Major changes in legislation in recent years make it absolutely vital that you now follow the correct procedures in disciplinary and grievance or capability matters. If you fail to do so, you could find yourself judged to have dismissed someone unfairly.
Disciplinary Procedures, Capability Procedures or Grievance Procedures that comply with legislation and follow "best practice" will not only enable you to stay on the right side of the law; they will also enable you to deal with disciplinary and grievance issues consistently and fairly, with a view to resolving them before they become serious.
The ACAS Code of Practice provides guidance on the content and procedure to follow when dealing with disciplinary, capability and grievance matters.
Failure to follow the ACAS Code or lack of disciplinary, capability procedures is likely to result in a finding of unfair dismissal against you. Furthermore this could increase compensation awarded against you by up to an additional 25%.