Businesses should be aware of changes to grievance procedures, warned legal expert Ray Silverstein, in a talk on employment law at the Bakers’ Fair in Sheffield.

He told visitors to the event on Sunday, 19 October, that from next April, current statutory minimum procedures will be replaced by a revised Code of Practice, to be introduced by the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), together with non-statutory guidance.

Most businesses currently follow a standard three-step procedure - a written statement, followed by a meeting, then an appeal meeting. According to ACAS, the new system will offer "greater flexibility", but Silverstein believes it is "pretty vague". He said he would advise businesses to continue to follow the current three-step procedure alongside any new guidelines.