Before It Gets Formal: What the Proposed ACAS Code of Conduct Means for Your School or MAT

Most workplace problems don't start as disciplinaries or grievances - they start as a difficult conversation someone didn't have.

ACAS has rewritten its disciplinary and grievance Code for the first time since 2009, and informal resolution now sits at its heart. Investigations should be proportionate. Suspension needs narrower justification. And because informal resolution is now in the Code, failing to try it could attract the tribunal's 25% uplift - just as the cap on unfair dismissal compensation is removed from 1st January 2027.

Senior leaders in schools and trusts also face the challenge of the person expected to have that early conversation is often the same person who must stay impartial later.

Join us for a frank look at what's changing and what to put in place to protect your staff, your leaders and your schools reputation.

In the session we’ll cover:

• How this will impact disciplinary processes including proportionate investigations, far narrower grounds for suspension, and evidencing what you tried first
• How this will impact grievance processes including concise written concerns, staff naming the outcome they want, and new rules on who can be in the room
• The impact on informal resolution i.e. what counts as a genuine attempt, how to record it, and when mediation can stop a formal process in its tracks
• What all this means for senior leaders, looking at how to stay impartial, how governors and trustees should be prepared to step in, and protecting your own position (and wellbeing) whilst running a fair process

Plus a live Q&A - bring your questions, including the ones you've been meaning to ask for a while.

Who it's for

CEOs, Headteachers, HR leads, school business leaders and trust people teams - anyone who runs disciplinary and grievance processes, is on the receiving end of one, or picks up the pieces when they go wrong. Governors and trustees who may be asked to hear a case involving a senior leader will find it useful too.

Can’t make the webinar? Not to worry… Register anyway, and we’ll send you a copy of the recording. We look forward to seeing you there!

Introducing our Speaker

Paul Luffman, Litigation & Labour Relations Lead Consultant

Paul is an experienced Employment Law professional and manager with a proven track record of successfully working within unionised environments, providing extensive insights into developing strategies and policies that can lead the business or organisation forward.  He is a problem solver whose extensive background of employee relations, industrial relations and litigation has given him the reputation as someone who thrives on dealing with disputes and messy people problems. Paul spends his spare time volunteering for a local grassroots football club in the New Forest. He is an FA qualified level 2 coach who manages 3 youth teams at the club.