should follow the standards which are described under the code of
practice. If the employer did not follow the standard at the time of building the rule, then this
may lead to the breach of contract.
Collective agreement refers as a written document between the employer and the labour union
which defines the terms and conditions of the employment for the employees of the company2.
All the terms and conditions are decided through the bargaining between the employer and the
union. In this process, parties such as employer and the union generally focuses on the salary,
wages and the benefits. If there is any conflict between the employee and the union then either
party can request from the minister of labour to appoint the conciliation officer, who try to assist
1 Kim, Hoque et al. "Union representation, collective voice and job quality: An analysis of a
survey of union members in the UK finance sector." Economic and Industrial Democracy 38.1
[2017] Pp 27-50.
2 Michael P Jackson,., et al. Decentralization of Collective Bargaining: An Analysis of Recent
Experience in the UK. (Springer, 2016).

the parties to agree on the terms and conditions of the agreement. Further the collective
agreement usually considered as a voluntary except is in writing and contained the provision that
the parties propose to be in legal effect in case of breach of any condition.
Further variation in the terms and condition of the contract is the complex area, by which the
employee as well as the business gets affected. If there is any variation in the terms of the
collective agreement on which the employee did not get agrees, then the employee may claim
that he/she not bound to follow the change3. However the legal position is based on whether the
collective agreement forms the part of the employment contract or contained that it can be amend
periodically. If the answer of the above situation is yes, then it is difficult for the employee to
claim that he/she not legally bound to follow the change, on the other hand if answer of both
situation is no, then employee is not legally bound to follow the change, and if the changes are
major then employee can resign and claim for the constructive dismissal. Moreover employee
can continue to work without raising any question on the change as per their own choice.
The present agreement can be varies only by the mutual consent of both the parties such as
employer and the union. Where any changes in the contract of employment occur then the
employer must give the written notification to all the employees within a time period of the one
month from the date of change in the agreement.
3 Gill Dix, and Sir Barber Brendan . "The changing face of work: insights from Acas." Employee
Relations 37.6 [2015] Pp 670-682.

BIBLOGRAPHY
Dix, G., and Sir Brendan B.. "The changing face of work: insights from Acas." Employee
Relations 37.6 [2015]Pp 670-682.
Hoque, K., et al. "Union representation, collective voice and job quality: An analysis of a survey
of union members in the UK finance sector." Economic and Industrial Democracy 38.1 [2017]
Pp 27-50.
Jackson, M. P., et al. Decentralization of Collective Bargaining: An Analysis of Recent
Experience in the UK. (Springer, 2016).