The proposed changes to the current law in connection with dismissals and dealing with grievances raised in the workplace will change next month - on 6th April. To flag up and discuss these changes a seminar presented by the Employment team of Yorkshire Law Firm Keeble Hawson, is taking place at the Sheffield City Airport branch of HSBC on the 1st April.

In anticipation of these changes ACAS has produced a revised Code of Practice. Whilst Tribunals are not bound to follow the ACAS guidance, they frequently do and often refer to such recommendations in Tribunal hearings. Employers are therefore well advised to take note of the proposed changes.

The main changes that appear in the new draft of the Code include the following:

• The procedures will not apply to dismissals due to redundancies or expiry of fixed term contracts.
• In misconduct cases, it is recommended that different Managers should carry out the investigation and the disciplinary hearing stages. This may impose impractical burdens on smaller Employers, especially as there must also be a right of appeal against dismissal to a Senior Manager who has not been involved in the investigation or the dismissal stages. Therefore, an employer would need to identify three separate Managers to deal with the full process.
• The procedure for holding meetings with the Employee is more detailed and for example, suggests that there should be an opportunity for witnesses to be called.
• It is suggested the Employers should be able to make a decision on the evidence available in circumstances where an Employee is persistently unable or unwilling to attend a disciplinary hearing without good reason. It is frequently a problem for Employers who are faced with an Employee who refuses to attend a disciplinary hearing, citing stress as the reason, especially where the Employee has been suspended pending allegations of dishonesty or other acts of potential gross misconduct for which they fear they will be dismissed.

The most significant change to the Code is that it will not apply to redundancy dismissals, which is likely to be a response to the current economic climate and the probable increase in redundancies in future. The current rules on dismissals apply to redundancy where this involves fewer than 20 Employees being made redundant.

Another suggestion, which is still to be decided, is whether or not Tribunal awards for unreasonable failure to follow the Code should be reduced. At present, Employers may be penalised if they fail to follow procedures so that compensation that would otherwise be awarded is increased by at least 10% and up to a possible 50%.

What is clear is that with effect from the 6th April, it will be all change yet again as far as dismissal procedures are concerned, and Employers will have to get to grips with a new set of rules to replace the current rules - which were only introduced four years ago.