The end of jumping straight to disciplinary

The End of Jumping straight to a disciplinary

Proposed changes to the ACAS Code could place much greater emphasis on addressing people problems early — before they become formal HR issues.

When something goes wrong with an employee, it can be tempting to reach immediately for the disciplinary procedure.

“We need to give them a warning.”

“Can we put this in writing?”

“What’s the next stage of the disciplinary process?”

But proposed changes to the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures suggest employers may increasingly need to demonstrate that they have tried something else first:

A proper conversation.

The ACAS Code is currently being significantly revised for the first time since 2009. The draft Code was published in July 2026 and is under consultation until 23 September 2026, so nothing has changed yet. But the direction of travel is important.

Deal with the issue early.

At the heart of the proposed changes is a much greater emphasis on early and informal resolution. Before beginning formal disciplinary action, employers would be expected, where appropriate, to explain the concern, listen to the employee and discuss possible solutions informally. If the situation eventually progresses to a formal disciplinary process, the employer should be able to show what informal steps were taken — or explain why an informal approach wasn’t appropriate. Serious issues such as potential gross misconduct may, of course, justify moving directly to a formal process.

That distinction matters.

Informal doesn’t mean ignoring poor performance or unacceptable behaviour. It means addressing it earlier.

The conversation managers sometimes avoid

In our work with farms, we regularly see relatively small problems become much bigger ones because nobody tackled them when they first appeared.

• Poor timekeeping becomes habitual.
• Standards begin to slip.
• An employee’s attitude starts affecting the rest of the team.
• Two colleagues stop communicating properly.
• A manager becomes increasingly frustrated.

Eventually, someone decides that “something needs to be done”—and HR becomes involved, or they ring REAL Success! Very often, however, the most useful intervention could have happened weeks or months earlier. A manager needed the confidence and skills to say:

“I’ve noticed something isn’t working. Can we talk about it?”

That isn’t really an HR skill. It’s a management skill.

Informal doesn’t mean undocumented

One particularly important element of the proposed Code is the expectation that, where an issue does subsequently become formal, employers should document the informal steps they have already taken or explain why informal action wasn’t appropriate. That means managers need to understand the difference between having an informal conversation and having an ‘off-the-record’ conversation.

You might not issue a formal warning, but it can still be sensible to make a brief factual note of what was discussed, what was agreed and when you intend to review the situation. Good management and good record keeping increasingly need to go together.

Suspension shouldn’t be automatic either.

The proposed Code also reinforces the principle that suspension during an investigation should be used only where it is reasonable. Sending someone home while an allegation is investigated can sometimes be necessary, but it shouldn’t automatically be the first response simply because an allegation has been made. Again, the underlying message is similar:

Think about the circumstances before automatically reaching for a process.

Why this matters

The ACAS Code isn’t legislation, but employment tribunals take it into account. An unreasonable failure to comply with the Code can contribute to a dismissal being found unfair and can result in compensation being adjusted by up to 25%.

There is also a significant commercial argument for resolving problems sooner. The article cites ACAS’ research, which estimates that formal disciplinary procedures cost UK employers around £2.36 billion each year, compared with approximately £250 million for informal procedures.

But perhaps the bigger opportunity is cultural.

Managers who are confident enough to tackle problems early tend to prevent resentment from building, allow employees to change and create clearer expectations within their teams.  This fits with the philosophy we teach at REAL Success.

What should farms do now?

There is no need to rewrite disciplinary and grievance procedures yet. The revised Code is still being consulted upon and could change before it becomes final. But there is something farms can start doing immediately:

Develop managers who are comfortable having difficult conversations.

Ask yourself:-

• Do our managers tackle problems when they first notice them?
• Do they know how to distinguish between an informal management conversation and a formal disciplinary process?
• Do they know when an issue is serious enough to seek HR advice?
• Are informal conversations recorded appropriately?
• Do managers listen and explore what is causing a problem, rather than simply telling someone what they’ve done wrong?
• Do they have the confidence to challenge behaviour without unnecessarily escalating the situation?

The proposed ACAS changes reinforce something we have believed for a long time at REAL Success:

Good HR should not start when something has gone wrong.

It starts with managers who communicate well, set clear expectations and dare to address problems early. Sometimes the most effective disciplinary procedure is the one you never need to start.

#FarmLeadership #StaffRetention #FarmManagement #Agriculture #HumanPotential #PeopleInAgriculture

Paul Harris
Managing Director, REAL Success 

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