Since the advent of the “Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004”, this is undoubtedly the most challenging area facing employers. Any steps that may involve disciplinary action or dismissal, require meticulous attention to the regulations. For that reason we have a dedicated section on our website relating to the use of the procedure and the interpretation of them by the courts. This is likely to change in 2009.

Apart from helping employers navigate correctly through the procedures, we can assist by the drafting of appropriate discipline and grievance procedures for an employer’s handbook.

One of the more difficult areas impacting on grievance investigations is complaints of bullying and harassment. The ACAS guidelines deal with the possibility of informal resolution to complaints by employees about being subjected to bullying and harassment. Whilst that ultimately is good advice from the point of view of employee relations, the difficulty facing an employer is knowing when a grievance has been lodged or not. A complaint about bullying could easily be regarded as a formal grievance under the statutory procedures requiring a formal response. The lack of formal response will leave the employer exposed to the risk of claims for constructive dismissal.

There may also be occasions when an employer needs an independent organisation to actually handle a disciplinary investigation or grievance.

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