Acas recently commissioned a survey of senior decision makers across a representative sample of British businesses, asking them to identify the worst examples of behaviour they had witnessed at work that resulted in disciplinary action. Which of these tops the poll? Theft, rudeness, failing to turn up to work? The results may surprise you.
Not only does the survey give a snapshot of some of the conduct issues businesses are facing but it also highlights the need to take proactive steps to reduce the risk of incidents occurring, and the need for knowledge of how to handle those that do. So, what three things does your business need to know?
- What were the survey results?
- Taking pro-active steps
- Dealing with conduct issues
1. What were the survey results?
Failing to turn up for work topped the list at 34%, but it was closely followed by theft, bullying, and rudeness to colleagues or customers, each at 30%.
The rest of the results were:
- Taking sick leave when not genuinely ill (27%)
- Being drunk at work (23%)
- Sexual harassment at work (20%)
- Physical fighting or violence at work (19%)
- Being under the influence of drugs at work (19%)
- Leaking confidential or sensitive information (19%)
- Staff members having an intimate relationship at work (11%)
- Offensive clothing or breach of dress code (9%)
A notable minority had witnessed none of the listed behaviours resulting in discipline at all (17%)
2. Taking pro-active steps
One of the cornerstones of effective discipline is preventing conduct issues from arising in the first place. You can save yourself and your business a lot of time by ensuring that your employees are clear as to what conduct is and is not acceptable.
As a start, check that:
- Your business has clear policies and procedures in place – this includes having a disciplinary procedure with examples of misconduct and gross misconduct and that these meet the needs of your business
- You communicate your policies and procedures effectively, including periodic reminders where appropriate
- Employees are adequately trained on your policies and procedures, that they understand the ethos of your organisation and what is expected of them in terms of behaviour
- Managers lead by example in terms of modelling good behaviour, e.g. when communicating with members of the team or clients
If despite these steps an employee still misbehaves, your time has not been wasted. Your actions will put you in a more robust position when it comes to dealing with the matter.
Do not forget that employers are under a positive legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their staff. Under changes being brought in by the Employment Rights Act 2025 (which are timetabled for 30th October 2026), this pro-active duty will be expanding to ‘all reasonable steps.’ Furthermore, provisions making employers liable for third party harassment, for example by customers or contractors, if it occurs in the course of the employee’s employment and the employer fails to take all reasonable steps to prevent it, are also scheduled for 30th October 2026. Third party harassment will not just cover sexual harassment but all protected characteristics, for example harassment in relation to race, or religion. Keep an eye out for a further Legal Update on these areas.
3. Dealing with conduct issues
Sometimes conduct issues do arise, if this happens in your business bear in mind:
- An employee’s length of service can affect how a dismissal is handled.
Where an employee lacks the service required for ordinary unfair dismissal protection, it may, in appropriate cases, be possible to dismiss them more quickly and easily through a “short service dismissal.” Whether this is safe depends on the individual circumstances, so specific advice should always be sought before taking action.
- If an employee has failed to turn up for work, you may need to follow an ‘AWOL process’.
When an employee is absent without leave and does not make contact regarding their absence (‘AWOL’) the first step should usually be to try to contact the employee by all reasonable methods to attempt to find out what has happened and when the employee can be expected to return to work. Remember, there may be a good reason for their actions. Keep a record of all the attempts at contact. If you are unable to make contact with the employee, or you do make contact and think further action may be needed (e.g. disciplinary action for their non-attendance, failure to follow your absence reporting procedure) please get in touch for advice.
- If an employee has committed a minor one-off act of misconduct informal action may be appropriate.
It is often the quickest and most effective way of putting the employee back on the right track. Need help with such an issue in your business? Reach out.
- If you are dealing with a conduct issue through a formal process, it’s important to get it right.
Bear in mind, in outline, the process will usually involve:
- Carrying out a full and thorough investigation into the matter
- If there is sufficient evidence to warrant it, inviting the employee, in writing, to attend a disciplinary meeting, enclosing the evidence and advising them of their right to be accompanied.
- Holding a disciplinary meeting
- Following the meeting, giving the employee a written outcome with a right of appeal
When taking disciplinary action remember employers are expected to act promptly, fairly, reasonably and in accordance with the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinaries and Grievances.