Yesterday I attended an employment seminar run by Fox Williams which was informative on topics such as Intellectual Property, Bonuses, Age Discriminaton and finally, the Acas Code.
The new Acas Code on grievances and discipline is commenably brief but as Aron Pope of the firm pointed out there are a number of uncertainties such as:
- What status/weight will a tribunal give the Guide(e.g no the Code)?
- What are defined as grievances?
- Can employees be suspended without pay?
- Must parties attempt to resolve issues informally and always attempt to resolve them in the workplace?
The new Code came into being on 6th April and from my experience I have seen some lawyers already struggling with the new regime.
The problem as I see it facing lawyers and hr professionals is that as we emerge from 1 regime to the other there are still too many doubts as to how things will work out in practice. Stand by for some more case law to sort this out.
Mediation remains an under utlised resource in all this.
Why is employment law so complex?
Justin Patten Solicitor