Best Practices for Fair & Effective Disciplinary Investigations & Hearings

Introduction

Disciplinary hearings are never easy to manage, and if they are needed, they must be managed fairly. Following the Acas Code of Practice: Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures is essential to ensure the process is fair, consistent and legally sound.

On 30 July 2026 the government released a consultation on a revised Acas Code of Practice: Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. This webinar highlights the areas that will be changed if this draft revised Code is approved.

This webinar also walks delegates through the process of managing a disciplinary hearing. It starts by thinking about whether to suspend the employee or not and then what needs to be covered in the investigation. The three core steps of the Acas Code are then addressed - writing to the employee setting out the allegations, holding the disciplinary meeting, and allowing an appeal.

The webinar covers some of the tricky issues that are encountered, such as emotional employees or witnesses that want to remain anonymous.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

• The current Acas Code of Practice: Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures, and the proposed changes
• Suspension
• When to suspend and when not to suspend
• Investigations
• The requirement to show that the employee did as alleged on the ‘balance of probabilities’
• Identifying appropriate witnesses and taking a witness statement
• Gathering other evidence and determining whether it is reliable
• The role of the Investigating Officer
• Letter inviting the employee to the disciplinary meeting
• What to include
• Timing between the letter and the disciplinary meeting
• At the disciplinary meeting
• How to start the meeting
• Questioning techniques
• The role of representatives, what a representative can and cannot do
• Tricky situations that might arise and how to deal with them
• At the appeal meeting
• How to prepare for an appeal meeting
• Managing the appeal meeting
• Tricky situations that might arise and how to deal with them