Dealing with Work Disagreements ; Revised Employment Laws Mean the Way We Handle Issues in the Workplace Can Be Faster and More Effective. For Jane Bird, Director of Operational Policy and Performance at Acas, It Heralds a New Age of Resolving Problems in the Workplace

Summary

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The problems we face at work don't change much from one generation to the next. Pay, managing change, working conditions, personality clashes and team rivalry all remain issues. But what has changed is the way we formally resolve problems. The Employment Act 2008, which came into force on 6 April 2009, means there is now: - a less prescriptive approach to the mechanics of how to manage discipline, grievances and dismissals - more flexibility to resolve problems at an early stage and in a way that best suits both employer and employee.

The Act removed the 3-step statutory procedures for dealing with discipline and grievance in the workplace. These tended to formalise disputes at an early stage and turn the parties' minds to litigation almost from the outset. This left little opportunity to sit down and talk through solutions. The new system aims to encourage more direct communication and reduce the chance of problems becoming employment tribunal claims - saving time, money and stress.

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Extract

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Dealing with Work Disagreements ; Revised Employment Laws Mean the Way We Handle Issues in the Workplace Can Be Faster and More Effective. For Jane Bird, Director of Operational Policy and Performance at Acas, It Heralds a New Age of Resolving Problems in the Workplace

HOW DOES IT WORK? The new Acas Code of Practice: Disciplinary and grievance procedures, sets out these principles: - establish the fact...

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