6. Legal framework
Employment Act 2008
The Employment Act 2008 introduced legislation pertaining to dealing with discipline and grievance. The Act is supported by the ACAS Code of Practice.
Read more about the ACAS code of practice
Employment Relations Act 1999
The Employment Relations Act 1999 accords gives employees the right to be accompanied at any disciplinary or grievance hearing by a work colleague or trade union/professional organisation representative.
If the chosen companion is not available at the time proposed for the hearing/meeting, the employer must postpone to an alternative time suggested by the employee, provided the alternative time is reasonable and falls before the end of five working days after the day proposed by the employer.
Employment Rights Act 1996
The Employment Rights Act 1996 places a duty on employers to provide written contracts to an employee within two months of commencing employment. These must include details of any disciplinary and grievance policy or procedures which apply to the employee.
Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations 2018
This is the UK’s third generation of data protection law. This modernises data protection legislation to ensure it is effective in the years to come. The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) forms part of the data protection regime in the UK.