Guidance On Uplifts When The Acas Code Is Breached

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has given guidance to tribunals on assessing the appropriate percentage uplift to compensation for failure to comply with the Acas Code on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures (the Acas Code) in Slade and another v Biggs and others.

Mrs Biggs and Ms Stewart worked at properties owned by Sir Benjamin Slade. They were employed by Offer Ltd, but were TUPE transferred to Aethelbert Ltd shortly before their employment terminated. Both became pregnant during 2017, something which the tribunal found that Sir Benjamin considered as "highly inconvenient", and as a result of which he decided to "engineer their departure from their employment" and set about pursuing "a course of conduct" to encourage them to resign. This included not paying them correctly, failing to pay Mrs Biggs' statutory maternity pay, ignoring their grievances and insisting that Mrs Biggs resign.