ACAS disciplinary and grievance procedures code revised

The new ACAS code came into effect on 10 March 2015. It is available by clicking here.

The code deals with the issue of the right to be accompanied raised in Toal v GB Oils Ltd UK. UKEAT 0569/12, about whether the request to be accompanied had to be reasonable or the choice of companion had to be reasonable. The EAT found that it was the former, and that as long as the companion falls into one of the categories in s 10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999 the employer has to comply with the request. The code states that the request does not have to be in writing or within a particular time frame. However, the employee should give enough time for the employer to arrange that the companion can be present, and they should consider the practicalities of the attendance of the chosen companion.